July 1, 2007
Automation Excellence Finalist Uses Technology to Drive Customer Service
Making it to the finals for The AMS Users’ Group Automation Excellence Award is an amazing accomplishment in itself. But, being an automated agency does more than create internal efficiencies. It drives customer service.
Allied Insurance Brokers Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of automation since the mid-1980s—and it’s paid off, in a big way for the agency and its customers. According to Katrina Hewitt, assistant vice president of client services and marketing for the agency, the focus on technology starts from the top down. “Our president believes the more automation, the better—and the better we are able to serve our customers,“ Hewitt said.
The agency uses AMS Users’ Group endorsed product CSR24 to give their customers round-the-clock support. “We work in 49 states, so our customers are on different time zones," Hewitt explained. “CSR24 enables our customers to obtain their certificates of insurance before the office opens and after the office closes—whenever it’s convenient for them.”
Allied Insurance had been considering CSR24 for some time. But, it was a trip to National Conference that really won them over. “We won a drawing for a free set up—and, since we’d been considering CSR24, we decided to go for it—and make the change at that time,” Hewitt said.
Although the agency is progressive, and tends to be ahead of the curve technologically, they are happy to share their knowledge and experience with fellow users. Allied typically sends one or more representatives to conference each year, and views the Users’ Group as an outstanding training resource for new employees. “We recently migrated to AMS 360, and had our newer people attend webinars and e-training sessions,” Hewitt said.
But, Allied isn’t stopping with the progress they’ve made to date. They recently went to three monitors, which makes cross referencing and pulling up different resources even easier. Next, they plan to work to help make their customers paperless. “We are working on providing our customers with WebEx proposals. Both our customers and staff will see the same information simultaneously, and our staff will actually be able to write notes on the actual document as the customer looks on,” Hewitt said. “We’re very excited about bringing that type of immediate service to our customers.”
For an agency just beginning to ramp up its automation efforts, Hewitt has this advice: “Identify your end goal—what would benefit you and your customer. Do you want to be paperless? Do you want to provide 24/7 service? Then, research the technology and providers who can make that happen,” Hewitt said. “The AMS Users’ Group is a valuable resource, as are the members. You can always find an agent who has tried and failed; and one who has tried and succeeded—and learn from their experiences.”
