With insurance technology, don't let perfection stifle progress

I met recently with an agency that had just installed a new voice over IP (VOIP) phone system. The system is pretty amazing. In fact, it’s much more than a phone system—it does video conferencing, call transcription and it even handles outbound marketing emails. Unfortunately, the agent told me, they only plan to use some of its features. That’s not because the capabilities aren’t great. The agent just doesn’t need them. They use Zoom for videoconferencing. And they use elements of CRM from their agency management system. And, perhaps most importantly, the new system doesn’t link to the agency’s agency management system.

That’s a shame for the solution. And it’s a pity for the agency, as they don’t experience the full power of the solution they bought. I read somewhere that most small businesses—and insurance agencies are included here—use only about 20% of the capabilities of any software they purchase. That means the software developers continue to work on and perfect solutions that only a small percentage of agents will ever use. That’s not a good use of their time and investment. And the customers end up paying for it too.

I’m a big believer that technology solutions are never done. There’s always an opportunity to make them better, more useful and effective for the user. This means that you’re starting with a technology solution that is less-than-perfect and building on it. The best solutions are useful day one, but also ready to be molded by the users. In the case of technology, perfection can actually hinder innovation. Because in technology, innovation and evolution are synonymous.

The best approach involves innovating from the inside out versus building something and hoping they come. Insurance, in particular, where more investment in new solutions and workflows is critical, I often see a strange chicken and egg thing going on between solution providers and agencies.  

Agents are often afraid to try new things, providing lists of it doesn’t do this or it doesn’t do that as reasons not to change. But in the long run, an all or nothing approach hurts the industry. Setting the bar too high—with unreasonable expectations—not only makes it tough for the technology to perform, but it stifles innovation.

So what if the technology doesn’t yet integrate with the agency management system? Or if all the reporting and analytics are not yet in place? Those things can be built, and they’re even better when they’re developed to the users’ specifications based on actual usage. I have, for example, built many websites. We spend lots of time doing mock-ups and reviewing copy on paper, but then when we see it on screen we realize so much of it does not work. Instead, I’ve become comfortable with the iterative process of building a product where the goal is to fit long-term needs.

At Semsee, we do a lot of thinking about the enhancements we can make to help agents be more productive and effective. We started in commercial insurance, an area that we knew was full of manual processes and agent paperwork. But we didn’t complete our whole solution and then ask for input. We built it in stages to allow for continuous feedback allowing us to add features that we would never have guessed on our own. Today, we continue to focus on improving our solution by talking to agents to learn how they’re using it and what features they need as they grow and change.

Solution velocity is a good name for it. It’s like a platform in motion. At our core, we’re providing a simple—and fast—way to get quotes and coverage information from multiple carriers. It works for agents whether they’re building a commercial book from scratch or focused on cross-selling to existing customers or something in between. But we’re also constantly in dialogue with our agent partners about what works and what doesn’t work, what features they need to make it work and which ones are nice to have. We want a solution that is not just a nice to have but one that will be a fundamental part of how they efficiently grow their books.

Technology does not stand still and it’s never done. What’s important is to have a technology partners who are willing to develop new things and constantly make it better for the agents they serve.