See How Predictive Analytics Can Give Your Insurance Agency an Edge

Predictive analytics — everyone in the insurance world is talking about it. But what is it, and how can predictive analytics help you grow your brokerage client list? 

Here’s a quick definition: predictive analytics takes scattered pieces of data from across your systems, organizing them to assess what has happened in the past. Then, using artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced visualization, this collection of past data points models future outcomes and creates actionable insights.

Do more with less by simplifying your workflows

Many brokers find it difficult to figure out how to find and focus on the most promising leads. Brokerage account teams struggle with managing their work and dealing with manual, repetitive tasks. They are hungry for data-based answers to questions like: what should they do first? When should a producer focus on one lead or opportunity over another? How can account teams deliver faster service with even more personalization? 

Predictive analytics can help deliver answers grounded in facts. For example, it can assess the number of calls or emails a broker receives from a prospect  —  and the specific types of conversations they engaged in. And then with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), it can organize workflows and generate responses. That’s not hard to do if your brokerage has an industry-specific customer relationship management platform (CRM). With the data organized on one platform, predictive analytics can inform which processes to automate, including prospecting, client onboarding, service, and a whole lot more.

Dashboards, powered by predictive analytics, can guide the actions a broker or account team member takes throughout their day. It can surface potential bottlenecks and discover where disruptions might arise, giving brokers a heads up before trouble erupts. This helps brokers address a frustration of customers: long resolution times. In an Accenture survey, 69% of customers were put off by lengthy waits.

Spend time where it counts and help clients fill coverage gaps

InterWest, a full-service insurance brokerage, leverages the power of data and insights at their firm. Their sales team uses CRM Analytics to pinpoint upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Workflow data and team performance insights ensure all accounts are given an optimal support level — resulting in more effective staff and happier clients.

Additionally, InterWest uses customer intelligence to guide service and sales reps so they ask the right questions. This informed approach helps clients get the best insurance protection for their business and reduces the risk of coverage gaps. Something increasingly important for products like Cyber Insurance.

CRM Analytics makes it easy to get insights like these with a visualization tool that finds the stories that matter most. Using its modeling and predictive capabilities can set your course for the future with greater confidence. In a recent survey, 60% of life insurers said predictive analytics has boosted profits and increased sales.

In building your business, AI can help you make connections that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, Einstein Relationship Insights can surface connections by casting a wide net; automatically searching the web and new, internal, and external documents for leads. By using relationships within Financial Services Cloud (FSC), you can also tie a prospect to a current client. This supports your constant pursuit of warm leads.

Recruit new talent and customers

When you have great technology, you’ll be able to attract the best sales and service team members. By definition, these salespeople are always looking for ways to expand their clientele. An integrated tech stack that gives brokers and agents an edge in finding and keeping clients is a draw.

These potential employees will appreciate how predictive analytics gives them an edge in identifying what’s working and where to focus their efforts — whether by geography or product. That’s a huge advantage for your recruiting efforts.

Marketing will sit up and notice how predictive analytics can take campaigns to the next level. For example, if you add Marketing Cloud to Financial Services Cloud you can build segmented campaigns based on your data and analytics. You’ll then be able to provide scalable personalized email journeys for your list of clients. Marketing Cloud also helps build a view of clients’ interactions with the brand, like what coverages or topics they’ve looked at on the website, to help fuel the next best marketing conversation. When your brokerage has actionable insights into customers, you can provide a plan on how to target, position, and run nurture campaigns.

Not just a 360-degree view — a 360-degree action plan

A 360-degree view of customers helps improve the experience because they give agents insights into human behavior and how they make choices. Predictive analytics makes every person in your organization smarter because they can spot trends and have a better sense of outcomes. That gives people in your organization the power to act intelligently.

Financial Services Cloud provides the foundation for gathering all the information you need about clients in one place. CRM Analytics assesses the data, applies artificial intelligence, and then helps brokers determine what the next best steps are to grow. When you bring in Marketing Cloud, brokerages discover they can manage more clients and challenges more capably. That’s predictive analytics at its best.