Insurance sales rely on the agent’s interactions with the client, which is why providers need to find a way to understand their customers’ needs better. But to ensure that an insurance company is using the best CRM software for its operations, one must take a look at the major architectural components of the program before using it.

So what are the most important components of the insurance CRM system? Like other industries, insurance companies also benefit from using a CRM platform because it allows them to create repeat sales and meet the needs of potential clients. Some of the features that allow CRM to do these are sales force automation, human resource management, data warehouse technology, lead management, customer service, marketing, business reporting, workflow automation, and analytics.

9 Important Architectural Components of CRM

For insurance agents, it’s important to learn important details about clients to offer the best insurance coverage for them. According to a survey by Accenture in 2016, 88% of insurance clients demand personalization from their current insurance provider. This includes quick support through calls and emails with a friendly staff.

However, personalizing customer service for thousands of clients requires a lot of a company’s manpower and resources. This problem has caused the majority of the insurance industry in the country to integrate an effective CRM strategy into their business process. CRM solutions involve using a cloud-based tool to gather important client information and automate different business processes.

Learning about the major architectural components of an insurance CRM allows companies and insurance agents to understand its importance in providing a better customer experience, generating more leads, and closing more sales. Here are some of the most important components of CRM that help insurance agents close more deals:

1. SalesForce Automation

This component is one of the most essential parts of customer relationship management that’s commonly used by different insurance providers or other businesses. This includes forecasting sales, recording sales processing, and tracking potential customer interaction.

Salesforce automation also allows agents to identify the opportunities that have high chances of turning into a sale. This makes it an extremely important feature that increases the company’s overall sales. In addition to providing sales forecasts and identifying opportunities, CRM automation also allows managers to view each agent’s performance.

But for one to see significant improvement in the company and the industry in general, salesforce automation needs to work together with other CRM components.

1. Human Resource Management

Human resource management is the process of utilizing the employee’s skills for specific situations. It requires managers to be aware of the skills of the team so that each employee is properly matched with a task that makes the best use of their abilities.

Managing human resources is important in huge enterprises, as well as in startups and mid-size businesses or agencies. Most CRM platforms have an API that allows HR managers and business owners to keep track of each agent’s performance.

With a better grasp of each employee’s skill set, managers will find it easier to assign the right person to a certain task. This component is also helpful for managers to identify each employee’s problems so that they may take the right measures to solve them, leading to better employee productivity.

1. Data Warehouse Technology

Data warehousing is a kind of technology used in data analysis and reporting. It’s one of the core components of business intelligence because it involves gathering all integrated data and metadata into a single place called a data warehouse. The information stored in the data center is typically uploaded from the marketing or sales department of a business.

The data modeling used in building a data warehouse is meant to support complex queries for a long period. But aside from storing and organizing all important business information into one place, data warehousing also provides additional benefits like:

• Maintaining the data history that transaction systems don’t
• Improving the quality of data by creating consistent descriptions and codes, flagging corrupted data, and disambiguating repetitive data
• Restructuring the stored data in a way that business owners understand better
• Adding value to a CRM process and other operational business applications

The architecture of data warehouse technology varies depending on how the organization, agency, or company builds it. However, all kinds of data warehouses have multiple phases that are fine-tuned and modified to suit the company’s requirements.

1. Lead Management

This component refers to the manner of tracking the sales leads and how they’re distributed. Most kinds of businesses benefit from this CRM component, including marketing firms and insurance companies. Lead management covers everything from developing marketing campaigns to personalized forms and customer communication.

Lead management is especially helpful for insurance agents because it studies the client’s buying behavior to determine if they’re a good sales lead. It also provides users with important customer information like successful conversions, website activities, and contact details.

An effective CRM solution helps insurance agents run through the listing of solid marketing leads to close a deal more quickly. It also allows them to contact, chat, or email prospective clients with just a few clicks.

1. Customer Service

Customer service functions are at the heart of every CRM platform. They’re responsible for gathering important customer data required in the customization of marketing strategies to meet the customer expectation. This may include their contact information, social media accounts, buying habits, and more.

For insurance agents, it’s important to remember that the deal doesn’t end once the client signs the documents. There are still requests to fulfill, complaints to address, and questions to answer from existing customers. It’s important to remember that keeping customers loyal is just as important as attracting new ones.

By continuously meeting customer expectations, companies gain more repeat customers. Insurance companies who value customer loyalty are often rewarded with more sales because their loyal clients also become ambassadors for the brand. The more satisfied the clients are, the more they talk about their experience with other potential customers.

1. Marketing

Marketing refers to the activities of a company that are meant to advertise its products and gain more attention from potential customers. Marketing strategies are usually aimed at a target audience, but they may also be made for the general audience.

Most marketing managers create strategies depending on the data from the CRM system. The customer information gathered by marketing automation and stored in the platform helps marketing professionals understand customer needs better. They eventually develop different strategies to meet these needs and encourage clients to make the purchase.

Marketing also comes with diverse subcomponents like activity and document management and campaign management. However, these subcomponents typically vary depending on the type of business or enterprise architecture.

1. Business Reporting

Since CRM platforms are responsible for keeping all kinds of important business data, it’s easy for users to access different kinds of information from a specific data mart or relational database. The system creates accurate data that’s easy to interpret, allowing owners to create better business decisions. But aside from producing the reports, CRM systems also make the information available to different interconnected networks of the same cloud provider.

Customer service reports are some of the most useful kinds of business reports that insurance agents use. It gives them an insight into how the insurance agency operates. It also provides possible solutions to improve customer relationships with their existing and potential clients.

1. Workflow Automation

Several business processes allow a business to operate smoothly. However, managers and business owners usually have their hands full with other important business aspects to micromanage the sales cycle. This is where CRM systems come in.

A good CRM app helps the business streamline each client’s purchasing journey. It classifies different clients into specific designations based on their buying journey. This allows the insurance agent to offer the best deals for the client in the sales funnel. As more buyers become attracted to each offer, their buying journey takes less time, and the company makes more sales.

1. Analytics

Analytics is important for all kinds of businesses because it allows them to monitor market trends. However, these trends and figures might be confusing for most business owners. CRM systems make these kinds of data presentable and understandable by putting them into graphical representations like histograms and diagrams.

This component of CRM is extremely important because owners create business decisions based on the trends in the market. Most CRM systems analyze these trends by gathering previous and current information available.

5 Different Insurance Software Types and Their Components

Most companies in the insurance industry have also started using CRM software for different functions because they’re versatile tools that help businesses grow. They also come in different types that have specific functions. Here are some of the CRM types that are commonly utilized by insurance companies:

1. Insurance Rating

Insurance underwriting and rating software automate a huge part of the underwriting process that’s otherwise done by insurance agents. It allows them to write policies and rules that are automatically adapted into the system during underwriting. This system also conducts rate and pricing analysis, standardizes quotes across different channels, calculates premiums, and changes rates depending on the risk and policy information of each client.

Some of the important features to check in an insurance rating software are:

• Multiple Line Rating
• Multi-State Features
• Carrier Upload
• Broker and Agent Portals
• Comparative Insurance Rating
• Risk Management
• Lead Management
• Payment Processing
• Billing and Invoicing

Best Insurance Rating Software to Use:

• TurboRater — This insurance rating software has all the personal line carriers that insurance agents might need. It has an easy-to-use browser-based rater that quickly quotes a policy from any device that’s connected to the internet. It also has an advanced reporting system that offers insights about the insurance agency. TurboRater is also easy to integrate with other agency management systems to improve a company’s workflow.

• Compulife Quote Software — This life insurance quoting software allows agents to create, manage, and process multiple quotes in a batch. It’s also accessible through different devices like PCs and smartphones.

1. Insurance Agency

This type of software allows insurance agencies to manage their business better. It helps users improve their relationships with customers. It also allows insurance agents to automate commissions and workflows using some back-office tools and features.

An insurance agency management system is typically used in almost all branches of the insurance agency. It may also be utilized on a case-to-case basis in some situations. This kind of software allows agents to monitor their sales performance, improve sales and marketing efforts, and maintain a better relationship with all of their clients.

Some of the main features of insurance agency software include:

• Insurance Policy Management
• Quote Management
• Insurance Rating
• Commission Management
• Claims Management

Best Insurance Agency Software to Use:

• Bitrix24 — This open source insurance CRM is used by around 8 million teams from different parts of the world. It provides users with easy-to-use basic features like appointment scheduling, quotes, invoices, contracts, calendars, email marketing, agency management, CRM, and more.

• i2go — This cloud-based platform is specially designed for digital businesses and insurance startups. It automates the processes involved in all kinds of insurance policies — from generating policies or canceling them to assisting agents with processing claims.

1. Insurance Policy

Insurance policy software shows the overview of the policies at different stages. Everything that users need to review for the generation of insurance up to its renewal is viewable in an insurance policy software. Using this software for monitoring insurance policy helps agencies increase efficiency and decrease the costs of processing.

Some of the important features in an insurance policy software include:

• Estimates/Quotes Module
• Underwriting Management
• Reinsurance Administration
• Reinstatement Tracking
• Rating Engine
• Cancellation Tracking
• Policy Generation/Processing

Best Insurance Policy Software to Use:

• PolicyFly — This insurance policy application was specially made for insurance agencies. It’s a complete insurance policy management platform that makes transactions easier for agents, brokers, and customers. It also helps insurance providers develop profitable programs by streamlining the business process.

• Jenesis Software — This affordable CRM solution helps independent insurance providers manage both commercial and personal lines. Some of its key features include a rating engine, policy processing, claims management, and reinstatement tracking.

1. Claims Processing

An insurance claims management software is designed to optimize the process of evaluating and managing insurance claims. It allows agents to process claim requests through automated workflows. Through this kind of software, all claim details are recorded and stored in one centralized system.

Some of the claim details include claim assessments, policy information, settlement communications, negotiation, and litigation. This kind of system is typically utilized by both enterprise and independent insurance companies as their agents manage claims. It helps them reduce costs, identify fraudulent claims, and improve the overall customer experience.

Some of the important components of claims processing software include:

• Copay and Deductible Tracking
• Policy Administration
• Payor Management
• Electronic Claims
• Adjustor Management
• Case Management
• Claim Resolution Tracking

Best Claims Processing Software to Use:

• FileHandler Enterprise — This intuitive application was designed to automate and streamline the workflow for risk management and insurance companies. It has easy-to-use dashboards, business intelligence tools, reporting functionalities, and excellent security technology that’s important for claim management systems.

• BriteCore — This platform is a great option for casualty and property insurers who want to support emerging technologies and new business models. It has end-to-end insurance capability, policy administration, underwriting rules, claims management, agent quoting inquiry, reporting, data warehousing, and more.

1. Commercial Insurance

This kind of insurance CRM deals with matters in commercial insurance policies. It systematizes the different processes that businesses go through to get insured — from policy generation up to claims processing.

Some of the main features needed in a commercial insurance CRM are:

• Policy Management
• Claims Management
• Insurance Rating
• Risk Assessment
• Billing and Invoicing
• Quote Management
• Commission Management

Best Commercial Insurance Software to Use:

• EZLynx — This industry-leading insurance software is helpful for commercial insurance companies who want to streamline their workflow. EZLynx offers different kinds of bundle products to enhance the company’s productivity. This platform integrates agency management systems and comparative rater into a single easy-to-use dashboard.

• LexisNexis — This commercial insurance solution offers underwriting effectiveness, enhanced customer satisfaction, and insurance automation. LexisNexis manufacturers are dedicated to providing insurance companies with industry-specific tools, analytics, and advanced technology to create more accurate insurance rates, enhance customer satisfaction, and increase sales.

Manage Customers Better With Commence CRM

Looking for a suitable CRM solution for your insurance agency? Commence CRM is a flexible CRM system that works for different kinds of businesses. It offers a “freedom of choice” for customers to choose whether they want the CRM solution to work on-premise or via the marketing and sales cloud.

Aside from its customizability, Commence CRM also has a simple user interface for easy navigation. All the important information is accessible through the software’s dashboard, including new leads, sales performance, work calendar, and more.

What most clients love about Commence CRM is that it has almost the same features as industry giants like Salesforce Platform, Microsoft Dynamics, and Sugar CRM but without the hefty price tag. Take Commence CRM for a test run today and experience its convenience for yourself. Just visit our website to learn more or call (877) 266 – 6362.