| Vertafore

Company snapshot

Sarasota, Florida-based FCCI Insurance Group began as a workers’ compensation self-insurance fund in 1959. Over the years, the company has grown in geography and depth. Today, with five regional offices writing business in 17 contiguous states, FCCI has become an established leader in commercial property, casualty, and workers' comp.

FCCI Insurance Group centralizes information electronically and creates a better experience for employees and partners using ReferenceConnect AI.

"I told them it was well worth spending the money. And that’s proven to be true.”

– Jan Kendall
Manager of Product Management, FCCI Insurance Group

Growing pains

FCCI Insurance Group is a success story in and of itself. This Sarasota, Florida-based carrier originated as a workers’ compensation self-insurance fund back in 1959. Through key acquisitions and organic growth, FCCI has become a regional commercial carrier, writing $525 million in premiums by offering a full range of insurance options that protect businesses, property, and people.

FCCI used to keep paper copies of reference materials, rates, rules, and employment forms in filing cabinets and binders for many years.

“Employees had a huge binder of information on their desks. We distributed updates manually—many of them never made it into the binder,” explained Jan Kendall, manager of product management. “This wasn’t a huge issue when we were primarily workers’ comp, but as we grew as a commercial carrier, we knew we needed a more efficient system.”

Kendall was familiar with Vertafore’s ReferenceConnect AI solution from her previous company, which was eventually acquired by FCCI. So, she had already compared the solution against the competition.

“When my original company was looking for an online reference library, I networked with other companies to see what they were using and did thorough due diligence on each,”

When her company was acquired by FCCI, ReferenceConnect AI was already up and running. Kendall encouraged FCCI management to implement the solution company-wide. “I told them it was well worth spending the money. And that’s proven to be true.”

Centralizing Information

Vertafore solutions

ReferenceConnect AI®
Web Publishing Tool

Proven results

Provided “one-stop shopping” for all carrier information to employees and agency partners
Enabled customizations for deviations from bureau guidelines
Increased efficiency when updating company information
Moved one full-time employee to a more strategic role due to efficiency gains

The ReferenceConnect AI Web Publishing tool is the only insurance-specific solution that enables carriers to easily publish, manage, and share content in one convenient location.

Web Publishing replaces tedious spreadsheet updates

With ReferenceConnect AI in place, FCCI needed to find a more efficient means of publishing.

“Using our old methodology, we handled publishing through numerous long Excel spreadsheets. If something changed or we needed new content, our subject matter expert would fill out a form and submit it to a full-time publishing administrator who would locate the appropriate cell in the spreadsheet and make the change,” Kendall said. “It was inefficient with a lot of opportunities for error.”

So, when her Vertafore representative asked FCCI to beta test Web Publishing, Kendall was up for the challenge.

“I have an IT background, so I’m interested in companies that try to stay current, and Web Publishing is a good example of how Vertafore is keeping up with technology,” she said. “My first thought when they asked us to beta test Web Publishing was ‘kudos.’ I was happy to be the first one. I wanted to have a voice and provide input into the enhancement.”

According to Kendall, the application is a “far cry above” the laborious spreadsheet method of publishing.

“Web Publishing segregates what you’re doing, enabling you to go right where you need to make the appropriate change, instead of going cell by cell. It mirrors the industry layout and, because of its ease of use and its quicker, cleaner functionality, we can share publishing tasks among our subject matter experts.”
– Jan Kendall

Now, instead of filling out long forms for re-entry, the subject matter experts can handle the publishing themselves, with another expert in the specialty area, like Marine, Auto, Farm or General Liability, providing quality assurance.

“Vertafore represents a variety of publishers, so you can locate a lot on a topic,” Kendall said. “If our people spend too much time researching—going from place to place to find what they need—we lose efficiency and speed to market. And for us, it’s all about gaining efficiency.”

Kendall also appreciates the fact that she can utilize ReferenceConnect AI Web Publishing to make the solution even more valuable.

“We can mold ReferenceConnect AI to make it our own, adding in our specific company information to create a ‘one-stop shopping’ resource for everything. For example, we can add FCCI’s deviations from the standard main street industry guidelines.”

Not only can FCCI employees pull up this information and compare what the company is offering to bureau guidelines, but any agency with ReferenceConnect AI can pull up this information as well and see FCCI’s unique rules, forms, and requirements.

Happier employees, happier partners

With ReferenceConnect AI Web Publishing, FCCI employees and agency partners can quickly look up the most up-to-date FCCI materials, rates, rules, and forms. The Web Publishing tool also allows employees to spend less time on tedious tasks and more time on work that matters. Having information readily accessible to employees and partners creates a better experience and makes FCCI easier to do business with — making them a carrier of choice.

Ready to see what ReferenceConnect AI Web Publishing can do for your company?

Get in touch

Company snapshot

U.S. Risk, LLC is a specialty lines underwriting manager and wholesale broker headquartered in Dallas, Texas. With 16 domestic and international branches, U.S. Risk offers a broad range of products and services to their agency constituents. As a growing enterprise MGA, U.S. Risk is focused on helping their agency partners grow and rely heavily on technology to do so.

We have great products in AIM and ImageRight, but we also have an entire community on our side to support our success.

- Carole Hardy,
Director of Business Applications, U.S. Risk, LLC

Streamlining Processes

Vertafore solutions

Orange Partners

ePayPolicy

Proven Results

Distributed reporting capability throughout the organization to free up time for the operations team and increase reporting accuracy
Streamlined processes and improved consistency across branches and new acquisitions
Automated payment process with agency partners

For a growing MGA with a steady focus on acquisitions

Director of Business Applications Carole Hardy has been with U.S. Risk for nearly 30 years. Hardy is an expert in MGA administration and helped implement AIM and ImageRight for the organization in 2009.

For Hardy, life before AIM and ImageRight feels like a world away. U.S. Risk was routing physical paperwork, manually entering data for reports, and struggling to keep their heads above water.

I don’t know why an MGA wouldn’t have these systems in place. You simply can’t use a management system built for retail if you’re an MGA."

- Carole Hardy

AIM is at the core of U.S. Risk’s technology strategy – centralizing underwriting, accounting, and claim operations. ImageRight, Vertafore PolicyIssuance (VPI), and Orange Partner ePayPolicy all seamlessly integrate with AIM to standardize workflows, simply policy issuance, and digitize payments respectively.

Fast service makes for happy agents

The MGA suite of products creates efficiencies to help U.S. Risk service agents with accuracy. “Simply put, AIM has streamlined everything we do,” Hardy says. She points to VPI’s integration with AIM as a key driver of productivity in the organization. Issuing policies used to involve a series of multiple steps and clicks. AIM’s VPI library reduces policy issuance to a single click. Hardy adds, “It’s user-friendly and saves our team so much time when issuing policies.”

Additionally, ImageRight aligns U.S. Risk’s resources so that the right work is routed to the right people at the right time. The workflow tool works in tandem with AIM and updates in real-time so that information is accurate, and the team can work effectively across their multiple branches. Hardy says:

ImageRight plays a crucial role in our productivity. While AIM is the foundation for managing our business, ImageRight helps us service our agents in a timely manner.

Reporting from San Fran to Sarasota

Accurate reporting is critical to U.S. Risk, which uses reports to make informed decisions and remain compliant with the ever-changing rules and regulations of the industry. However, consistently reporting across U.S. Risk’s numerous branches is no small feat. Hardy uses tax calculations as an example, saying, “We have 2,000 tax entries per month in Texas alone.” This results in many opportunities for manual error and inaccurate accounting, costing U.S. Risk time and resources. However, Hardy says, “With AIM’s surplus tax table, our taxes are automatically calculated, which makes our compliance team very happy. There isn’t another system out there that does that.” AIM gives the power of accurate reporting to everyone in the organization, regardless of their role or location.

I used to get producers asking me to run lost business reports for them. Now the reports are so easy to use, they can run their own. It’s very logical. Everyone can use reporting, which has created more consistency across all our branches."

- Carole Hardy

a woman holding a credit car to symbolize easy payments

Payments made easy

As every MGA can attest, collecting payments from agency partners is a hassle for both parties. Agencies must write physical checks and mail them to the MGA. Once received, the MGA must then verify the paid amount, record the payment, and process the check. It’s been a long-standing time suck in the industry that U.S. Risk has digitized. With Vertafore Orange Partner ePayPolicy, U.S. Risk can receive digital payments from the agencies they work with. “The agency can go online, choose how much they want to pay, and then submit the payment immediately.” Not only does this save time for both sides, but it also differentiates U.S. Risk from their competitors.

When we make it easy for an agency to do business with us, they’re more likely to write their business through us instead of our competitors."

- Carole Hardy

Not a vendor, a community

Hardy believes that there is so much more to U.S. Risk’s success with Vertafore outside of capabilities and functionality. “We have great products in AIM and ImageRight, but we also have an entire community on our side to support our success.” Hardy is an active participant in the NetVU community, a group comprised of Vertafore product users who can bounce ideas off each other, learn tips and tricks, and trade best practices. Not only does Hardy have a community of fellow users at her disposal, but she also has a community within Vertafore dedicated to her success. Hardy participates in Vertafore workgroups where she provides direct feedback on product development.

Vertafore is very receptive to our input. We have a common goal of just wanting to build a better product and Vertafore works tirelessly with us to make continuous improvements that have a real impact on our business.

Agency management for your specialty insurance business

Specialized and hard-to-write risks are the foundation of any MGA, MGU, or wholesale broker’s business. As a result, your technology should be built to support mitigating these risks. Vertafore’s suite of MGA products was built with the unique needs of MGAs, like U.S. Risk, in mind.

Ready to take the next step?

Contact us to learn more about how Vertafore can help you effectively leverage your expertise and stay ahead of the curve.

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Company snapshot

Founded in 1864, Marshall & Sterling Insurance, Inc. is among the largest privately-owned insurance agencies in the U.S., with total written premiums in excess of $700 million. This highly regarded agency is employee-owned by more than 450 insurance professionals and is well-equipped to serve the entire nation and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Marshall & Sterling is an industry leader that specializes in public entities, offering personal, commercial, and employee group benefits.

Background

In 2017, just 14 days apart, Hurricanes Irma and Maria wreaked havoc on the U.S. Virgin Islands. Marshall & Sterling, with offices on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John, dealt with the aftermath by providing dedicated people who worked with specialized technology.

Dealing with catastrophes is a massive challenge for the entire insurance industry. When disaster strikes, carriers and agents deal with claims surges and anxious clients, which can become overwhelming. Add the stress of damage to the agency, and things can quickly seem out of control.

A much-needed helping hand

Jim Dahoney, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Marshall & Sterling leaned on his staff and technology to get through the tough times. The agency leveraged WorkSmart to respond to and process more than 7,000 claims in the wake of the storms. "I’m glad we made the switch to a tool that enabled us to track our processes, report in real-time, and automate the crushing flow of information."

“Vertafore’s WorkSmart enabled us to provide additional support both onsite and remotely to share the workload, give some relief to local staff, and meet our customers’ needs.”

– Jim Dahoney
SVP, CIO, Marshall & Sterling Insurance, Inc.

Marshall & Sterling ensured they took care of clients in their time of need without overwhelming the staff. It came down to having a solution that could distribute work across different departments and locations, organize vast amounts of content, and manage bottlenecks.

Modernize your agency

Vertafore solutions

WorkSmart

Proven results

Processed over 7,000 claims in wake of the 2017 hurricanes
Increased visibility into workflows to effectively manage bottlenecks
Boosted growth without increasing headcount

Right work, right place, right time

For Marshall & Sterling, WorkSmart is an operational game-changer. “We have the documentation, phone calls, emails, whatever it is, coming into one system. We can route the work to the right people that need to handle it,” Dahoney explains. “People like the ability to see what they need to do and have that all in front of them without having to work out of their email or an activity list.”

With the massive influx of claims a natural disaster brings, most agencies would be buried in emails, phone calls, and other customer communications—not to mention the incredible amount of work that follows each initial conversation. This results in unproductive employees, massive bottlenecks, and a slow claims process leading to dissatisfied clients. With WorkSmart, Marshall & Sterling managed the chaos. “We could see how much was coming in, who was getting what, and where people may have been falling behind so we could quickly move those tasks to another team or individual to help out.”

With the ability to quickly reassign work to people with more bandwidth, the Marshall & Sterling staff stayed caught up. In the past, management relied on employee self-reporting to understand capacity and bottlenecks. As a result, the agency would overcorrect or fail to recognize inefficiencies.

We’ve grown and haven’t had to add staff because we’ve realized the efficiencies of WorkSmart.”
– Jim Dahoney

A perfect fit

When Marshall & Sterling started looking for a content management and workflow solution, they needed something that was out-of-the-box yet fully customizable.

Dahoney appreciates having their workflows built into the system. “The ability to modify WorkSmart for our needs or use it out-of-the-box was a nice feature,” he says. “We have our group We even use it for their accounting, billing, and approvals with custom workflows that are built specifically for Marshall & Sterling."

CSR workflow before WorkSmart

CSR workflow after WorkSmart

Manager workflow before WorkSmart

Manager workflow after WorkSmart

Adopting new technology isn’t helpful unless it seamlessly integrates with a company's existing solutions. Dahoney points to WorkSmart’s ability to integrate with its entire suite of Vertafore products and its internal processes and programs as a key benefit.

He also appreciates Vertafore's partnership mentality. "There’s that openness and willingness to have an open platform and integrate with the additional programs and functions we needed.”

We needed to have a partner that had all of the solutions that we could utilize and know that they would integrate and talk to one another."

– Jim Dahoney

Effective workflows designed for insurance

Operating efficiently can be challenging when your employees manage large volumes of work. To prioritize clients and increase profitability, you need to align work with your staff’s areas of specialty and manage documents in a way that makes sense for an independent agency.

As the only file-centric content management and workflow solution designed for insurance, WorkSmart uses role-based processing, empowering agency employees to spend less time looking for information and more time with clients.

With WorkSmart, you can:

• Distribute work more effectively
• Optimize content management
• Manage bottlenecks

Make your staff and your customers happy by offering a superior experience and improving productivity in your agency with WorkSmart.

Discover how Vertafore can help you operate
efficiently and manage large volumes of work

Learn about WorkSmart Contact Vertafore

Company snapshot

Entrekin Insurance was founded May 1, 2019, in the coastal Mississippi town of D’lberville. What started as a one-person operation has grown into a successful business that prides itself on being the hometown insurance agency the community can count on.

Growing up, Jody Entrekin didn’t know anything about insurance. There was limited education available—neither his family nor anyone he knew understood home or auto insurance.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the state of Mississippi in 2005, Jody was a first-time homeowner without sufficient insurance coverage. He lost everything except the clothes on his back.

“I learned my lesson about insurance the hard way. I went to an agent and just got whatever they told me I needed. No one took the opportunity to sit down and explain it to me. And when I learned the lesson the hard way, I was very angry.”
– Jody Entrekin, Owner/CEO

From this tragedy arose a desire to ensure that no one in his community would experience the same kind of loss due to inadequate coverage. He changed careers and started Entrekin Insurance, an independent agency founded on one goal: to provide quality insurance products and educate clients about the complexities of insurance so they can make smart insurance decisions for themselves.

Modernize Your Agency

Vertafore solutions

QQCatalyst
Orange Partner Program
–Agency Revolution
–Insurance Agent App

Proven results

Retention Rate:

Entrekin Insurance: 98.7%
Industry average: 83%

NPS Score average:

Entrekin Insurance: 99
Industry average: +32

Not only does technology help with the agency's marketing efforts, but it also provides the time to focus on educating clients, who are often faced with a difficult decision—choose a policy that meets their needs or a policy that meets their budget. The Entrekin Insurance team prides itself on teaching about prices, deductibles, and trends so clients can be comfortable making informed decisions. QQCatalyst's automation for administrative tasks allows this three-person agency the opportunity to provide this higher level of care.

There's no way I have the time to focus on advertising and marketing my agency. I let the products do that for me.”
– Jody Entrekin

Automated, easy to use, & scalable

QQCatalyst is an insurance management software that provides operational, marketing, and sales pipeline management tools. It enables agencies to strengthen customer relationships and ensure effective business management so they can focus on growing their book of business.

It provides Entrekin Insurance the opportunity to connect with clients and grow its business. With three full-time employees, the agency requires a system that provides client management and service, sales and marketing automation, and robust integrations with other technology solutions. With QQCatalyst, Jody and his team can forget time-consuming processes and manual workflows and turn to building genuine client connections, providing education, and focusing on agency growth.

Entrekin Insurance started with one agent and zero advertising. Within a year of opening, the agency has had more than $500,000 in sales. "I have to utilize what Vertafore has given me the opportunity to utilize. My advertising comes from Vertafore partners and my management system.”

"Within the first year, Entrekin's sales premiums were already impressive, and have now tripled. This yields a nearly 180% growth rate to date."
– Jody Entrekin

Best-in-class complementary solutions

Vertafore Orange Partner Program

The Vertafore Orange Partner Program provides open access and integrations using available APIs that bring best-in-class capabilities to our suite of products. Jody has been able to increase revenue and client retention and communications by utilizing Agency Revolution’s marketing automation platform, Fuse. He also provides a modern interface through the Insurance Agent App, an integration that allows clients to engage with the agency where and when they want. Entrekin Insurance maintains continuous contact with its clients—from sending birthday text messages to customized emails explaining new policies—building a foundation of trust and reliability.

After a hurricane, an Entrekin Insurance client was able to submit pictures and other important information regarding property damage directly through the Insurance Agent App. Jody and his team were then able to send the information directly to their carriers in a timely and secure manner, resulting in their client getting paid faster. With these easy-to-use integrations, Entrekin Insurance can stay up-to-speed in servicing their customers, ensuring they are providing the best client experience.

Entrekin Insurance’s focus on providing excellent service and education sets it apart from other agencies in the area.

"That's what makes us different here... it's the compassion.”
– Jody Entrekin

As the Insurance industry evolves and client expectations change, the key to remaining relevant and profitable lies in embracing modern technology. QQCatalyst enables agency customers to build stronger relationships and grow their book of business by simplifying client and policy management and automating daily processes.

Vertafore is here to be your partner and guide you through this evolving landscape. Contact us to learn more about how Vertafore can help you drive growth for your business.

Learn more about QQCatalyst Contact Vertafore

NetRate: A rating solution offering critical efficiency

American Specialty Insurance & Risk Services, Inc. is an MGA/MGU with letters of authority, that writes business through 1,000 independent agents. They underwrite for sports, leisure, and entertainment industries nationwide—businesses that place the company in the crosshairs of exposures such as injuries, concussions, sexual harassment and abuse, guns, terrorism, and venue issues.

American Specialty president, Drew Smith, has 60 teammates in Fort Wayne, Indiana, working in sales, accounting, IT, underwriting and claims. American Specialty was established in 1989, and purchased by Brown & Brown (B&B) in 2005.

Drew says the acquisition gives the company several advantages, including the ability to work with like-minded individuals and access to robust carrier partner relationships. They use NetRate to handle their commercial lines rating requirements.

“We’re ambassadors of NetRate within B&B,” said Drew. “We continue to recommend NetRate to other MGAs at B&B. We’re part of National Programs, which is now 25% of B&B revenue.”

Service first, last, and always

The company's website promotes the American Specialty brand, “What Special Feels Like,” to highlight their goal to provide service beyond expectation. This concept is so ingrained in their DNA, that they demand "special" from their vendor and technology partners as well.

“We need to continue to raise the bar, evolve as a service organization, and move quickly as the market changes. We like the speed with which changes can be made with the NetRate application,” said Drew. He added that thanks to NetRate, “carriers see us as a speed boat rather than a cruise ship. If a system is static and slow, it won’t work for an MGA in today’s world. We tried other rating software but chose NetRate because it is the fastest to process and efficiency is critical. That is what special feels like.”

The focus on service and moving quickly as the market changes is clearly reflected on their website. When the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected large crowd gatherings, American Specialty included checklists, questions to consider, and numerous resources for their sports, leisure, and entertainment clients to review as they started to reopen their venues.

Not only did the website have items to focus on before reopening, with sources to monitor for up-to-date information, American Specialty went the extra mile to create industry specific guidelines for modifications to consider while reopening.

We like the speed with which changes can be made with the NetRate application. If a system is static and slow, it won’t work for an MGA in today’s world.

We tried other rating software but chose NetRate because it is the fastest to process and efficiency is critical.”

Drew Smith
President, American Specialty Insurance & Risk Services, Inc.

NetRate: Built for MGAs

Vertafore’s ISO rater accurately rates throughout the policy lifecycle

ISO compliant
Seamless integrations
Connect documents
Quick and customized
Streamlined data collection
Easy to use

An essential NetRate benefit: User-friendly and intuitive

In addition to being flexible and adjusting to the marketplace, having a rater that is easy to use is a key benefit, according to Drew. “NetRate is user-friendly and intuitive—easy for a new teammate to use.”

Also, the NetRate application supports American Specialty’s filed rating plans, adding to their efficiency. “We’re in a no-mistakes business, so eliminating the need to re-key data streamlines the process and helps avoid errors," Drew said.

“We have used NetRate for many years and think of your team as an extension of ours. You continue to move with us. We appreciate your approach to work, and that your team is visible."

He added, "We’re glad see you at conferences—you’re always on our list as a vendor we want to meet up with at events.” We couldn’t agree more! Meeting up with clients gives meaning to our work at Vertafore and we are proud to support the commercial insurance industry at events.

Learn more about...

Vertafore's NetRate Our MGA ecosystem

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