"Our services allow agents to move easily into P&C, life or health and not have to be an expert to sell the product."
TECHNOLOGY
Financial Keyosk's approach to insurance distribution
gives smaller agents stability, growth
By John Chivvis
"Our services allow agents to move easily into P&C, life or health and not have to be an expert to sell the product."
--John Dawson, President and CEO, Financial Keyosk
Whether it's the sheer traffic of the estimated 166 million people in the U.S. online at any given time, whether it's the dead dot-coms that litter the information superhighway, or whether it's myriad other reasons, insurance agents have been reluctant to embrace the Web as a means to support and grow their business.
However, for some smaller, rural and even new agencies, building their business around Web-based insurance distribution solutions is giving them the boost they need to expand and excel in serving their customers. That's where the non-traditional approach of Financial Keyosk has been a boon.
The Carpentersville, Illinois-based company works from a vision of seeming contradiction. Even though it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Service Group, Financial Keyosk operates from what President and CEO John Dawson calls a "choice model." Financial Keyosk offers products and services ranging from personal and commercial P&C to life and health from carriers such as SAFECO, Kemper, St. Paul, Principal, Fortis, American Medical Security, United Healthcare, as well as Zurich.
Another example of this seeming contradiction is that while large carriers establish volume and markets requirements for their agents, Financial Keyosk's target audience is the smaller, rural, or new agent who may not do the volume required by its parent. "Rural agencies are losing markets as carriers pull back, and new agents can do only so much," says Dawson.
According to Dawson, most large national brokers do not focus on the small commercial customers. And for those that do, they tend to follow a pre-fabricated process to minimize investments of time and resources.
David Thompson, president of Chicago-based eINSURANCE.com, believes the reason is the cost-benefit relationship of customer service. "The big guys are shying away from small accounts, because they can't make any money," says Thompson. "Handling them takes time and money, and for many, the commission just isn't worthwhile."
Thomas Etier, president of Keystone Insurance Agency, says that Financial Keyosk gives him a "little breathing room" when it comes to getting market coverage. The Rockford, Illinois-based agency consists of Etier and his support staff. "Let's face it, I can't go into St. Paul on my own with an application," says Etier. However, by using Financial Keyosk's system, Etier has access not only to an online system for application quoting and fulfillment, but also to his own Financial Keyosk CSR who handles the underwriting.
Web-based services such as Financial Keyosk give agents like Etier the stability of market coverage while also providing the capability to increase their volume. Etier says that by using Financial Keyosk, he's been able to go after larger accounts than he would have without access to their Web-based services. "You have to have the technology in place to do business or else you can't do the volume," he says.
"Technology costs are another reason why new agents can go only so far," says Dawson. "The average agent spends about 2% of his commission on technology, which isn't much." As Financial Keyosk is an application service provider, the initial investment and start-up time is much lower; and should the agent no longer need or want Financial Keyosk's services, getting out is easy. "We're selling a platform; there is no loading of software," Dawson explains.
Rick Williams is director of technology for Financial Keyosk. Their Web-based platform of services utilizes the latest in .NET-based application development, screen scraping, and XML data integration technologies. They are one of the first to apply Microsoft's .NET technology and systemware to insurance industry specific procedures.
Adding to the seeming paradox of Financial Keyosk is its implementation of technology services and support. Their Web-based platform of services utilizes the latest in .NET-based application development, screen scraping, and XML data integration technologies. However, while they are one of the first to apply Microsoft's .NET technology and systemware to insurance industry specific procedures, Dawson notes that the Financial Keyosk technology is still developed around a common denominator--the agent. Simply put, he says, "If we don't make agents' lives easier, then they won't use it."
Dawson is careful to point out that their success in developing useful and usable applications is based on the proper ratio of "high tech" to "high touch." While consumers still rely on the advice of an insurance agent, the communication doesn't always have to be face to face. That is where the services of Financial Keyosk become a valuable tool, not for selling, but as a vehicle for streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency.
A good example is Financial Keyosk's development of what Dawson calls the "stubby app." Dawson says, "One of the things we learned is that people don't want to fill out a full application online." So Financial Keyosk worked to develop an online application that requests only the minimum necessary information to get the process rolling. "The questions are getting fewer and better," says Dawson. "It used to be 50 questions; now it's eight."
The idea of high tech and high touch also applies to the agent's comfort level with technology. Commissions from policies sold through Financial Keyosk distribution channels are also higher when completed entirely online. While Dawson says that paper submissions are being accepted while agents migrate to the electronic forms, eventually the day will come to "burn the boats." However, that will happen only after applications are built that are truly easier to use, notes Dawson.
This kind of development plus the inherent efficiencies afforded by Web-based point-of-sale systems can put a quote back in the agent's hand in hours instead of days. For eINSURANCE.com, Financial Keyosk's ability to provide quick turnaround has boosted commercial sales. "The way to win a commercial account for us has been to be quick in responding, so we have a tendency to use Financial Keyosk more because of the speed and responsiveness," says Thompson.
Larry Paul is Financial Keyosk's chief marketing officer. Among the areas where the services of Financial Keyosk are valuable is communication. While consumers still rely on the advice of an insurance agent, the communication doesn't always have to be face to face. So Financial Keyosk can be used as a vehicle for streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency.
In a sense, Financial Keyosk becomes a "kiosk" or one-stop shop, freeing up agents to focus on that which is their strength. "Our services allow agents to move easily into P&C, life, or health and not have to be an expert to sell the product," says Dawson. In those instances, Financial Keyosk and its Customer Care Center do the follow-up and handle the support.
For some agents, it is important to have partners who handle the insurance distribution side of the equation. "Our goal is to be experts in customer service, and not in underwriting," says Thompson. There is not much time to spend in the back office for Thompson's primarily virtual agency. Licensed in all 50 states, eINSURANCE.com records more than 100,000 visitors a month to its Web site, with approximately 10,000 of those filling out applications.
However, agents like Etier prefer to have some aspects of underwriting closer to home. While Etier is only an e-mail or phone call away from his own Financial Keyosk CSR, he sees the downside to be the removal of the agent from establishing a one-on-one relationship with carrier counterparts, or one step removed from the process. "To be successful, you have to not only sell a policy to a customer but sell it to the carrier as well," says Etier.
Ultimately, the utility of Financial Keyosk as a back-office solution boils down to one question, "Can I afford to expand?" Dawson says that if an agency can be efficient in this area, it can be effective. However, agents must consider the direct and indirect costs of adding a CSR to their staff.
Financial Keyosk's approach is one that provides flexibility. Flexibility has allowed Financial Keyosk to learn from mistakes and build a successful platform that looks to the future. One plan for the near future is to develop a complete "back-room" or "back-office" management system application as part of the Financial Keyosk platform. The application would allow direct access from online interfaces or even sideloads from an agency's own management system.
Flexibility, though, has also been a factor in Financial Keyosk's success during the era of the "dot-bomb." "Eighteen months ago, there were hundreds of options available for agents to sort through," notes Dawson. These included sites that handled only portions of the distribution process, such as gathering applications, or just gave online quotes. Some offered access to more than one carrier; others were carrier-specific. "Now there is only a handful left," Dawson continues, "and while it's not 'winner take all,' it is still a race."
As technologies and processes begin to converge, Financial Keyosk rests secure knowing that independent agents are the key. "Real agents have built long, even lifetime relationships in their community," says Dawson. Solutions such as Financial Keyosk give agents more time to build those relationships, by offering greater efficiency and flexibility as well as more stable markets.
Dawson, a professed history enthusiast, likens the insurance industry and the Internet to the introduction of the first car. "When the first car rolled out and promptly got stuck in the mud, those on horses and in coaches laughed and doubted its usefulness," says Dawson, "and look where we are now."
Noting the displacement of the stagecoach and horse by the car for transportation, Dawson is quick to remind agents of the reality of the Internet and Web-based solutions in insurance buying, processing, and selling and the reluctance on their part to embrace its capabilities. "I tell agents that it's not going to be the Internet that displaces you," says Dawson. "You will have displaced yourself." *
The author
John Chivvis is a Texas-based writer who specializes in topics of technology implementation. His work has appeared in a number of national and regional publications.
For more information:
Web site: www.financialkeyosk.com