In Focus: What features do brokers want to see on software platforms?

WE ASKED: ’What features do brokers want to see on software platforms?’ 

Maria Crockart, digital trading and automation director, Aviva  

“We continue to focus and innovate in our broker Fast Trade and etrade channels, which have been recognised in Insurance Times’ etrading survey - this year’s report awarded Fast Trade five stars for the third time in a row.

”We constantly review and refine our offering, no matter where brokers choose to trade, providing breadth of cover and product range, as well as good usability for trading ease.  

“We’re investing in specific areas to help our brokers - from digital innovations in risk management, to our work with data and artificial intelligence to help provide more insight for brokers to tackle underinsurance.

”Brokers have said they want to be able to place business faster online and they want greater risk management support - because of the increased demand on them to give more risk advice going forward, they want systems which support customer retention and development.  

“Software houses are a key part of our business going forward - they help brokers to achieve regulatory compliance and demonstrate the reasons for their marketplace decisions. We know brokers want to do more online and insurers like Aviva should do everything they can to support them.” 

Mark Noble, IT director, Romero Insurance Brokers

”Technology and software, in recent years, have become critical to the day-to-day operations of an insurance broker. The solutions that software platforms deliver are also packaged with new challenges and new risks.

”Romero Insurance Brokers’ systems are currently undergoing a huge overhaul. We are transitioning to using Applied Epic - a multi-functional background solution which will make processing information much more fluid for our brokers, account handlers and executives. It will help to streamline existing workflows - a feature which is highly sought after by insurance brokers.

”Applied Epic also provides three key benefits that I believe all insurance brokers desire. The first being security - all our systems need to be extra secure as they have to deal with hundreds of penetrative attempts a day.

”The second is flexibility. The system needs to work alongside other software and platforms, for example Microsoft, as well as with platform application programming interfaces (APIs), for us to build our own enhancements.

”The last is reliability, as the system needs to be available at all times. In a changing industry, any platform must be able to easily adapt and change.”

Dave Chapman, chief revenue officer, Applied Systems Europe

“In essence, brokers want technology modernisation. Outside of their work, brokers use advanced, connected technology with simple user experiences every day.

”Their smartphone connects to the cloud, storing an infinite amount of data. It connects to their laptop, syncing all of their information in real time. It integrates with thousands of applications to pay bills, communicate with friends, manage their finances and more. With all of this technology for their personal lives, brokers expect the same innovation for their business.

“Applied understands this expectation and is transforming its product portfolio to create more simplicity, access to data and easier integrations, with the help of its partnership with Google.

“So, in terms of simplicity, brokers want an easier way to learn their technology, so Applied has sped up the frequency of releases with smaller amounts of updates, enabling brokers to realise value more quickly.

”Brokers also want an easier way to access and understand their data. Applied gives brokers a choice in their data warehousing, making it easier to access and control their data.

“Furthermore, brokers want to choose their tech stack for what will be best for their unique business. Applied has worked with Google to create open APIs that make integrating with third party solutions easier and safer.”

Sean Neal, commercial director and chief commercial officer, SchemeServe

”Brokers need software that makes their lives easier and helps them to grow, where everything for their insurance business is on one simple platform. This includes:

• Automated rating, to underwrite with speed and accuracy.
• Automated policy administration.
• Client management.
• Reporting.
• Accounting.
• Security.
• Custom design and integrations.
• Developer APIs.
• Obsessive support from ‘Wunderwriters’ - the only support service exclusively from ex-underwriters. Around 86% of support requests are responded to by wunderwriters - these are often resolved the same day.

“The chosen software must give the broker control over its own data, access to build its own products in low code in a matter of days and access to powerful management information and reporting – but not tying brokers into lengthy contracts.”