Distribution is one of the most complex areas of running an insurance company or MGA. It is critical to reach the right customers in the right way, and doing this at scale requires sophisticated technology capabilities.
To sell products profitably, MGAs and brokers need a sales platform that can handle the end-to-end distribution process, from providing quotes to delivering policy documentation, accepting payments, and enabling customer relations, seamlessly.
Thankfully, insurers and MGAs don’t have to build distribution infrastructure from scratch. Instead, insurance software providers, such as Insly, provide comprehensive distribution functionality and various integrations to facilitate key elements of the process.
Integrations to aid distribution for insurers, and MGAs
Integrations can greatly simplify insurance product distribution and support insurers, MGAs, and their broker partners in the following areas:
Smooth payments
A smooth and reliable payment process means customers can pay in the method they choose, whenever is convenient for them, and insurers and MGAs get their premiums on time.
But building payments software isn’t at the top of any insurer or MGA’s to-do list. It’s much more convenient to use integrations into existing payment gateways, such as PayPal, Stripe, GoCardless, Worldpay, and beyond, to process every payment method you need around the world, spanning credit card payments, direct debit, SEPA, and more.
Web sales front-end
MGAs and insurers often have a very specific idea of how they want their front-end system to look, from a branding and customer experience perspective. So they naturally choose to create it themselves. Thanks to integration technology, they then have the freedom to connect to a readymade or low-code back-end system to provide the rating engine, policy creation, and documentation they need to service their customers and prospects.
This is exactly what Insly built for OneClickCover to provide simple home insurance for its customers in the UK. On the front end is a website where customers can request a quote, and behind that is an API connecting to Insly’s system to issue the quote, save policy documentation, and deliver the documentation to the customer by email. Meanwhile, integration into a payment gateway enables OneClickCover to accept instant payments.
Transforming broker submissions with integration and AI
Traditionally there have been two ways for MGAs and insurers to sell digitally via brokers:
- The broker uses an MGA’s Broker Portal, with roles, rights, and products tailored to its needs. However, brokers have found that logging into numerous portals can be inefficient, requiring repeated rekeying of information.
- The broker integrates into an MGA’s system, using APIs to query the MGA’s product rules and sell policies using its own software without logging in to the MGA’s portal. This streamlines the process for brokers, enabling faster quotes and reducing the need for data entry into numerous systems.
However, now there is a third way for MGAs and insurers to streamline broker distribution, by integrating AI tools such as Insly’s FormFlow, which enables quote and bind systems to process broker submissions sent in any format. FormFlow can handle customer and risk details in Word, PDF, email, or even handwritten notes, and the system will automatically upload the information in the right format. This eliminates the need for brokers to enter data manually into numerous portals and ensures underwriters have everything they need, without rekeying submissions.
White-label insurance products for brokers
Integration is also invaluable for enabling brokers to sell insurance products online under their brand but connected via API to an MGA’s back end. Quotes, policies, and policy documentation are generated using the product engine, but the consumer only interacts with the broker interface.
Customer relationship management
Insurers and MGAs can also connect their insurance software to a CRM tool for a better view of customer relationships, marketing, and sales efforts. By combining end-to-end insurance software with a CRM such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive, companies gain a holistic view of their portfolio, alongside their sales pipeline, creating a frictionless flow for customer management.
Broker and customer communication
MGAs and insurers can also integrate their insurance software with their email client, providing a big productivity boost in managing broker and customer communication. For example, if policy documentation is stored on the insurance platform, insurance professionals can easily sync with their Outlook or Gmail, eliminating the need to switch between platforms and transfer documents across.
AI tools
Insurance technology has entered a new era, thanks to the power of AI for data and document analysis, and natural language processing. There are now a host of insurance AI tools available, that can aid distribution, such as chatbots and ChatGPT style communication interfaces, risk calculators, and document summary tools. Flexible insurance software makes integrating these new tools straightforward, so MGAs and insurers can pick and choose those that will enhance their offering and start using them with minimum onboarding time.
Insly has been built to make integrating third-party applications easy, with a microservice architecture, and flexible API first approach. So MGAs and insurers can be confident that whatever direction their business goes in, they can easily bolt on the additional functionality they need when they need it.
To find out more, check out our case studies and get in touch with the team.
Want to know more about integrations? Then take a look at our other posts on integrations in underwriting, insurance product building, and accounting and reporting.
