ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, June 28, 2018— The Agents Council for Technology has launched a new Customer Experience Planning Website. This interactive online resource is designed to help agents understand the customer experience lifecycle and leverage technology to achieve the ease of doing business consumers expect.
The site explains the six phases of the consumer buying experience— discover, evaluate, purchase, experience, renew and refer—and breaks down the technology touchpoints agents should focus on during each phase. Tools such as a responsive agency website, online reviews, eSignature, online chat and mobile account management all have a role to play as consumers move from being aware they need insurance all the way through their in-policy experience. The site provides clear descriptions for each phase and touchpoint, along with resources for agents to use to get started improving their agency's customer experience.
“Based on your core customer needs, your agency may not want or need to implement every recommendation," says Ron Berg, ACT executive director. “However, ACT's Customer Experience Planning Website will help your agency identify the top one or two things you can do to set your agency's ease of doing business apart in this rapidly-accelerating digital age."
ACT thanks the Customer Experience Work Group—made up of more than 50 volunteers from carrier, vendor, agent and broker, user group, and association members—for its work on the site.
Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I") was founded in 1896 and is the nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life and health—as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products.
The Agents Council for Technology (ACT) was established in January 1999 by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I") to provide a candid, action-oriented forum to address the critical workflow and technology issues facing the independent agency system. ACT helps participants understand the perspectives of the other stakeholders in the process and provides excellent networking opportunities with the participants who are shaping the future for the industry on these issues.
ACT members include:
Industry associations and consultants: ACORD, CSIO, IIABA, Insurance Brokers Association of Canada, Angela Adams Consulting Services, Steve Anderson Consulting, WSIA
Technology providers: Applied Systems/IVANS, AssureSign, BrokerLift, Citrix Sharefile, CoreLogic Insurance Solutions, CyberClearSafe, Duck Creek Technologies, EZLynx, HawkSoft, InsureZone, ITC, Insurance Agent Mobile Application, Neilson Marketing Services, North American Software Associates, Simply Easier Payments/EchoSage, Strategic Insurance Software, Vertafore/QQ Solutions, Xanatek, XDimensional Technologies
User groups: Applied Client Network, the HawkSoft Users Group, NetVU, the Nexsure User Group, Partner XE User Community
Carriers: Allstate IA, The Berkley Companies, Central Insurance Companies, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, The Cincinnati Insurance Companies, CNA, Columbia Insurance Group, Dryden Mutual Insurance Company, EMC Insurance Companies, Grange Insurance, The Hanover Insurance Group, The Hartford, Hartford Steam Boiler, Liberty Mutual Insurance, The Main Street America Group, Merchants Insurance Group, MetLife Auto & Home, Motorists Insurance Group, Nationwide Insurance, New York Central Mutual Insurance, Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, Penn National Insurance, Progressive, Safeco Insurance, Selective Insurance Company of America, State Auto, Travelers, Utica National Insurance Group and Westfield Insurance
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