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Brokers using the Keal Broker Management System, SIG, will now have access to even more capabilities after Vertafore announced its new integration with the automated insurance marketing platform Pathway.
The partnership will allow brokers to have two-way data synchronization with Pathway and perform marketing tasks, including automating renewal letters, providing e-delivery of insurance documents and running fully automated marketing campaigns. Pathway will in turn give users key analytics about which policyholders actually opened marketing emails and clicked on embedded links.
“One of the things that we’ve tried to do in Canada is to allow our brokers to have lots of options,” said Bill Redford, vice president of product development for Keal. “We wanted to make sure that not only do we have tight integrations with third party solutions like Pathway, but also that we were able to give the flexibility that some brokers want. One of the things that we’ve found over the years is anytime we partner with just one solution and we say, ‘here it is, here’s how you’re going to be using this solution,’ the very next question we get is, ‘now what about if someone used this partner?’ and so really giving options is one of the things that we want to do.”
The company is also looking at other pain points facing brokers, one of which is that insurance professionals are becoming more interested in all of the ways they can reach their customers.
“What we’re trying to work on now is to give a full digital solution. We have what we’re referring to as our digital strategy that we’re moving forward with to allow our brokers to touch their clients in every way on the digital front. Brokers will be able to attract clients through our quoting, service them through our Keal CAP (Consumer Access Point) and also pass information and market to them using things such as Pathway,” explained Redford. “What we’re working with internally is being able to give all of these connectivity capabilities, so that brokers can move forward and be able to offer this to their clients and grow their business.”
Having all the information brokers need in one place is crucial within this strategy by ensuring that any key data passing through the BMS is stored in the core system, which means brokers can take comfort in knowing that they won’t lose information should they use a different partner.
Redford is seeing brokers that are jumping in with both feet into the digital stratosphere, while others are moving forward more tentatively as they look to adopt more digital solutions.
“Other brokers are starting a whole new division of business and really trying to market and move forward on that digital front,” said Redford, though he added that not everything has to happen on the internet. He highlighted a recent integration that allows clients to pay their insurance company electronically, while looking for other solutions that allow them to know what’s happening with their claim, submit a First Notice of Loss online, or request a policy change – all of which helps brokers to compete with directs and other financial services.
“The focus is to be able to allow your end client, the insured, to be able to access information 24/7 using the method that they want and at the time that they want, but also to be able to make sure that we’re giving them real-time information.”
