ACT Newsletter

Independent APIs, or application programming interfaces, are everywhere. In fact, you use them every day, probably without realizing it. APIs simply serve as data and platform connectors. They can be used for everything from displaying Google Maps on a non-Google site to carrying data from a payroll tool into an accounting platform.

But the insurance industry has been slow to adopt the technology. Only in recent years have carriers completed building out APIs for their underwriting systems. The challenge they face now is how to make it available to the industry. Furthermore, agents want to take advantage of this access, but don't know how.

This is where insurtechs, like Talage, can help bridge the gap between carriers and agents. By stepping in to give agents direct access to carriers, the industry will see a streamlined approach to quoting and binding policies, increased premiums for both carriers and agents, and an overall better customer experience.

Solving Agents' Workflow Challenges

Insurance agents wear multiple hats. Not only do they need to be insurance experts who can match the right policies to the right clients, but they also need to excel at marketing, sales, customer experience, and more to grow their books successfully.

All of these responsibilities mean that agents need strong workflows to maintain both high quality and quantity of work. That's where APIs come in. By connecting data and applications together, APIs can help agents solve current workflow challenges that are:

• Time-consuming: Workflow processes like trying to manually obtain policy quotes from different carriers can be time-consuming. Instead of making customers wait so long while taking up agents' own valuable time, APIs can be used to automatically and quickly aggregate quotes.
  
  
• Inefficient: Not only are many workflows time-consuming, but they're inefficient in the sense that agents don't get as much out of them as they potentially could. For example, when it comes to email marketing, manual workflows can be rife with errors. That can lead to bounced emails or messages that don't include the content agents intended, which decreases the effectiveness of email marketing.
  
  A more efficient way to do email marketing is to leverage APIs. One way to do this is by connecting a customer relationship management (CRM) tool with your email marketing platform. That way, information like customers' email addresses and names automatically and accurately get pulled into email campaigns.
  
  
• Outdated: Even with the use of some workflow tools, agents often have to deal with outdated tech. Yet APIs can help agents stay up to date. For example, APIS can be used to display social media feeds on your website. When the social network updates its API, it automatically updates on your site rather than having to custom-code your website to show the updated information. 

• Improved efficiency: Automatically linking data together means agents can improve their efficiency. Take for example when creating marketing campaigns. APIs can be used to personalize marketing campaigns at scale, helping customers feel more engaged.
  
  
• Increased profitability: Tools, like Wheelhouse, that easily aggregate policy quotes can help agents close more deals to increase profitability while streamlining the experience for customers.
  
  
• Decreased workload: Leveraging APIs to streamline workflows can help agents reduce their busy work and focus more on value-added activities, like cultivating customer relationships.
  
  Where the Future Is Headed
  
  While APIs are not new, there is a ton of opportunity for agents to leverage this technology. Going forward, insurance agents can expect:
  
  

• More access to APIs: Increasingly, platforms in areas ranging from insurance quoting to customer service will have built-in API capabilities, making it easier for agents to access the benefits of APIs.
• More tools to choose from: An increase in API usage also opens up opportunities for agents to use more tools. A platform that lacks compatibility with other tools right now may prevent an agent from using it, but if APIs can link more platforms together, that could increase the possibilities of tools to choose from.
• More choices for clients: In addition to making insurance agents' lives easier, APIs can also deliver more choices for clients. Being able to easily compare rates, for example, helps clients find the best deals for their needs, rather than settling for whatever policy is easiest to obtain a quote for. 
  
  APIs will increasingly become a powerful force in the insurance world. And agents that leverage these simple, yet powerful technologies can streamline and strengthen their businesses.