AMS CRM

AMS vs CRMWhat you need to know

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Table of ContentsYou may be more familiar with the term CRM system (Customer Relationship Management), than an AMS (Agency Management System), and both can benefit agencies. There are distinct differences between the two that you should be aware of when considering technology for your agency and this eBook will outline in detail those differences to help you determine which best suits your needs.

Chapter 1.............................................................................. 4What is an AMS? What is a CRM system?

Chapter 2 ............................................................................. 6What are the differences?

Chapter 3 ........................................................................... 10Why you should choose an AMS over a CRM system

Chapter 4 ........................................................................... 16Finding the right AMS for you

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1Chapter

The DefintionsIt’s easy to get the two types of software confused, but there are distinict differences betwen what an AMS can do and what a CRM system can do. However, before we start talking about the differences between the two management systems, let’s look at the definitions of what exactly an AMS and a CRM system is:

CRM System What it stands for: Customer Relationship Managment*

Definition: A term that refers to practices, strategies, and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, with the goal of improving business relationships with customers, assisting in customer retention and driving sales growth.

Example: Act

* Note: The software industry and general public have adopted this broad definition to generally describe a type of software that focuses on customer relationships and communications. In the rest of this eBook we will be using the term CRM as describing software with that functionality.

AMS What it stands for: Agency Management System

Definition: A SaaS (Software as a Service) technology or client-based software that insurance agencies use to organize their book-of-business and more effectively run their operations.

Example: AgencyBloc

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The DifferencesEven with the definitions it’s hard to tell what the difference is. Here are the main differences between the two systems:

CRM System Difference: A CRM system is a generic management system that can help businesses organize their contacts. One big CRM system is Salesforce. It’s also one of the most expensive platforms since they are one of the largest.

AMS Difference: An AMS is a CRM. It does everything your generic CRM does, and then some. You can also buy-into an AMS that is tailored. Some of the tailored options are geared towards the specificities of Life & Health, Property & Casualty, a combination of all four (Life, Health, Property, and Casualty), or they can be more insurance generic and allow you additional customization.

In addition, there are three major ways that an AMS generally suits an insurance agency better than a CRM system:

1. Specificity: It’s built for your agency. Yes, you can customize a CRM system, but the customization can take a long time to get it to where you want it, and there’s no guarantee that it’ll be exactly what you need since it’s not industry-specific. You may need to compromise with the customizations available and change your business process in order to match your CRM. An AMS is built for you so you won’t have to struggle to make it work for you.

Tip: During your buying process be sure to asking if there are any fees for customization if it is necessary

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2. Totality: An AMS will track more than just communications with prospects and clients. It can track other parts of your business like your agents, your policies, and your commission payments. These are essential for insurance agents and agencies to track. CRM systems can do this, but you have to purchase additional integrations or have to use 2-3 more software solutions. With an AMS, you can have all of your information in one centralized location so you’re not constantly looking through various software platforms for the information you need.

Tip: If you use a platform like Employee Navigator or NextGen Leads, ask if your AMS salesperson if their system can support an integration with that platform.

3. Productivity: Agencies that have adopted an insurance- specific AMS report feeling 44% more productive than they did before they adopted it. This is because you have all of your data and information in one centralized location where you can easily and quickly access it all. In addition, having your information in an automated AMS can help reduce human errors by up to 88%. These errors include typos and information entered incorrectly into your accounts, commissions, and reports.

Tip: Clean your data before entering it into the new AMS to catch any errors and avoid adding outdated contracts, policies, and clients.

An AMS is a great way to organize and automate your agency, but it is extremely important to understand that not all AMS software is built alike. You’ll have to take a look at each individually to decide which one has the features you need for your agency.

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* Varies on provider, check with your software to see if that feature is available

Here’s a list of features that might be important for your book-of-business and where they would be offered:

Feature CRM AMS

Track Agents

Track Clients

Data Backup

Email Campaigns

Email Marketing Automation

Track Carriers

Track Policies

Track Prospects

Project Commissions

Process & Track Commissions

Industry-Specific Analytics

Industry-Specific Reporting

Lead Management

Third-Party Integrations

CRM Data & File Storage

Cloud-Based Access

Tiered Pricing

HIPAA Compliant

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Why You Should Choose an AMSRegardless of the system you choose, you need to make sure it can track policies, handle commissions, and is client-centric.

A generic CRM system can do some of this, but it can be difficult and trying since you’d have to have multiple integrations and platforms to fit these needs. An industry-specific AMS will likely have these capabilities built directly into the system so that you can easily access the information in one centralized area.

Policy TrackingKeeping track of all of your policies is crucial for the longevity and success of your agency. Are you struggling keeping all of your policies straight and staying up-to-date on them all? A generic CRM system will likely not be able to track your policies without an integration from another software or platform.

This is one example of how an AMS can serve an insurance agent better. AgencyBloc can track all of your policies sold to both individuals or a groups, where the policy is in the application process, and when it’s up for renewal.

It’s easier to stay on top of your policies with automated triggers that will send reminder emails to both your agents and clients so they know the renewal date is approaching. In addition, you can also connect your policies with individuals and groups, set up automated tasks connected to those policy like reminders for important dates, and always be aware of the policy/product makeup of your agency.

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You will also be able to view detailed graphs showing the various statuses of your policies, the different coverage types your policies cover, and from which carriers the polices belong. This helps you maintain more control over your policies, which kind of policies you’re profiting from, and the types you don’t sell all that often.

Commissions ProcessingYou want to grow, and to do so your agency needs to stay profitable. A generic CRM system can help you by giving you an audit trail and detailed month-to-month records of your various accounts and policies, but you can’t truly see where you are just with these records.

An AMS like AgencyBloc can give you not only detailed records of your various accounts and policies, but it can also track your commissions. You’ll be able to see what commission payments are

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coming in from the carriers vs. what you expected them to be, see where they are going, and how much of the split is going to each agent. This way you can better monitor the money flowing in and out of your agency and ensure that the flow is correct.

You will also be able to view detailed graphs to give you insight into the health of your agency.

In-house Agents

SubAgencies

Sub Agents

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You can see where you are being the most profitable and where you’re losing money whether it be marketing automation, lead generation, certain carriers, or particular policies. Having these capabilities is essential for your agency whether you want to grow or sell because you’ll know exactly where your agency is and where you could improve.

Client-CentricIt’s all about the customer. You want to serve them to the best of your abilities, provide them with whatever information they need, and keep them happy so they remain loyal. In order to stay loyal they need to know without a doubt that you as their agent are protecting their best interests. Your clients need to know that they can trust you and lean on you in the worst of times. They are buying the protection and peace of mind of the coverage as much as they are buying your relationship. 52% of insurance customers describe themselves are “relationship buyers” and heavily take into consider how you interact with them and how you make them feel when it comes time to purchase.

How are your clients feeling about you? This is something you should seriously consider. If you think there’s room for improvement, take steps now towards making your customer service better. After all, it can cost up to 10 times more to acquire a new client than it does to keep one.

How can you become more client-centric and communication-focused? One way is by keeping your clients up-to-date on their policies and what’s next. This is where an AMS can help.

You can use the system to be proactive in a variety of ways and see what changes are coming for which clients of yours. You need to remember that insurance is rarely top-of-mind for your clients, and they need your help to make sure they hit certain deadlines.

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Here are some ways you can do just that with an AMS:

When Open Enrollment approaches and new carriers join the Healthcare Marketplace and others leave, you’ll be able to see which of your clients are under which carriers. You can then organize them by those who will be affected by the changes in the Marketplace and contact them sooner to have a game plan in store for when the changes hit.

You can organize your clients by birthdates and see which of your clients are nearing 65. Then you can reach out to those clients and let them know of the coming changes that happen once you reach 65.

Set-up email reminders for your clients that let them know of certain dates they need to be aware of. One example of this would be policy renewal dates. Again, this likely isn’t top- of-mind for your clients, so sending them a simple reminder or calling them to let them know of the deadline will help make it top-of-mind.

All of these will help to show your clients that you are dedicated to their well-being and that you’ll be there for them through all of the coming changes. This type of commitment goes a long way to impressing your clients and can seriously build your client retention. 81% of clients leave due to lack of communication, so these tactics to maintain contact and conversation with yourclients are crucial for client retention and referrals.

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Finding the Right AMS for YouIt’s important to remember that all AMS software is not built the same. So when you decide to buy into a new AMS, you’ll need to shop around to find the one that fits your agency best. Some are geared more towards health and life (like AgencyBloc), some are made for P&C, some do a combo of all four, and some are insurance generic.

But before you even start your journey, you need to identify what it is that you want to accomplish. Where are you going, what’s the end goal, and what’s your vision? These are the things you need to identify and decide upon before you can start researching. You need to know where you want to go so you invest in a system that will help you get there. If you’re not sure you’re covering all of your bases, use this checklist to make sure you’re getting everything you need.

Are you ready?If you’re ready to take that step and start your journey for a new agency management system, check out this eBook, The 5 Steps to Choosing an Agency Management System. It will help you identify your goals, your needs, make a decision based on your budget, and gain agent and employee buy-in.

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Want to learn more about the ebook before you download it? Here’s a short video giving you a quick overview of all that you’ll learn from reading.

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