The business insurance renewal process can feel like a never-ending stream of data collection. An enormous amount of information must be collected from numerous sources. It can take dozens of phone calls, emails, and spreadsheets to gather what you need. The data submitted then needs to be verified, formatted, and consolidated before it can be corralled into a report and submitted to the market.
The process can take weeks – or even months – to finish. Any missing or incomplete information can end up costing you big time in the form of higher premiums or the wrong amount of coverage. And the whole process must be repeated for every single renewal. No wonder renewal time is so dreaded.
Technology Provides Relief from the Pain
Software can make the business insurance renewal process fast, accurate, and pain free. It can streamline and simplify the process from beginning to end – while significantly improving data quality. Here are seven specific ways that technology can help optimize your insurance spend:
1. Customizable questionnaire templates. Technology helps you jump-start the process with questionnaire templates that can be easily customized collect exactly the information you need from each submitter.
2. User-friendly interface. Technology makes it easy for even occasional users to enter data. Survey-style questionnaires, auto-filled fields with the previous value, and on-screen help guide users smoothly through the submission process.
3. Easy-to-read dashboards. Software offers customizable dashboards that keep the information most important to you right at your fingertips. You can see in real time what data has been submitted, what tasks are still outstanding, and where you stand overall in the collection process.
4. Built-invalidation checks. Software validates data as it is entered and automatically flags any unexpected values or inconsistencies for further investigation.
5. Reminder emails and automated alerts. Software can automatically generate emails with values collection assignments and follow up with reminders to risk owners who haven’t responded.
6. Up-to-date contact information. How long would it take to realize your email requesting current values was languishing in the inbox of the former risk owner? A lot can change from renewal to renewal. Technology always gets you to the right person, even if the name of the risk owner or email address has changed.
7. Generate market-ready reports. Software makes generating customized market-ready reports as easy as a click of a button. No need to comb through enormous spreadsheets, manually spot check the accuracy, reformat the data, or build the report. Reports created with software provide the always accurate and up-to-date information brokers and underwriters need to fairly evaluate your risk. And your reports can be automatically replicated for every renewal.
What Makes Data Weak
Higher premiums are virtually a given if the underwriter must make do with not-so-great data. Here are five things that contribute to weak data:
- Failure to account for regulatory requirements of your industry
- Wrong contacts and difficulty finding the right person to provide input
- Incomplete questionnaires
- Not properly assessing the value of your assets
- Manual errors and duplicate data
Time Is Money
Relief from the tedium of the business insurance renewal process is one thing, but you also must consider the cost of time and resources. The time required to manually collect, input, validate, format, and consolidate data can add up to a significant expense. And then there’s the cost of lost opportunity. Time spent ensuring spreadsheet data is correct is time that can’t be spent on strategic tasks that add long-term value.
A lengthy data collection process also can cut into the time brokers and underwriters have to conduct their own analysis and prepare the best renewal. Shortchanging the process can result in higher premiums, underinsured assets, or excessive coverage for you.
A streamlined business insurance renewal process makes sure you get the coverage you need at the fairest price. The time and resources you save can be reallocated to more strategic tasks that strengthen the business. With values in one centralized source, you’ll also be able to understand your exposures in greater detail and apply stronger analytics that deliver more timely and reliable insights.
The right coverage at the right price – with time left to do human-worthy tasks. That’s a win for you, the team, and the business.
For more on streamlining your business insurance renewal process, download our ebook, Exposure Management Reimagined, and check out Riskonnect’s Risk Management Information System software solution.