Senior Benefit Services has been encouraging agents to go paperless since 2011. And now, a full seven years later we ask, how’s that been working out for ya?
If I recall correctly we entered the “Digital Age” sometime in the mid-90’s (sure seems like a long time ago now) and it feels like we may never see an end to the era. With each passing day technology continues to be a bigger piece of our lives. Certainly, it can be a challenge to change old habits because so many agents contend “it’s easier”, or “it’s my way” against the battle to improve efficiencies, processes, and… wait for it… wait for it…… save time! In 2018, agents should not only be less dependent on paper (“Oh no! I left my app at the office!” or “where is that sticky note?”) but should now be carrying a “digital briefcase” in their actual briefcase.
By now, you know all the ways carriers, particularly Medicare Supplement carriers, are pushing digital; e-apps, quoting tools, application approvals, etc. These have been in wide use for the last several years, and it is our hope that you are taking full advantage of each. A recent study organized by the PIA entitled, The Insurance Digital Transformation Survey found that while independent agents were early social media adopters, “fewer than one-quarter of agents have client portals (23%) or mobile apps (21%). Less than half of independent agents are using text messages, social networks, instant messaging and e-newsletters”. As one of our top producing agents put it:
“E-apps have drastically improved proficiency, approval times, and reduced errors in the process.”
But let’s go back to that “Digital Briefcase” for a moment. Imagine the amount of space you could save in your actual briefcase (maybe you’ll have to buy a new, smaller one!) if your digital briefcase was filled to the brim with apps that could make every part of your business more efficient, faster, and never left at the office by mistake. The very same top producing agent tells us that using the Scannable app in conjunction with Evernote allows him to email, print, and complete applications at his client’s home.
Here are four digital tools we recommend and use in our digital briefcases:
- OneNote or Evernote (Check out our post about that here)
- Lens (Scanner App) or Scannable (Check out our post about that here)
- Dropbox (Check out our post about that here)
- Carrier E-App (Check out our post about that here)
Now, back to that saving time thing… stay tuned for the next SBS blog post where we will take a closer look at some of these tools.