If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that we have all had to get used to doing more things digitally.
Be it starting a new job remotely, opening a bank account via an app, renewing your insurance policy online or buying a car without seeing it, there is no getting away from the convenience of digital. Whilst some of these activities still need refinement, solutions that help enable easy digitisation, like the Power Platform, are here to stay.
When it comes to any of the examples outlined above, it is important that people can do them as quickly, smoothly and as easily as possible. Customers like hassle-free experiences. In fact, many customers are not even aware that they like these experiences – they are just so seamless and intuitive that they slot easily into their day.
You could even say that these processes should be so fluid that they become invisible. That they simply vanish in the mind of the user.
We are used to such seamless digital processes as individuals, but this kind of user experience should also be available to legal commercial entities, such as brokers and businesses looking for insurance.
Create a seamless broker experience
One process which is always in use is that of onboarding new customers. In the specialty Insurance space, that can be the onboarding of new brokers. The steps taken for a broker to access the services and products provided by an Insurer should be as seamless as it would be if they were shopping for personal insurance.
Insurance is, of course, a highly regulated and complex space, and every entity that is involved in the application process for an insurance policy must be legally validated. Brokers are aware of the different types of information they need to provide, and how detailed it must be. The Insurer must source information from third parties as part of their regulatory validation checks, pulling in information from places such as Companies House, the FCA and many others.
So, put simply, the onboarding process is an exchange of information between the entity being onboarded, data from external sources and the internal validation checks carried out by the Insurer.
Power Platform puts the power in Insurers’ hands
With the Power Platform, Insurers can reduce the complexity and speed of the onboarding process by providing a place for brokers to input information whilst automating the integration of data from third parties. These processes can then be handled by the Insurer in the back end, allowing them to check the information is correct.
Getting onboarding right is a tough nut to crack; we have all had our own experiences of difficult and complicated sign-up processes, so how do you get it right? By keeping the solution simple with Microsoft Power Platform.
Empower the broker with a simplified portal
At this advanced stage of our digital lives, everyone is familiar with filling out forms and providing information online. Brokers are no exception. However, the information they need to provide is often more complex than the information one needs to provide when, for example, setting up a new email account.
But that does not mean that it should be significantly more time-consuming for a broker. With the Power Platform insurers can significantly reduce the amount of time and effort required for a broker to be onboarded as a partner. By using the Power Apps Portals capability within the Power Platform, Insurers can create a branded web-facing front end, where brokers can securely log in to provide information and upload documentation that supports their onboarding. They can also log into the portal to track progress and status updates.
Power Automate can reduce the time to complete checks or pre-fill information with third party sources of information, with the ability to create custom connectors with data sources such as Companies House. Employees can then manage the internal processes required to onboard new brokers and achieve efficiencies by developing applications for staff members to control their workload.
Insurers can even upload the details of their products so that when a broker logs in, they are able to see if any new products are available that may be applicable to their clients.
Automate third party checks and validations
Upon receipt of the data, a multitude of different actions needs to take place. The details given by the broker need to be validated, IDs must be checked, FCA numbers searched for and confirmed and so on – any number of Know Your Customer (KYC) processes must be carried out!
In the past, this had to be done manually, either by the broker themselves or by someone at the Insurance company. But with over 300 connectors to a myriad of third party applications, these processes can be automated and scaled, making life easier for everyone involved.
From that point onwards, data can also be stored centrally and retrieved whenever it is needed. Brokers can spend less time doing checks, giving them time back in their day for value-add activities. Insurers can also then spend more time nurturing their broker relationships.
Ensure data is safe, secure and handled in the proper way
With so much data being captured and automated daily, it is important for both the broker and the Insurance company to know that the data is used and handled in the correct way.
Because every shred of data is kept in the Microsoft Dataverse, Insurers can manage this data in the back end, ensuring that it is kept clean. They can also ensure it is used appropriately by the correct individuals, and accessible to anyone who needs it in any application they need it in.
Whilst the broker does not see this during the onboarding process, the fact that the information and documentation they have provided can be managed centrally for distribution across other applications with the Microsoft cloud has a positive impact on their overall experience with the business.
When it comes to onboarding, a fluid experience impacts not just the external user, but also the way that data is used internally in several other processes. Automation helps save efficiencies on everyone’s part too, which is a win-win for all.
Want to know more about how the Power Platform can help improve business processes in your business? To learn more get in touch today.