An EpicTale

What should you expect from an automated broker management system touted as different from all the rest and built on a completely new technology platform? It might take some thinking to get beyond the familiar “save-time, be-more-profitable” messages that broker management system vendors famously proclaim.

Brokers and carriers are being prepared to receive a technology that is intended to surpass conventional industry expectations, largely because brokers and agents practically custom-ordered it. Introduced in the United States in November 2008, Applied Systems Epic is scheduled to enter the Canada marketplace later this year. What’s new and different about Applied Systems Epic, and what will it mean for CRMs, brokerage owners and IT personnel?

The Epic system is designed to scale both technically and functionally. Simply stated, its benefit is this: as your insurance business grows, Epic grows with you. As a result, you’re looking at less total cost of ownership for your broker management system.

Businesses owners tell us they need solutions that contribute to measurable levels of success. For information technology solutions to contribute, they must scale technically (how many users can I have on this system, and can the database handle my business’s unique needs?) and functionally (does the system support the business functions I need to support my business as I expand?).

EPIC TECHNOLOGY

Although the Canada insurance marketplace has seen SQL server-based systems, they have so far been implemented as traditional client-server based applications. In other words, as updates and new versions are released, someone in the brokerage needs to touch not only the server but also each client workstation for installation. This process has associated costs: someone has to be paid to load the update or new release; in addition, a cost is attached to the lost opportunity of not being able to access productivity-saving or revenue-generating sooner.

Epic is also SQL server-based, but its totally different approach lies in its Internet application. Brokers running Epic can keep their systems current without the added expense associated with installing updates and new versions on each machine. Epic’s zero-touch updates mean that once the system administrator has made an update or new release available, that same update or new release will be pushed to users automatically, without someone having to go physically to each workstation. No more weekend or after-hours software upgrade projects.

Using this procedure, brokers quickly get the updates and new releases they need to optimize workflows and business processes. All of this is done without sacrificing features or capabilities, a major problem with browser-based solutions.

At its core, Epic is a series of system services layered on top of one another to form the system architecture. This modularity allows Applied Systems to update or make adjustments to individual system services in a more isolated fashion, lending greater flexibility to our customers because we can deliver enhancements immediately.

“Administrating the system is almost non-existent because updates are done for me and done based on the need,” says Rhonda Smith, personal lines producer for Epic beta agency North Wyoming Insurance in Buffalo, Wyoming. “If the user doesn’t access a portion of the system, that user doesn’t need that update. It’s easy because Epic pushes out the update, and I don’t have to go to each workstation and manually do that update. It’s so much easier.”

USER INTERFACE

Within any industry, one main complaint about automation is the necessity to resize screens to see complete information, or having to scroll to view the full picture. For a brokerage, screen resizing is more than just a nuisance: it deters productivity. Employees who process and service insurance transactions need the ability to enter data and research information quickly without resizing screens or scrolling. By paying attention to screen layout, the amount and type of fields on the screen and giving users the ability to choose what fields appear on key screens, Epic is designed to be more intuitive and easier to navigate than other systems.

FEATURES DELIVER NEW EFFICIENCIES

During Epic’s four-year development period, Applied Systems listened to agents and brokers who told us what they wanted and needed in a management system on a day-to-day basis. We developed the system architecture to support those features and capabilities, attempting to provide for the needs of all brokerages, no matter what their size or level of business complexity.

Epic’s features are designed to help brokers service accounts most efficiently. For example, a new application called ‘Distribution Manager’ allows brokers to communicate with clients, prospects and business associates in the way they prefer, by fax, email or mailed letter. In addition, Epic can do the following:

• Locate accounts quickly when searching by contact, phone, policy number or under the category ‘doing business as,’ among other data fields, even when the account’s name is hyphenated;

• Access complete information. With two clicks, brokers can see all of the attachments related to a policy or activity (for a claim, certificate, invoice, etc.). Brokers can do the same across related items. For example, from a claim, they can see all activities or attachments related to just that claim. From a policy, they can see all certificates or transactions related to just that policy.

• Search all notes on an activity. No matter how many notes exist, you can quickly find a specific note entry based on a date, name or specific topic.

• Correlate general ledger and client transactions. Brokers can quickly search for the client’s cheque number to see if it was deposited, exactly where the cheque was applied and more.

• Change invoice recipients. Brokers can accommodate an exceptional occurrence when an invoice needs to go to someone different, by simply choosing the right name from a list of contacts on the account.

• Effective date confirmation. Confirm what coverages were in effect for an insured based on a given date, even when endorsements come in out of sequence. Epic allows brokers to see exactly what coverages were in effect as of the date they enter.

A software developer toolkit (SDK) allows brokerages with other applications to integrate data with Epic. The SDK further reduces re-keying — another productivity boost — without compromising data security or integrity.

CANADA MARKETPLACE

As the launch of Epic in Canada approaches, Applied Systems is following CSIO standards promoting multi-carrier interface for Canadian brokers. Also, it is important to be mindful of language- based regulations as screens and output are provided for brokers doing business in French.

U. S. agents using Epic report the system is, indeed, working as a solution. Gnade Insurance Group in Frankfort, Illinois, was the first Epic beta agency to go live, in July 2008. Says Bryan Gnade, agency principal and manager: “It looks the way a system should look with today’s technology. We feel this is the management system of the future.”

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Brokers running Epic can keep their systems current without the added expense associated with installing updates and new versions on each machine.