Greater demand for connectivity in digital insurance

Insurers and agencies are increasingly adopting digital technology; however, it there is an opportunity for these insurance stakeholders to prioritise and align their digital initiatives, according to a report from IVANS, a provider of cloud-based software that automates the distribution and servicing of insurance products.

This year’s edition of IVANS’ Annual Agency-Insurer Connectivity Report, titled 2019 Digital Technology Adoption Trends in Digital Distribution and Automated Servicing, states that 83 percent of agencies surveyed found the availability of connectivity to be very important when selecting an insurer to do business with.

Likewise, 95 percent of insurers find providing automated connectivity to agency partners very important.

Some 34 percent of agencies surveyed reported using printed appetite guides to identify markets, while 79 percent of insurers still produce printed appetite guides.

The report found that 73 percent of agencies said they prefer quoting a personal lines policy within their management system. Similarly, only 34 percent of agencies reported a preference to quote commercial lines policies via insurer portals.

Some 74 percent of agencies indicated interest in having each of their insurers offer eDocs and messages download, while only 51 percent of insurers are supporting eDocs and messages.

“This year’s Annual Agency-Insurer Connectivity Report shows year-over-year growth in demand from both agencies and insurer for connectivity,” said Thad Bauer, vice president and general manager, IVANS Insurance Solutions. “As the demand for connectivity increases from each stakeholder, it is critical that both agencies and insurers embrace the technology to enable automated distribution and servicing, enabling them to more effectively compete with new market entrants and direct writers.”

More than 1,600 independent agencies, MGAs and insurers across the U.S. and Canada participated in the 5th Annual IVANS Agency-Insurer Connectivity Survey, from which the results of this report were generated.