Premiums generated from renewals make up the bulk of agencies’ annual revenue. Not only do renewals ensure growth and profitability for agencies, but agents themselves count on renewals for their commission livelihood. Unfortunately, many agencies are still hamstrung by an archaic manual renewal process that can result in commission errors. These errors can compromise earnings for both the agency and the producer, and risk the team’s morale, placing an unnecessary strain on the entire business.
One of the primary challenges faced by insurance agents is the need for extensive cross-referencing to verify policy details before policies can be renewed.
In many instances, agents are forced to manually generate a new policy in their AMS to verify policy information. The problem is that once they generate a renewal policy it will appear as a duplicate renewal in the AMS if the agent doesn't properly close off the previous policy, often leaving multiple policies open against a single account. This can leave the agency open to discrepancies that can cause a world of pain with mistakes leading to agencies paying commissions based on outdated or inaccurate information, which impacts both the agent and the agency's bottom line.
What’s more, agents often juggle numerous renewals simultaneously, each with its own issues and deadlines. This can quickly lead to a very high-pressure work environment where even small delays can result in unreasonably tight deadlines and frustrated agents and clients alike.
[Related Topic: An Integrated AMS and CRM System Facilitates Easy Insurance Renewals]
A crucial aspect of the policy renewal process is ensuring that coverage limits and other policy details are updated accurately. Failure to update this information before renewal can result in agencies having outdated policies in their AMS and the end insured being under-insured. This scenario poses a significant risk, especially if commissions are calculated based on inconsistent premium values.
Another common scenario that adds complexity to the renewal process is policies initiated midway through a calendar year. As these policies approach their renewal date, agencies may face challenges managing duplicate renewal policies both at the end of the year and at the 12-month mark. This dual management scenario can lead to commission payments for both policies, resulting in agencies overpaying agents.
Beyond the financial implications, the challenges in accurate renewal and commission payment processes can have far-reaching effects on company culture and agent morale. The unnoticed renewal errors or delayed acknowledgement of commission errors create an atmosphere of uncertainty and dissatisfaction among agents. This, in turn, lowers morale, ultimately affecting agent performance and diminishing overall agency revenue. The interconnected nature of these implications underscores the importance of addressing manual challenges in the policy renewal process for the long-term success of insurance agencies.
[Related Topic: Take the Pain Out of Commission Calculations]
Synatic addresses the manual challenges of policy renewal by automating the policy verification process. Download MatchX by Synatic transends traditional methods by accessing carrier websites, retrieving policy downloads into the agency’s AMS and seamlessly conducts policy verification. Synatic ensures accuracy by tracking and incorporating endorsements and changes, allowing for real-time updates in the agency’s AMS. This automation saves producers valuable time and resources enabling them to focus on revenue-generating tasks.
Download MatchX not only enhances time efficiency, but also serves as a robust solution for reducing the risk of discrepancies in coverage limits, premium values, and other critical policy details.
Synatic's comprehensive approach to data consolidation between carrier and agency systems instils confidence in the policy verification process, increasing the accuracy and reliability of policy data in the agency’s AMS. Accurate and trustworthy policy information improves renewal success rates, putting more money into producers' pockets each month
If you want to learn how you can streamline policy renewal process and ensure that your producers are earning more commission for every successful renewal, Contact Synatic today.
