Applied Systems Q&A: Bosses on UK Applied Epic roll-out and brokers embracing digital

Applied Systems has been working to introduce its Applied Epic, its cloud-based agency management system, into the UK market. Savan Shah speaks to managing director of broker solutions Joe Sultana and vice president of international operations Jeff Purdy on the business momentum in the UK, and the advantages to brokers of embracing digital.

Jeff Purdy - What is the business momentum of Applied Systems?

We have had a global effort to bring Applied Epic to the UK and are in the midst of the roll out with A-Plan. We have had folks in every one of our offices engaged in the effort, with allocation of resources in Brighton, Belfast, Toronto, Ontario, Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta and essentially every development centre in the company. It has been the number one strategic priority for the company, which clearly demonstrates our commitment to this market.

A-Plan has circa 90-100 locations and 1000 employees. The roll-out is going very well and from a customer perspective, they are providing positive feedback. A-Plan is a traditional personal lines broker with traditional bricks and mortar, so they would be a high-street, old-school broker. We are excited to have them as our partner, displaying we are able to support large-scale personal lines brokers almost regardless of their distribution model.

BHIB, another customer migrating to Applied Epic, are a different profile. BHIB focuses on a combination of SME commercial lines and complex commercial lines. From our perspective, this shows to the market that our systems support high street personal lines with A-Plan and SME/complex commercial with BHIB.

The next broker we have signed operates in the personal lines’ arena, circa 200-225 employees connected to all the aggregators. Clearly in the market place there are several large brokers of scale that are personal lines only on the aggregators and we also want to work with more medium sized brokers of 50-125 employees. For both of those organisations they would be a little more mainstream composite brokers that do a little bit of everything including schemes. We have been strategic with the brokers we have brought on board to demonstrate that our solution addresses the entire market, versus a segment of the market.

Joe Sultana - how are things developing from a UK perspective?

It is great to see that Applied’s investment in the portfolio of solutions is being endorsed by brokers when they select Applied and select to be connected – with their staff, insurers, and customers. We have seen through our UK customers that they all need a connected experience, regardless of whether it is commercial lines, personal lines, complex commercial or scheme. All those customers are looking to connect in some way.

We think digital broker software is really going to change the landscape. It is going to give brokers what they need to stay relevant and provide the services their customers/staff expect. It is testament to our vision that when they are looking at their next investment in technology, each one has selected a digital package which includes mobile and insurer connectivity. Brokers know in order to stay relevant, they need digital broker software for their customers and for their employees.

In relation to Applied Epic, the interest has been fantastic! We are 1700 users and climbing, and we will be close to having 2000 users contracted and signed by early 2019. We are investing in the right technology that customers are telling us they want and listening to what other industries are doing to drive greater technology advancement for our customers.

As a broker, it is difficult to digitally transform on your own. They are very good at what they do, but they are not technology specialists. It is our job to make sure we put the right technology in their hands so they can put the right technology in the hands of their customers.

Jeff Purdy - How are you addressing the challenges in the UK broker market?

A current challenge in any market is that there is a lot of technology available for brokers. In addition, the adoption of technology can be challenging to brokers. They don’t necessarily want to put the effort in understanding how digital technologies can support their strategic plan, making digital transformation challenging for them.

Our job is to represent broker distribution and the value of the broker. We enable brokers to operate digitally and support any channel they want to engage in. The benefit of brokers is always choice and advice, the more we can empower them to spend time on providing choice and advice, their value proposition gets reinforced and they become more competitive.

Joe Sultana - In August, Stanhope Cooper stated that they had experienced significant growth in operational efficiency and a single customer view since implementing Applied digital products. What has been the feedback from other clients in the UK since implementation?

Stanhope is a great example of many brokers that have made the decision to make another technology investment and have chosen Applied. They see the value in the connected experience and the digital package offers them and their customers.

Change is hard. We do as much hand holding as we can with the broker as they go through the implementation of new software and also teach them how to implement it to their employees and customers, especially with mobile technology.

We see the Stanhope Cooper story with most of our new customers. Brokers make an initial investment decision and get the broker management system in place and ready so they can support that single view. Once that’s done, then they move on to enable the digital products that sit around the management system. The single view is necessary so that their customers can see everything they have through the self service or mobile app.

Jeff Purdy - When you surveyed 1300 independent agencies and brokerages across the US, Canada, UK and Ireland you found the use of eSignatures in the UK has increased by 260% year of year. What other findings stood out to you?

What stood out globally was productivity of brokers on the digital broker solution vs not on the digital broker solution was significantly higher and that translated to financial results. So, from a profitability standpoint of digital brokers, the revenue per employee was 156% higher than non-digital brokers. This is a proof point for brokers, implementing digital technology enabled more efficiencies within their office and provided self-service to their customers, and the net effect of that is increased profitability.

Joe Sultana - Fraud is a major concern amongst brokers and insurers in the UK, what aspects of Applied Systems software that can help address this concern and spot fraudulent behaviour?

To start, having a single database helps to run analytics, making tracking a lot easier. Going further, we have already started discussions with fraud specialists within the industry that are out in the market, whether that is tracking for online behaviour or offline tracking of what is in their database.

At Applied, we always look at whether it is something we do ourselves or whether we partner with organisations through the partner program. We will continue to work with our brokers and insurers in the industry on what’s the best for them to ensure maximum security and compliance.

Jeff Purdy - What would you like to see from the UK insurance industry in 2019?

I would go back to the core value proposition of the broker which is to provide choice and advice effectively. In order to compete with other brokers and new market entrants, brokers need to have a digital strategy that aligns with their strategic plan and then adopt the technology. I recently shared with brokers that technology will not be the reason that broker distribution isn’t successful. There are tools in the marketplace today with Applied that will enable our customers to compete with any channel. Technology won’t be the issue. Adoption of technology might be the issue for certain segments of the broker community that aren’t ready, willing and able to adapt to the new market. Adoption of technology that will reinforce their ability to provide choice and advice.

---

 

The Insurance Times Etrading report is out now to order:

• Discover how over 740 brokers view each stage of etrading on the leading insurer platforms and software houses in UKGI.
• Gain valuable insight into product demand, barriers and support brokers desire to trade more policies.
• Discover how brokers rate their chosen route of trading in areas such as security, navigation, products, referrals and more!
• Learn what brokers really need from insurers and software houses to compete in an evolving industry.
• Determine your strategic plan by learning from brokers feedback in 10 key etrading subject areas.

Register your interest here - https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/EtradeInfo

or alternatively contact Jack Thomson on 0207-618-3433 or at jack.thomson@insurancetimes.co.uk