We’re living in a digital world, and independent insurance agents like you need to keep up. That’s why you should make sure you’re leveraging the right tools to move your agency forward and serve your clients better. Specifically, you should be taking advantage of digital insurance agent tools designed to improve efficiency, organization, customer experience, SEO, lead generation, and more.
As an independent insurance agent, you always have a lot on your plate. There are policy renewals, quotes, administrative tasks, and customer queries to address. You also have to make time for networking and marketing to keep growing your agency. Technology is now a significant asset in the industry because it helps streamline business operations.
In fact, an IDR 2018 Insurance Digital Transformation Survey showed that a whopping 95% of insurance agents think technology is essential to their success. Additionally, the emergence of online and direct-to-consumer channels has pushed industry professionals across the board to embrace the latest technologies and tools to win new business and retain existing clients.
In today’s digital world, convenience, efficiency, and speed are currency. And as an independent agent, you need to be aware of new developments.
With all that said, here are nine digital insurance agent tools that are worth checking out…
9 Helpful Digital Insurance Agent Tools
1. UptimeRobot – Website Monitoring
UptimeRobot is an online tool that lets you monitor your website, which you should do even if you outsource website maintenance. It scans your site every five minutes and gives alerts whenever your site is down. It’s one of the world’s leading uptime-monitoring services. It warns you before you experience any significant website troubles – and it saves you money in the process. Although the free version ensures you’re in the know when your website is down, the paid plans offer even more great features.
Additionally, UptimeRobot notifies you when your SSL certificate is about to expire. If you host your servers online, the tool allows you to monitor any specific port you want, as well as ping any service. Other advanced features include the following:
- Heartbeat monitoring
- Response times
- Keyword monitoring
- Maintenance windows
- Shared incident updates
- Custom HTTP requests
- Multi-location checks
You can even integrate UptimeRobot with email, SMS, voice call, Twitter, Slack, Zapier, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, and more.
If none of the digital insurance agent tools you currently use cover website monitoring, you should consider adding UptimeRobot. That way, you can address downtime before your clients are affected.
2. Semrush or Ubersuggest – SEO & General Online Visibility Improvement
Semrush is a comprehensive and sophisticated tool suite for improving your online visibility and getting valuable marketing insights. It helps you achieve measurable results from your online marketing efforts and allows you to grow your organic traffic. It integrates SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, PPC, and competitor research in one platform for your convenience.
Ubersuggest is an all-in-one tool specializing in site auditing, domain analysis, backlink analysis, keyword research, and competitor analysis. Unlike other tools, Ubersuggest provides a lot of information for free. It includes hundreds of keyword suggestions, content ideas, backlink data, and more.
These powerful platforms give you access to a global database of billions of keywords and URLs, along with millions of ads. They also analyze the big data to provide you with instant recommendations to improve your online visibility within days.
Given how competitive the insurance industry is, it’s well worth having a tool like Semrush or Ubersuggest on your side to stay ahead of the game.
3. HubSpot CRM – Customer Relationship Management
HubSpot CRM is a user-friendly CRM platform that allows you to manage the relationships you have with prospects and customers. A suitable CRM is one of the most important digital insurance agent tools to have in your tech stack. And you’ll quickly find that HubSpot CRM has a lot to offer.
With HubSpot CRM, you can turn your insurance sales process into a more efficient, revenue-generating machine. It lets you manage your pipeline with total visibility, input sales activity automatically, and store all lead information in one place. The free version comes with helpful features like email tracking & notifications, prospect tracking, meeting scheduling, and live chat. And if you opt for the paid version – Sales Hub – you can look forward to premium features such as…
- Predictive Lead Scoring
- Customizable Reports
- Advanced CRM
- Sales Automation
- eSignatures
- Smart Send Times
…and more.
With HubSpot CRM, you can save time, organize your data better, and ultimately sell more policies.
4. DocuSign – Document Management
DocuSign has an easy-to-use digital transaction platform that allows users to send, manage, and sign legally binding documents in the cloud. As you know, contracts and other legal types of documents are crucial to your business. The good news is DocuSign offers the perfect way to help prepare, sign, manage, and act on them.
By adding DocuSign to the list of digital insurance agent tools used within your agency, you can simplify the agreement-signing process for your team and your policyholders.
5. Slack or Microsoft Teams – Communication & Productivity
Slack is a collaboration tool that improves team communication and productivity. At its core, it’s a messaging platform that helps you get work done fast. Instead of emailing your team members individually or delegating tasks using multiple platforms, you can use Slack to condense your communications. Additionally, you can conveniently share media and links, make calls, and track activity.
Slack lets you create different channels (public and private) within the platform. It also allows general conversations to take place securely, including those you have restricted to pre-approved team members.
Microsoft Teams is another valuable tool that allows teams to meet, chat, call, and collaborate in one place. With this software, you can make video calls with ease, share files securely, and ensure everyone stays organized. Like Slack, Microsoft Teams lets you create group chats or send individual messages. Plus, it makes collaboration a breeze, as you can use the Microsoft apps you’re already familiar with, like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
If your team spends too much time checking, answering, and sending emails daily, either Slack or Microsoft Teams will be a huge help.
6. Insurance Agent App – Mobile Customer Experience
Customers’ self-service expectations have risen dramatically thanks to technology and COVID-19. Pressure on agencies to provide self service, in addition to existing service options, continues to increase. The Insurance Agent App is the only mobile app solution 100% focused on strengthening the agent–client relationship. It’s an agency-branded self-service mobile app platform that streamlines and digitizes your clients’ insurance information right to their phone. Insurance Agent App is a personalized mobile service platform for your policyholders to instantly access information, enjoy better service interactions, and get guided assistance through the very moments when they need you – their agent – the most. It not only benefits your agency but also benefits your clients (and even the insurance companies you work with).
With Insurance Agent App, you’re able to deliver the kind of customer experience your clients expect. Plus, you reduce the time you spend on labor-intensive admin tasks. As a result, you gain more time for selling and advising.
Some of the app’s key features include the following:
- 24/7 access (call, email, text)
- Electronic ID storage
- Bill pay direct to insurance companies
- Claims reporting
- Customized agency branding
- Change and COI requests
- And more…
Of all the digital insurance agent tools featured here, Insurance Agent App is the one that will really move your agency forward.
7. Google Workspace – Organization & Collaboration
Google Workspace has everything you need to get your work done – in one place. You can work in a fluid online environment collaboratively. It’s the culmination of the changes that Google made in 2020. However, unlike G-Suite, the separate tools have a better integration capability with each other.
Google Workspace comprises Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drive for storage, as well as Sites for collaboration. It also has an admin panel and Vault feature for managing users as well as services.
By taking advantage of Google Workspace, you can save time and money while improving the way your team works together.
8. Sprout Social – Social Media Management
Sprout Social is a social media management platform for agencies and brands of all sizes. It provides a single hub for your social media publishing, engagement, and analytics across your social profiles. Best of all, this platform allows you to transform your marketing strategy while getting real business value from your social media efforts.
If you want to do more with social media and connect with current and potential clients, Sprout Social can help you along the way.
9. LastPass – Password Safety & Storage
Finally, there’s LastPass – a password manager that stores encrypted passwords online. LastPass allows you and your team members to save and access passwords for all logins in a single vault. Plus, it offers features such as the following:
- Built-in password generator
- Dark web monitoring
- Password sharing
- Personalized security dashboard
- And more…
LastPass is a worthwhile addition to the digital insurance agent tools you use, as it helps keep your passwords secure – no matter where your team members are working.
The Bottom Line
As insurance professionals like you adopt the latest technologies to improve security, efficiency, customer experience, and more, there are other options out there worth checking out. The nine digital insurance agent tools featured here will help your agency keep up with the times and with your clients’ needs, allowing you to connect with them in the ways that matter.
Are you interested to see what Insurance Agent App can do for your agency and clients? Schedule a demo today!