Blending Digital Solutions with Traditional Processes

It has been a long and winding road, but we are finally seeing digital disruption in the life insurance industry, allowing price and process to converge. The value of personal relationships, both those financial professionals have with their clients and with distributors like a brokerage general agency, are key to determining the specific insurance needs of clients and navigating through the many available products to find the best solutions. A digital-first strategy is essential for financial professionals to take advantage of this disruption, but unlike some industries being transformed by technology, our industry will never be digital-only. At our organization, Crump, a leading national life insurance brokerage general agency, we want things to be simple.

Let’s take a closer look at the convergence of price and process. If you ask financial professionals their thoughts on instant decision life insurance products, the first two words they utter will probably be “expensive” and “transactional.” Traditionally, these were accurate thoughts. Not long ago, the only way to put a life policy in force in days or minutes was by paying a steep premium, and you were often limited to term and final expense options.

Today we are seeing a growing number of products that offer an accelerated decision process, many are even instant decisions. If you were to compare prices, these products are often in the top five options at the best rate classes. These products are offered by the same top-rated and popular carriers financial professionals have worked with for decades--no need to sacrifice ratings or brands to get the best process and price. More great news, it isn’t just term anymore! For example, one well-known carrier recently put all its life products onto their instant decision platform. You can now get an instant decision on universal, indexed universal, survivorship universal, or variable universal life insurance. things to consider: Not everyone will end up with an instant or accelerated decision, but the percentages who do qualify are increasing. Most importantly, to achieve the most efficient outcome, financial professionals and their clients must use the carrier’s preferred digital process. If the correct path is not used, a potential instant or accelerated decision becomes a 45+ day process. Use the correct tools!

Financial professionals must understand why and how to use the platform to see the benefit

 

As a distributor providing access to digital solutions, the platform must be able to provide value to the financial professional. Carriers are making decisions about how to develop their preferred digital process, which could be one of several vendors or in-house solutions. As a distributor, it is vital to have a platform that integrates with a carrier’s preferred end-to-end process, or all that you have is a glorified paper application.

At our organization, we want things to be simple. We have created a centralized front end that allows all financial professionals to start in the same place, regardless of product. We then integrate with the carrier or vendor that has that preferred digital path. This allows financial professionals to go to one location and take advantage of all digital processes.

Working in an agile environment, the job is never done. You must constantly ask yourself, “What will the next iteration be? Where else can we add value?” Some answers include the convenience of a mobile app, pre-sale tools that communicate with our wholesalers, and a common back-end experience.

Digital transformation has to be a key initiative in the organization from the top down, and I am lucky to be part of a company that has made digital a part of our culture. Financial professionals must understand why and how to use the platform to see the benefit. We have invested in a dedicated digital adoption manager who works with each business unit to understand the benefits of going digital and identify where the platform can help their business. This includes providing detailed reports and meeting with leaders to identify opportunities.

It is an exciting time to be in the life insurance business!