Every business needs a system to help run day-to-day operations. Managing General Agencies (MGAs) in the insurance industry often select a platform in the software category of Agency Management Systems (AMS). An AMS provides a robust suite of tools to help insurers manage work functions and processes all up and down the policy lifecycle and throughout the enterprise.
Running an insurance organization is of course complicated, and as with most complicated systems, adopting and using an AMS presents its own challenges. There is a significant investment of financial and personnel resources, with so much riding on successful implementation - new sales, renewal of expiring policies, policy maintenance, claims, etc. - that maximizing use of the system becomes almost an all-or-nothing proposition.
Yet, the complexity and volume of the functions that enable companies to operate can mire the system for users. If you notice productivity troughs, process breakdowns or other operational snafus relating to the system, it might be time to audit and better administer your management system. Here are some tips on optimizing use:
For a real-world example: Many of our insurance clients have indicated they need a way within their AMS to gather and collate data in a reliably quick, efficient and accurate fashion. It's typical for them to have people print out and merge several crucial reports from the AMS and other systems to support agency and underwriter production.
This time-intensive process leads to working with data that's stale and potentially erroneous (due to high levels of manual manipulation). Team members don't like to do the tedious legwork and the output does not support timely, informed business decisions - as for instance, can be experienced when using effective support tools like visual analytics dashboards fueled by operational intelligence and processes enhanced by automation. More on that in part 2...
But to round off part 1, if all this sounds like a scenario you're a little too familiar with, it might be time to find a tech partner to help you get out of 'spreadsheet nightmares' and avoid 'Excel-hell.' In the meantime, remember: managing your management system is an important facet of managing your business. Keep at it and come out on top!