How to Choose the Right Policy Management Software

It is easy to find yourself drowning in the sea of choices when looking for a new policy management software. The market is packed with vendors that claim to be the best software provider. Even though each software comes with its own list of pros, it is essential that you find which one is the best fit for your agency.

Must-Have Features of Policy Management Software

When considering an insurance policy management software, make sure it has the following features and capabilities:

Interoperability

The insurance policy management software must be compatible with the other systems and applications used in your business. Such integration allows you to save money and time. With a compatible policy management system, all the teams and departments can update the tool with real-time data that can be accessed by everybody in the company. Seamless integration with other third-party apps will also deter employees from having to go back and forth between various systems and applications. This, in turn, will improve employee satisfaction and productivity.

Even though different policy management software systems have distinct UIs and learning curves, they must be able to integrate effortlessly with the systems that are currently being used. For instance, they must be able to integrate with your email program, calendar, communication software, document creating system, social media, and accounting software.

Reporting and Analytics

Managing the policy administration process is simply a part of the whole equation. As an insurer, you have to be proactive and make the most out of all the business opportunities. For this, having advanced reporting and data analytics capabilities is a must.

Reporting and analytics features in insurance policy management software allow you to personalize customer interactions, reduce fraud, and automate recommendations. You can leverage these tools for making better decisions, identifying opportunities for saving costs and driving efficiencies. It also enables you to enable policy self-servicing for your customers. The system seamlessly connects to different data points within the agency and uses the data to offer meaningful insights.

Chat Option

Internal communication is necessary for building trust, improving engagement and performance. It allows different departments to connect individuals from within the agency and foster a spirit of teamwork. Hence, the insurance policy management software must be equipped with email integration, SMS feature, live chat option, and in-built voice communication tool.

With the help of chat and communication options, your employees can conveniently communicate with each other in real-time. If you have the staff working from different locations, then instant communication and collaboration become necessary. Here, live chat emerges as a powerful weapon to facilitate and streamline internal communication. It eliminates long emails and waiting times for responses.

Security

Insurance agencies deal with a lot of confidential data on a daily basis. Since they are customer-centric, to maintain trust in customers they must keep the customer information safe. Theft of corporate and client information can have serious repercussions. They can lead to productivity losses, a drop in sales, and a fall in customer and investor trust.

In order to prevent such cyber-attacks and data theft, insurers must safeguard the business data by deploying an insurance policy management system that offers end-to-end security. The solution must be equipped with security features and capabilities like multi-factor authentication, single sign-on or SSO functionalities, SSL encryption, biometric control access, vulnerability scanners, virus detection, and a unified password management tool.

For protection against malware, these systems must offer network-level security features like foolproof firewall, intrusion detection tools, and malware protection.

How to Select an Insurance Policy Management Software?

There is no dearth of amazing, end-to-end insurance policy management systems in the market. Considering that all policy management systems market themselves as comprehensive, offering a wealth of features, choosing the right one can be confusing.

The time and money investment that you will make in the software is huge. As there are several solutions available, you must have a proper plan when selecting a system. Here are the factors you must consider when choosing an insurance policy management software that aligns with your needs:

Value for Money: Rather than opting for the cheapest policy management system available in the market, make sure to choose one that offers the best value. If you have a tight budget, then go for a solution that can be customized according to your business needs, and is flexible and scalable enough to adapt to ever-changing requirements. Since such solutions can be used for a long time without you having to make any changes or additions, they offer more value for money. When determining the cost, make sure to factor in licensing fees, additional hardware, data migration, testing, training, and support.

• Customer Support: Customer service or after-sales support is extremely crucial for new policy management software users. Data integration, adding functionalities, customizing dashboards, advanced reporting tools, and the likes of these can be tricky to master in a couple of days or even a week. As such, the vendor must offer post-sales customer support. It should not be an afterthought or an expensive add-on. You will benefit the most from your investment only when you have timely access to customer support that can resolve your queries and technical issues and advise on best practices.
• Ease of Use: One of the most crucial factors to consider when choosing a policy management software is the solution's learning curve and ease of use. You can allow your end-users to review and try out a demo of the software and provide feedback. Go for a good user-friendly design and an intuitive interface. Ensure that the interface makes it easy for the employees to input and use all the information stored there. Moreover, do not overlook the learning curve while selecting the system.

When chosen wisely, insurance policy management software will bring about streamlined and more accurate workflows within your agency. It will help you automate complex, time-consuming tasks and will shortly pay for itself. Hence, carefully consider various aspects of the policy management system before choosing one.