DENVER, May 21, 2018 - Vertafore®, the leader in modern insurance technology, announced the most impactful update in recent history to AMS360®, its market-leading agency management system, at its annual user conference, Accelerate, powered by NetVU™.
The enhancements include numerous improvements to core functionality and major new capabilities including automatic document processing and a modern, easy-to-use proposal builder solution. The update has the potential to reduce time spent on key processes by up to 50 percent.
According to a recent study by Independent Agent Magazine, eight in ten agencies use an agency management system to drive efficiency and value for the business. The same study shows Vertafore's AMS360 is the most widely used agency management system in the U.S., relied upon by 17 percent of independent agencies.
"There's a reason why agency management systems are so integral to the insurance business. Operational challenges such as poor content management or reliance on manual processes take time away from building relationships," said Sharmila Ray, senior vice president of product and strategy at Vertafore. "This is why our overarching strategy at Vertafore is to significantly streamline business operations such as document processing, accounting, and building proposals so you can focus on the heart of your business – your customers."
Accounting
New accounting capabilities were developed to serve the need for larger brokers that have more complex needs. Now AMS360 users are able to track the origin of new business and align commissions directly to business type and source. Inter-divisional accounting mechanisms were updated to split invoices and commissions statements across multiple ledgers, saving time spent on manual tracking and coding complex commission structures.
Document Distribution
One of the most time-consuming processes in an agency is written communication with large groups of customers. AMS360 now automates bulk customer communication with the potential to save days of time and effort.
Automated eDocs Processing
With automated eDocs processing, AMS360 online now provides an efficient way to provide the most accurate policy documents throughout the lifecycle. Carrier documents are automatically attached to a client policy, which eliminates time spent manually routing eDocs messages, attachments, and downloads, as well as the need for staff to open email, scan, file, or shred paper documents. Automated eDocs Processing offers the potential for up to a 50 percent reduction in the time it takes to perform administrative tasks, thus providing more time to spend more time managing the business and serving customers.
"AMS360 has transformed every process in our business," said Carl Schlotman, president and CEO at CAI Insurance Agency, Inc. "With this update, we expect to reduce document processing time by 50 percent, which will drive overall cost savings and increased profits. It's really amazing to see."
Proposal Builder
A new direct integration with AMS360 online delivers the capability to create commercial P&C proposals - a feature that is unique in the insurance software industry. AMS360 Proposal Builder automatically combines accurate information from the management system with branded templates to generate client-ready proposal documents. Brand and template libraries standardize content across divisions and lines of business for professional, consistent results. This new capability is a modern, easy-to-use solution that significantly reduces time spent generating commercial P&C proposals while improving production quality.
The direct integration with AMS360 online pulls accurate customer and prospect information directly into the correct fields of the proposal, which saves time spent on data entry and reduces liability risk to data entry errors and omissions. Administrative manager users lock content and standard sections of the document to prevent accidental edits and a record of hard copies are saved in ImageRight for audit history. Brand and template libraries standardize content across divisions and lines of business for true customization and creates polished, professional client-ready documents. It ultimately saves producers at least 50 percent of time normally spent generating each proposal.
"Drafting proposals, including data entry and formatting, can take up a significant part of my day," said Tandra Stacer, client service manager at Haas and Wilkerson Insurance. "With the proposals builder in AMS360, my day is freed up to spend more time doing the activities that brought me to insurance in the first place – talking to and helping people."
Vertafore solutions are relied upon by 96 of the top 100 agencies, 80 of the top 100 carriers, and a community of over 500,000 users. To learn more about AMS360, visit https://www.vertafore.com/products/ams360.
About Vertafore
Vertafore's comprehensive insurance management software solutions allow participants in the insurance distribution channel to adapt to an evolving insurance industry by efficiently scaling their businesses through deeper access to information and insights. The Vertafore platform features fast innovation, partnerships with leading technology companies, and customizable solutions to help companies remain independent during a time of industry disruption. As the leader in modern insurance technology with the largest customer base in the industry, Vertafore connects every point of the distribution channel, from agencies and carriers to MGAs, MGUs, and state governments. For more information about Vertafore, visit www.vertafore.com, read the company's blog, and follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
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