AgencyBloc Blog

Benefits Selling Expo - The Opportunity to Learn

2012-05-18T07:23:00.003-07:00

We had a great time at the Benefits Selling Expo last week!
- Yes, the JW Marriott in San Antonio is really nice,
- Yes, the resort is located on a TPC golf course,
- Yes, the food and entertainment was really good.

But what we enjoyed the most, and our primary reason for being an exhibitor, was to gain the opportunity to speak to our audience directly. Given our agency management system is entirely web-based, and our clients are located all over the country, we primarily only work with clients over the phone.

The Benefits Selling Expo allowed us to have more in-depth conversations, focusing on what our clients truly need from our services. We also found value in hearing various speakers and networking with other industry professionals - you never know what strategic alliances may be out there!

Thanks again to everyone that stopped by and visited with us..... even if it was just to pick up a cool ice cube!!

Commission Processing Finally Made Easy!

2012-04-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

"My job of configuring commissions has been made so much easier. It's been a life-saver and most of all, time-saver!" - Patrick, Don Allred & Associates, Inc.

So many agencies struggle with the manual effort of trying to process commissions. With the advancements in technology, it's surprising how many agencies are still re-keying their carrier statements into their commission system. And often, that "commission system" is a collection of spreadsheets that are used to track, calculate, and pay commissions. AgencyBloc's commissions module was built to solve this problem.

How it works:

Input .XLS or .CSV formatted carrier commission statements into AgencyBloc with a simple import process that is done with the click of a button.
AgencyBloc does the calculations based on how you pay your commissions (% of commission, % of premium, per life, or flat amount).
Accurate commission statements are produced and can be sent to your agents and MGA’s.

AgencyBloc is not affiliated with any of the companies above in anyway. BlueCross BlueShield ®, Aetna®, Delta Dental®, United Healthcare®, Unum®, Humana® and Prudential® are registered trademarks.

It's Your Data, Not Ours.

2012-04-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

With the announcement of Google Drive on Tuesday (April 24, 2012) - a web based product where users can “create, share, collaborate, and keep all of (their) stuff” - many became worried about the privacy of the information that they store while using cloud computing systems and programs. Not long after Drive was announced, people began Tweeting and blogging about Google’s Terms of Service and comparing them to similar cloud-based products such as Dropbox and Microsoft’s SkyDrive. In a Nutshell, Google’s Terms of Service says anything stored in Drive belongs to Google, while Dropbox and SkyDrive say that anything stored in their systems belongs to the user.

Here at AgencyBloc, we take no ownership over any information that our users upload and/or store in our system and we take security of that information very seriously.

How do we compare to Google Drive?
Google Drive Terms of Service: “When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works...”

AgencyBloc Terms of Service: “We claim no intellectual property rights over the material you provide to the Service. Your Content and files uploaded remain yours.”

Data Privacy & Ownership

“The confidentiality and integrity of your data is of the utmost importance to AgencyBloc. In addition to a variety of controls securing your data, we also have an extensive QA process to prevent any type of data loss or integrity issue. We also do not hold your data hostage - you own it and can pull various forms of Excel/CSV exports at any time.”

We understand the security concerns that people have when it comes to personal and/or business-related information. When users send us their “books of business” or other confidential files, we use an encrypted channel - this way no files end up in the wrong hands. When using AgencyBloc to manage your agency, you don’t have to worry about your data being shared or held hostage - it’s your data, not ours.

8th Annual Benefits Selling Expo 2012

2012-04-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to be attending the 8th Annual Benefits Selling Expo in San Antonio, Texas this year to talk about AgencyBloc and connect with others in the industry. We’d love to meet with benefits brokers who are looking for a way to increase efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, control costs, and stay competitive in the health and life insurance industry! Come learn more about AgencyBloc from Adam and Cory in booth 221. Reach out to us via Twitter, LinkedIn, or e-mail if you’d like to get together at some point during the conference.

Current clients - if you are going to be at the Benefits Selling Expo please stop by and say hello, we’d love to catch up!

Hope to see you there!

5 Ways AgencyBloc can adapt to your agency

2012-04-18T07:29:00.001-07:00

Your agency is unique, so we’ve made it easy to customize and personalize AgencyBloc to your unique way of doing business. Regardless of what solution you're using today, we make it easy to transfer your data onto our platform. Once you’re here, there are a number of things you can do to make it home. Here are 5 ways AgencyBloc can be customized to your agency’s way of doing business:

User Permissions

1. User Accounts, Privileges and Teams
We understand that there are many different unique situations surrounding agent/agency relationships and this is why user accounts can be set up exactly how you want them. Security groups can be used to limit or expand the amount of information individual users can see, edit or customize themselves.

One of the first processes agencies go through is determining how team members will leverage AgencyBloc in their day-to-day operations. We’ve discussed various agency roles, but what we want to emphasize here is the ability to setup managers, organize Teams and assign various duties appropriate for each team member. Once teams are set up, these team members can work together on completing tasks that are assigned to them. Activities can be created so that team members know what has been done and what still needs to be done - this way there is no overlap.

2. Data Administration

Customize Data Terms

Your agency probably uses a lot of different classifications/terms that you might not even think are unique. Let’s take “Status” for example, the variation of policy statuses that we have seen is countless - i.e. ‘Active/In-Force’, ‘Cancelled/Replaced’, ‘Pending/Quoting’ - it goes on and on. Just because you’re upgrading technology, you shouldn’t be forced to a limited or different set of terms. AgencyBloc has over 25 fields that are available for customization so that your agency can use its internal language in the system and not the generic “default” terms that other systems require you to use.

3. Custom Fields
Each primary section of AgencyBloc has a dedicated tab called "Custom Fields." Here users can add any field specific to their agency that is not already accounted for in AgencyBloc. Agencies use this customizable feature to track things such as additional lead or contact information, and extra commission information. Just about any unique information that your agency tracks can be accounted for in AgencyBloc. These custom fields are active and reports can be run from the information stored in them. Don’t lose valuable information just because your generic CRM system doesn’t have a place for it.

4. Commission Schedules
We’ve seen just about every possible way that an agency can calculate commissions and we’ve accounted for them all. However your agency pays out commissions, AgencyBloc has the ability to calculate those commissions using percent of premium, percent of commission received, per life, or as a flat amount. You can also specify pay-outs based on carrier, coverage type, or even plan code. If compensation adjustments need to be made, rate schedules offer a convenient way to quickly adjust pay-outs for hundreds of policies. No more guessing or assuming - AgencyBloc makes sure every commission dollar is accounted for.

5. Reports
It’s great to have all your information in an organized system that’s easy to use, but what are you going to do with it once it’s there? Reports are a great way to quickly pull data from the system so that it’s usable for you right away. There are a countless number of custom reports that can be generated using AgencyBloc. A user has the option to run reports on Groups, Individuals, Agents, Policies, Carriers, or Activities. Each of those reports can be filtered in a number of different ways so that you get just the data you are looking for. As for tracking commissions, AgencyBloc has seven different commission specific reports for staying on top of this crucial aspect of the business. With these easy-to-use reporting functions you are just a few clicks away from the exact data that you want/need. Don’t use a CRM system that determines which information is valuable to you and which information is not - be in control of your data.

Agent Contract Report

When selecting an agency management system there are a number of things to consider and we feel that choosing a system that can be customized to fit your agency is a very important consideration. Not only will the transition be much smoother but the users of the system will have a much shorter learning curve and be up and running very quickly.

Find out how AgencyBloc can be customized to benefit your agency today with a Free Trial or a Free Live Demo.

Tracking and Maintaining Strategic Relationships

2012-02-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

One of the most important aspects for any insurance agency or agent is referral business. We see a lot of Health and Life agencies that successfully leverage horizontal alliances, for example, by partnering up with financial advisors. The two organizations will exchange client introductions when appropriate, providing both a value-add to the customer and increasing each others client bases.

Here at AgencyBloc, we often field questions similar to:
- “Can we track prospects through the sales & enrollment process?”
- “Can I track my various lead sources?”
- “Can we see a total listing of all policies sold through a referral relationship?”

Tracking Prospect Activity
One of the many benefits of utilizing an agency management system is the ability to track and retrieve information on all of your agency’s various interactions.

As your team tracks prospects through all the steps of the sales and quoting process, any staff member can quickly see where any individual is located in the pipeline. Providing timely feedback to those who have trusted you with a referral could be critical to maintaining that relationship and getting subsequent referrals.

Tracking Lead Sources
Contacts within AgencyBloc can be associated with any type of Lead Source (customized by the user) as well as a Lead Date, referring agent and even a secondary Lead Source. These same data fields are often then utilized as filters when generating reports.

Total Policies By Referral SourceThe old saying goes, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. Users of AgencyBloc can quickly quantify and compare referral sources by generating a policy report that shows how the customer/policy was acquired. The two screen-shots below show
1- the filter options for creating the policy report and
2- the Excel output containing the aforementioned data

You've worked hard to earn trust in your field and convert leads into sales. With a platform like AgencyBloc, your process can be streamlined and you’ll have the data to help maintain and quantify referral relationships.

There’s a good chance you or your agency has some of these relationships today, are they being tracked as well as they should be?

SCHEDULE A LIVE DEMO!

How To Respond To Negative Reviews Online

2011-12-21T07:14:00.000-08:00

As phonebooks inevitably become obsolete, consumers lean on search engines to find local business information like phone numbers and addresses. Beyond that, consumers use the reviews and ratings on these local listings to make informed decisions. It’s important for local business’ to not only claim these listings, but to control and monitor the content...especially the reviews.

So you’ve got a negative review...now what?

Create a Plan
Creating a plan to respond to reviews is often forgotten about until it’s too late. Your plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be documented. Remember, plans change, so don’t be intimidated into thinking this is set in stone.

Determine who is going to monitor reviews
Ensure responses are going to be written with consistency
Remember the outlet you are responding on
Be clear, be concise, be courteous
Optional – Create a timeline/checklist for responses

Don’t Just Wing It
While a quick response is important, the worst thing you can do is respond off the top of your head. Consistency is key. Consumers may ask the same question ten different times, in ten different ways...so make sure you’re prepared.

Fully understand the issue, prior to responding
Don’t be vague, offer a specific answer or fix
Reassure that future consumers won’t run into the issue

Respond and Fix
You’ve sent a response, now what? Simple, if the issue can be fixed, fix it! Nobody likes negative reviews, but the information obtained can be quite valuable and could potentially make your business better. Oddly enough, a balance of negative reviews and positive reviews can often give greater credibility. Most consumers can sniff out a fake “5-star” review when they see one.

Ignoring the Review Won’t Make it Go Away
The longer you wait, the worse it will get. You don’t always have to agree with the review, heck, you probably never will if it’s negative. Remember, opinions are opinions, and on the Internet...everyone’s got one. The important thing is that you acknowledged the customer, offered a response, and hopefully an acceptable solution.

So where are you seeing most of your reviews come from?

5 Tips for Selecting an Agency Management System

2011-12-06T07:30:00.001-08:00

When you think of the most vital parts of your agency, you may consider the sales force or the owners, or perhaps you think about the clients or support staff, but what about your agency management system? The capabilities of today's systems mean it should be an active part of your office's core operations. It's a tool that has the capacity to improve client service, provide a better understanding of your agency's functions and ultimately, allow you to earn more money. If you choose the right one, your management system can transform the way you do everything from generate reports to track carriers to paying commissions.

There's really never a "good time" to switch management systems, but sooner is better than later. You may face resistance from your sales team or IT employees because it's always challenging to learn a new software, not to mention the time and effort it used to take to uninstall the old one, install the new one, back up your data and even just get a person on the phone when you need assistance. With today's cloud computing web-based technology, however, it doesn't have to be such a chore. Consider the following factors to help you determine the best addition to your agency's team.

Web-based vs. Client-based Software
Your agency management system research shouldn't focus solely on subscription fees because it's no longer an accurate comparison. With conventional, premises-based software solutions, the initial software fees are only a small portion of the total cost of ownership. You also have to consider the resources spent on implementing, customizing, managing and understanding this type of software. Don't forget about the time and money associated with support and training, either. Gartner Inc. performed a study that found up to 80 percent of the cost of deploying and maintaining on-premise applications is not due to licensing, but to additional costs related to hardware and software administration.

The alternative to this cumbersome option is to use a 100% web-based technology, or software-as-a-solution (SaaS) based in the cloud. With this solution, you can access your system anywhere you have Internet access without worrying about installing and managing your own security servers. This gives you more time to focus on your job, your clients and your agency as a whole.

Understand your Training Needs
Although SaaS (software-as-a-solution) agency management systems are more intuitive and easier to use than previous options, there is still a certain amount of training and instruction required to transition your team from one to another. Before you install a new system, gain an understanding of the required training needs. This will help you determine how much time you need to adequately prepare your team for the switch. Additionally, be prepared to provide additional, on-going training with your team to ensure that everyone is harnessing the power of your new agency management system. It can't be part of your core operations if you think of it as something people will just "figure out." Use your system to its fullest potential to avoid wasted time and money.

When you're searching for a new system, consider investing in one that is as specific as possible to your needs. Using a solution specifically created for your specialty will make the training process even easier. Bulky, module-based agency management systems are like massive templates that require you to install additional pieces to make it fit with your goals and needs. Round hole, square peg, anyone? It's important to work with a system that is as streamlined as possible to avoid confusion and distraction associated with unnecessary components. Make sure you choose a tool that will solve problems, not create them.

Cost and Contracts
We've talked about the hidden cost of purchasing and installing a CRM but you obviously need to consider "Actual Cost" along with required vendor contracts. First make sure you do not over purchase. Typically there will be a base plan with add-ons that have additional costs for additional features/modules. Make sure the shoe fits! Also, ask about all pricing options and any volume discounts; you can't be concerned only with the purchase or subscription fees, ask about supplemental fees. Is there a setup fee? How about fees for training? Yes, even ask about fees for support. Lastly, ask how long you will be tied into the contract - can you get out after a month, a year, or three years? Make sure with multiple year contracts you are getting exactly what you want.

Selection Process
The actual selection process is the third factor to consider, not the first. Before you begin to identify the features you need, remember that you can eliminate many providers who are not in line with your financial and training needs as outlined above. Now's the time to start reviewing the most important features that will meet your needs. It's likely that you haven't changed or upgraded your agency management system in several years so remember that are many new features and benefits you haven't considered. Take this opportunity to include your sales team and support staff. If these people will use the technology every day, it's important to consider their wants and needs as well. Make a practical list of "must-haves" that will help you eliminate the systems that don't meet your core needs. Then, create a wish list that shows your secondary needs and things that would be great, but aren't ultimately necessary for your day-to-day operations. This wish list is very important because it will help you break any ties between potential providers.

After all that work of comparing more than up-front costs, considering training needs and then actually looking at the features of each system, you are finally ready to make your selection.

Managing Change
You've made your choice, so the process is over, right? Wrong. You must manage the change process until your team feels comfortable with the new technology. Give everyone adequate and ongoing training so they are able to include the agency management system in their daily work, reiterating its importance and value. Understand the human element involved in this change and lead your team to success by showing everyone how this can help calculate commissions, track policies and generate effective reports. Work with other supporting staff members to show them how this system will ultimately make their work more efficient and effective. If you've involved key users in the selection process, you'll have even more support when it comes time to make the big switch.

Congratulations! You've decided on a new agency management system. You've done your research, identified new solutions, considered your team, reviewed wants and needs and guided your agency through the entire process.

Disaster Preparedness

2011-12-01T11:38:00.001-08:00

We know you’re busy. If you’re not handling a customer inquiry, you might be working on a new enrollment, or trying to answer an agent commission question, or following up with one of your carriers - the list goes on and on.

We would urge you however, to take a quick moment and ask yourself - does my health and life insurance agency have a disaster recovery plan in place? In a conversation with NU Online, David Paulison, former executive director of FEMA said “Small businesses that don’t have a plan in place generally don’t survive after a disaster, whether it’s a flood or a tornado. We see that anywhere from 40-60 percent of those that are hit like that simply don’t come back to business.” He then added, “The truth is that it’s not that difficult to put a plan together to survive any type of catastrophic event—a disaster or something like H1N1.”

When you hear the term “Disaster Recovery”, you may immediately think of a large event like Hurricane Katrina, but you may be surprised that natural disasters are not the leading cause of data loss.

Take a look at the following results from a study by Strategic Research Corporation showing the leading causes of business continuity incidents:

Hardware Failures (servers, switches, disk drives, etc) - 44%
Human Error (mistakes in configurations, wrong commands issued, etc) 32%
Software Errors (operating systems, driver incompatibility, etc)14%
Viruses and Security Breach (unprotected systems are always at risk) 7%
Natural Disasters 3%

Agencies that use AgencyBloc entrust us with their most important asset - their book-of-business. This responsibility is not something we take lightly - all data is backed-up (in the cloud) to multiple hard drives in multiple locations constantly. When you leverage our SaaS platform, we ensure all the hardware and other components that run the software continue to function properly. If one of our agencies were to have to leave their offices, they could still service their clients from an internet connection to access customer contact information, policy information, benefit summaries, etc.

Regardless of your agency management system, every agency needs to have a comprehensive plan in place to ensure preparedness for any major event. Don’t let the thoughts and tasks be overwhelming; it all starts with education, and thankfully organizations such as the Small Business Administration and FEMA have free and helpful resources:

SBA - http://www.preparemybusiness.org/
FEMA - http://www.ready.gov/

You’ve undoubtedly worked hard to build your insurance agency - don’t lose it to a fire, power outage, earthquake or other disaster. If you’re not prepared, a disaster could put you and your staff at risk, possibly shutting down your agency forever.

Evaluating Software - Experience Is Everything

2011-11-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Our sales team is trained to demonstrate the capabilities of our platform and assist people with the overall decision making process. I periodically work in this capacity with prospects and wanted to share the following story about a prospect, we’ll call him “Joe”.

Joe is the owner of a mid-sized agency who tasked two other employees to assist him with evaluating various agency management systems. During our first phone call, I quickly noted that Joe took great pride in the vast amount of research he compiled. I answered a couple of his questions, setup his free-trial account and sent him on his way. Via email exchanges, I sensed they were already committed because they were fully using it internally, but when I spoke with him during the final week of his free trial, I could tell something was bothering him, so I asked. What it boiled down to is this: Joe built a feature matrix and our platform had “less check-marks than a competitor”. He was struggling to come to terms with how AgencyBloc could still be on the top of their overall value assessment.

The number of features is not what makes software better or worse. We think great software should bring maximum value with minimal learning curve or effort required by the user. Experience is everything. Joe and his team quickly adapted and integrated AgencyBloc because the experience was easy-flowing and comfortable, not cumbersome and frustrating. As we consider improvements to AgencyBloc, we’re careful to not sacrifice ease of use for features that simply won’t be used.

Marketing people love feature matrices and I think there is a tendency to create any type of category possible that may have a corresponding check. Choosing software based on feature-set alone typically results in hard-to-use software that isn’t adopted by your users. If there is a moral to this story, I’d say it’s this - when evaluating software, take it for a test drive. If your experience shows that you can quickly grasp the concepts and the majority of your needs are being met, run with it.

Email and iCal(endar) Integration

2011-10-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

Our team is very excited to announce that AgencyBloc now supports Email (BlocMail) and Calendar integration. Knowing that our agencies leverage different technologies, we set out to make these features platform independent - meaning, whether you’re using Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, etc., you can benefit from this enhancement. A quick overview of each component is listed below:

BlocMail Overview
Think of AgencyBloc as another member of your agency’s team - every user has a unique BlocMail address for their use. As you communicate with clients, prospects, agents, etc., any email correspondence you want referenced or tracked within your account, simply include your BlocMail address (‘to’, ‘cc’ or ‘bcc’).

The screenshot below shows an email being forwarded into AgencyBloc.

Calendar Overview
As long as your program or client supports iCal, the activities and follow-ups from AgencyBloc will update your office calendar. The example displayed below is Outlook.

If you’re a current customer, click this link to find more information on the above features as well as the specifics of your account. The feedback from our beta-testers and initial users has been very positive, but we’d like to hear from you too!

On the Front-Lines of User Security

2011-07-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

AgencyBloc Security Group Administration

User security is about determining the appropriate access levels to information within your AgencyBloc account. There are four primary functions a user can perform: view, add, edit and/or delete. User access can be unlimited or much more granular based on entire sections of the system, or certain data fields, or books of business.

With thousands of potential combinations, AgencyBloc has the flexibility to meet your specific requirements, but most of the implementations we see consist of the following roles.

Ownership role: This user is differentiated from the others primarily because they have the ability to add and set the security rights for everyone else and they have 100% access to the data within the account. Owners determine how many users can access the system and therefore they determine the monthly costs.

Commission Role: If your agency has a Plus Plan utilizing commissions, users have to be specifically granted access to this module, otherwise by default this section will not be displayed when the user is logged in.

Support Role: Typically these users have access to all sections of AgencyBloc with the exception of commissions and they cannot modify any security settings. Often times these users make content modifications to enhance overall usability of the system for the agency. Larger agencies may want to restrict support staff to viewing only a selected set of agent’s book of business.

Agent Role: Many times agents are set up with the same security as support staff. Most agencies restrict agents to accessing just their own book of business and limiting their ability to print out data. With some other logical restrictions included, AgencyBloc offers an Agent-Only plan that covers this later contingency and at a significantly reduced price.

We can set up tailored security groups for your agency; this also includes setting up hierarchical structures and agent portals. Just let us know how you want to protect your data and we’ll show you the rest!

Usability Enhancement: Importing Commissions

2011-07-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

If you’ve ever visited with your AgencyBloc account rep, you already know we pride ourselves on making sure our agency management system is easy to use. The primary method we use to gauge the systems’ simplicity is through the use of customer feedback... or more simply put..... you talk and we listen.

One of the more recent and re-occurring comments we’ve heard has been around the commission import process. The majority of our health and life insurance agencies import their carrier commission statements for streamlining commission runs. When the carrier data gets imported, AgencyBloc attempts to match all the policies the carrier is listing to the policies within your AgencyBloc account. Based on feedback across our community, we’ve improved the reconciliation screen to:
1.) More clearly display any policies that need to be addressed or resolved by the user.
2.) Provide a more detailed reason on why any specific policy has an issue to address - simply by hovering over the icon.

Please let anyone on our team know if you have any questions about this enhancement and as always, please provide us with any/all feedback - who knows, we may work on your enhancement next!!

Grab your carrier commission statements and RUN!

2011-05-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest points of pain for agencies is related to the manual effort required to process commissions. It's surprising, given the advancements in technology, that many agencies we speak with are RE-KEYING their carrier statements into their commission system. And often, that "commission system" is a collection of spreadsheets that are used to track, calculate, and pay commissions.

AgencyBloc was built to solve this problem - from the start. Many carriers are capable of providing an electronic commission statement, so why not take advantage of this? We do. To accomplish this, we build custom “maps” for every carrier file our clients receive. Once our clients receive their files, they simply do the following:

1. Import the carrier file (AgencyBloc automatically finds the policies and calculates the payouts)
2. Review any exceptions and resolve them (new policies, etc)
3. Generate an AgencyBloc commission statement (PDF or Excel)

That’s it. No re-keying, file manipulation, or manual calculations. You can even run a report of policies with missing commission! Many carriers don’t publicize the availability of these files, so you may need to ask them or encourage them to start. Say goodbye to tedious administrative tasks - and spend your time doing something meaningful (or sitting on the beach).

AgencyBloc: Fundamentals of Processing Commission

2011-02-23T13:02:00.001-08:00

Step 1: Setup Policies

The first step is to setup your clients and their policies. This can be done either via our import process or manually. AgencyBloc fully supports both individual and group business.
Note: This is the minimum amount of information necessary to process commissions. Typically, agencies will track additional information for customer service and cross-sell opportunities.

Step 2: Setup Rate Schedules

We encourage agencies to utilize rate schedules that can then be referenced by multiple policies. Rate schedules can be configured with multiple rates - using percent of premium, percent of commission received, per life, or as a flat amount. They can also specify pay-outs based on carrier, coverage type, or even plan code. If compensation adjustments need to be made, rate schedules offer a convenient way to quickly adjust pay-outs for hundreds of policies.
Note: Rate schedules can be simple or complex depending on your needs. Our service team can provide you with assistance to establish the right structure for your needs.

Step 3: Tie payees to Policies

Policies can have an unlimited number of agents assigned for commissions. Typical scenarios include paying a referral fee, trainer fee, manager over-ride, or agency over-ride. Each of these agents can be paid differently. Typically, a rate schedule will be utilized for each payee; however, if a unique payout is required, a manual amount can be specified.

Step 4: Import Carrier Files

Our commissions module was built to save time and improve accuracy. With these two goals in mind, the most appreciated aspect of our system hinges on Carrier Imports. If your agency is receiving electronic commission statements, we can build import maps for directly importing that information into AgencyBloc. When these files are uploaded, AgencyBloc will match the information to the policies you have setup and automatically calculate commissions. This import process significantly reduces the amount of time spent manually inputting data.

Note: Once your account has been configured, the import and payment calculation will take only seconds. Our clients have carrier imports containing tens of thousands of records; it takes less than 2 minutes to process these files.

In the event some carriers aren't providing you with electronic commission statements, AgencyBloc supports a "Standard Import" that can still assist in streamlining commissions processing.

Step 5. Calculate/Reconcile Commissions

Reconciliation is a simple process. When commissions get imported you'll see which policies were linked to the carrier’s statement, each payment that was calculated and any policies that didn't match. AgencyBloc displays any exceptions that require further investigation as well as a quick snapshot of total premiums, total commissions payable and net commissions.

Step 6. Generate Commission Statements

Once all your carrier commissions are reconciled for the payment period, you're ready to generate commission statements. Statements can be run in spreadsheet or PDF format. You can run statements monthly, bi-weekly or daily if you choose. Statements can be organized by sub-agency in order to facilitate paying multiple companies under your agency.

Commission Reports

While not a step in processing commissions, reporting is a critical tool in analyzing your business profitability. AgencyBloc has many reports to support your reporting and analysis needs. All reports are available in a flexible spreadsheet format in case you wish to perform additional analysis.

Start a FREE TRIAL now!

Sales Cycle Integration

2011-02-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

AgencyBloc is central to your sales-cycle process and, if needed, provides you with the ability to import carrier payments and calculate agent commissions. Let’s see how AgencyBloc integrates with the typical sales process.

Prospecting

Every agency has its own ideas on the best ways to prospect for business. It's easy to import data from third-parties and AgencyBloc can track lead sources & programs to help you determine your ROI. You can also enter the information yourself - i.e. name, email, phone number and mailing address, lead source/program.

AgencyBloc’s lead tracking system allows you to define the lead date, general lead source, the person/agent providing the lead, if any, a secondary lead source, and a project code. Reports can be generated off of these tracking fields.

AgencyBloc also allows you to mine your client database to find cross-selling opportunities. For example, where did you add health insurance but not life or DI. The possibilities are limitless.

Selling

With the prospects identified, AgencyBloc helps manage your selling process by setting up calendar reminders for customer contacts you want to make. These reminders are available for display on the dashboard.

Details around the event can include: the subject matter, type of activity, method of completing the activity, current status, due date, and who is responsible for the activity. You can assign the task to someone else or share it with others on your team. If you're managing other agents or account managers, you can be a member of their team so you can easily see what each person is doing.

All of your activities are displayed on your AgencyBloc dashboard. You can choose to show only today’s tasks, those for the next 7, 14, or 30 days or all of them.

Activity tracking is one of the most power tools at your disposal. It is the elephant that never forgets. In addition to customer interactions it can be used as a reminder to follow-up with your insurance carrier about your quote request, underwriting status of an application, or any other action you expect your carrier to complete.

All activities are logged so you can review what happened when and by whom. Activities can never be deleted so you have a permanent record of all actions you or your staff have taken. As the months and years pass, you'll be happy to have this instant recall function.

Enrolling

Now it’s sold; what next? AgencyBloc is used to keep important policy information at your disposal—no need to hunt through your paper files.

Accounts and contacts can have multiple policies and coverages. A policy on AgencyBloc is product and carrier specific. You can have multiple policies, one for each product you sold to your client. For example, you may have sold health and dental coverage to a company (account) or to an individual (contact). For each policy you'll specify the coverage type, carrier, policy code, agent information along with the effective and renewal dates. You can also attach/upload any files related to this policy.

For each policy you can add more detail with the Agency Bloc’s “coverage” tab. For instance if you sold dual option heath plan to a company, you can create and track each coverage type. Or, if you sold an individual health policy with a supplement accidental rider, you may want to create two separate coverage types.

Stepping back a moment, each coverage type will typically have a plan code associated with it that has been specified by the carrier. AgencyBloc provides you with the ability to associate the plan code to PDF's provided by the carrier, such as the benefit summary or a plan grid.

You can build a library of documents associated with the plan code. The relevance for you is that any time you sell that plan to anyone you will have a one click access to those documents from the coverage segment within the account or contact. The simplicity here is that while you are talking with your client you can have immediate access to all relevant carrier information.

AgencyBloc allows you to track policies at the contact level within an account. This means you can cross-sell any group contact whether it is the owner of the company or an employee. This is a great tool for layering financial services and voluntary products.

Servicing/Renewing/Cross-Selling

Now it is time preserve and protect your client relationship. For many clients there will be active dialogue on topics such as adding/deleting employees or answering benefit or claim payment questions. Activity tracking again comes into play as does AgencyBloc’s notes and attachments feature.

Suppose there is a claim issue; you can track it from the initial conversation with your client, appending actions you take with the carrier, the carrier’s response and so on until that service issue resolved. Now you have a complete track record for future reference should you need it.

Another use for activity tracking is to set renewal reminders or quarterly contact reminders. You’ll never again forget when it is time to make sure your renewals are ready or that you have not contacted your client for the last year! Set it and forget it. Your follow-up will show on your dashboard when the time is right.

This is another opportunity to go paperless. You can browse and store attachments related to this client. These attachment can be PDF's, Excel documents, Word documents or even a PowerPoint presentation you made. You can use a notes field to describe the attachment. You can also use the notes field for general content you want to remember about your client.

As previously mentioned you can mine your client data base to find new opportunities. Which groups have health insurance but no dental coverage, dental coverage but no life insurance, life insurance but no STD/LTD etc.

Do you send birthday cards? Whether you use an outside card vendor or send your own personalized cards, AgencyBloc’s reports will export contact information by birth month into an excel document for ease of use.

Paying Commission

Are you paying commissions to other agents? If so AgencyBloc has a very versatile, integrated, commission module. We have some MGA and IMO/FMO clients using our agency management software primarily for this commission component.

For any of your customers—groups, employees of a group, individuals or seniors—we can process commissions on multiple products from multiple carriers and pay it out to multiple agents or downstream agencies and their agents.

We can pay as a percent of premium, percent of commission, per head, or a flat amount.

We set up carrier import maps at no added cost to reduce your time.

Our commission reconciliation process is simple to use.

Commission statements are available in PDF form or can be exported to Excel.

Our reporting function has virtually limitless ways for you to slice and dice your data.

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Agency management systems “In The Cloud”

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Cloud computing, 100% web-based technology, or SaaS (software-as-a-service) are all terms referring to your ability to run a computer application over the Internet, without having to buy, install or manage your own servers. Thus, your time is focused on expanding customer-facing business opportunities, not IT issues or bottlenecks.

Advantages over the conventional software delivery approach

Low IT IQ. Applications, operating systems, servers and network switches are out of sight and mind, resting in the hands of your service vendor. No need to hire someone to install and manage the system. No need to tie up your office space with extra hardware.
Rapid deployment. Since there is no software to install, personnel can get started using the system immediately.
No capital outlay. Because subscription fees are paid monthly, there is no upfront purchasing of software licenses. Nor is there a need to purchase back-up software or hardware to protect against loss of data.
Easy access—any time, any place. Your system is “always on” all you need is an Internet browser to access it. This makes supporting remote users and locations or mobile sales or services teams easy because you have access any time, day or night, anywhere around the globe 24x7.
Access to comprehensive security, back-up and disaster recovery. Many companies are simply unable to provide the level of security, availability and back-up provided by the service vendor. No more worrying about power surges, water damage or fires.
No updates or upgrades to install. Users are always on the current version because updates, upgrades and enhancements are made available automatically. You will not need to spend your evenings or weekends bringing down your system and crossing fingers that the upgrade did not fail.
No software support fees. Support is included with the subscription fee.
Any operating system. Use Mac, Windows, or Linux - it does not matter.
No commitment. If the solution or the service provider no longer meets your needs, you can cancel the service and switch to a different solution.
Vested vendor interests. Because there is no commitment, not only must service vendor keep an open ear to customer feedback, they must keep their system applicable to the market or they will not have a customer base for the long term.
Lower total cost of ownership. When comparing the costs of cloud computing and a conventional, premises-based software solution, people often fall into the trap of simply comparing the subscription fees of the former against the software license fees of the latter. The software fees are only a small portion of the total cost to implement, customize, secure, manage and support traditional software. A study by Gartner Inc., which looked at the total cost of ownership of enterprise applications, found that 80 percent of the cost of deploying and maintaining on-premise applications is not due to licensing, but to additional costs related to hardware and administration of the software.

You're in Control.

Best of all, cloud computing lets you focus on your business rather than on your software. You spend your time implementing growth strategies while leaving your cloud service vendor to focus on scalability, security, uptime, application maintenance and upgrades.

AgencyBloc is in the cloud; an agency management system solution designed specifically for health and life agencies from a one-person, retail agency to a full-blown wholesale shop and anywhere in between. AgencyBloc also includes an integrated commission module.

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