The following article was written in association with Ivans.
Ivans has long played a pivotal role in the independent agency channel, providing the connectivity that links P&C carriers and agencies across the US. At Applied Net 2025, Kathy Hrach (pictured), senior vice president of product management, explained how Ivans’ technology is evolving to address the growing need for seamless data exchange, automation, and actionable insights – challenges that are top of mind for both agencies and carriers as the industry continues to digitize.
Hrach described Ivans’ core mission as enabling efficient, automated information sharing between carriers and agencies. “We originally started focusing years back on more of the servicing side of the business. When business is written, carriers have information in their system. Agencies had the same need for that information, but they didn’t have the ability to really share that easily. So that’s where Ivans came into play, making it much easier for carriers and agencies to be able to access the same insurance information,” she said. Today, Ivans delivers data directly into management systems like Applied Epic and EZLynx, as well as other agency platforms.
The benefits of this connectivity are felt throughout the insurance value chain. “The efficiency that’s gained from working with Ivans comes in a bunch of different ways,” Hrach said. “The core business – Ivans Download capability – makes it easier for agencies to access information without having to manually type it in. Ultimately, all of that same data that the carrier has, the agency has, which provides a better servicing experience for the end insured because all of that information is consistent regardless of whether they’re talking to the agency or the carrier.”
Beyond servicing, Ivans has expanded into commercial distribution, helping agencies and carriers collaborate more effectively on new business. Hrach pointed to the Ivans’ distribution platform, which was created to address the friction of agencies having to enter data into multiple carrier portals. “Agency systems were trying to connect directly with carriers, and there was all this friction. Ivans built out this distribution platform, an engine of connectivity that helps agency systems, quoting systems, and management systems connect once to Ivans to reach all the different carrier quoting APIs. That provides a better experience for agencies, makes carriers easier to work with, and makes the process of working with an independent agent that much easier.”
Despite the benefits, Hrach acknowledged that connecting a fragmented ecosystem is not without its challenges. “Each carrier has their own system – some use core systems like Guidewire or Duck Creek, others have their own. Ivans has to be able to work with whatever system they have, take the data however it’s formatted, and serve it out to all the other agency systems in their format,” she said. “A lot of what Ivans does is normalize and help to match and map data between all of the different entities.”
This requires deep partnerships with core system providers. “With Guidewire, for example, we have a deep partnership and integration, and have worked together on a unique standard so we can connect into their Guidewire cloud. We did a lot of formatting and research with their teams to make sure their data can map really well to Ivans,” Hrach explained.
Change management is another hurdle. “There’s always change that has to happen, both on the agency side and sometimes the carrier side, when there’s a new system or process – even if it’s faster and more automated. There’s often just change that has to happen somewhere along the way to make it work really well together,” she said.
Ivans’ approach is increasingly consultative, using its industry-wide visibility to provide feedback and drive improvement. “We’re taking more of a consultative approach to providing feedback to carriers to provide a better experience back out to their agencies,” Hrach said. For example, Ivans now issues quality reports to carriers, highlighting which fields agencies want that aren’t currently being sent, and encouraging carriers to build out their data feeds accordingly.
This feedback loop has also shaped product development. Hrach noted that the launch of Ivans Benchmarks, a new insights product, was a direct response to carrier demand for comparative data. “We started to hear, ‘This is awesome, we love this. Now can you start to look at this side of the business as well?’ That’s when we started to identify that as our next opportunity,” she said. Early feedback at Applied Net 2025 was positive, with carriers expressing a strong appetite for benchmarking tools that help them understand how their pricing and performance stack up against the broader market.
Another recent innovation is the unification of Ivans products like Exchange, Bookroll, and Insights into a single platform. “From a user standpoint, it’s a better experience to log in once and access any of the solutions they have. But even more exciting is that having all these products on one platform will allow them to work better together,” Hrach said. For example, carriers using both Bookroll and Ask Kodiak can now see which policies fit their commercial appetite during a book roll, streamlining the process for both carriers and agencies.
Looking ahead, Hrach said the industry’s needs are evolving rapidly. “Carriers and MGAs are always getting pushed to move faster, work faster, and require less steps to do business with them from the agencies. A big area is making the submission process easier for commercial submissions, especially with more manual steps with agencies. How can we streamline all of that?” she said. Automation, data normalization, and deeper integration with third-party data sources are likely to be key areas of focus.
As insurance operations become more complex, the challenge for technology providers will be to ensure that solutions remain accessible and genuinely useful for agencies, carriers, and MGAs. The ongoing evolution of the independent agency channel will depend on technology that can keep pace with changing workflows and support more efficient, collaborative relationships across the insurance ecosystem.
