According to a spokesman for a top life insurance carrier, 50-75% of all apps submitted by agents are not in good order. A carrier who went on record (Old Mutual) provides a slightly better average—up to 35% of the life applications they receive are incomplete or have mistakes. Still, for the agents who submitted these apps, their next commission check just got delayed by at least two weeks. That’s not how anyone wants to do business.
So what causes an app to be deemed not in good order?
Common mistakes include:
- missing information (guarantee periods left blank, for example)
- incorrect or outdated forms
- lack of payment information (such as credit card info for an initial premium deduction)
- different premiums quoted on the app and illustration
- missing agent licensing or qualification information.
The bottom line is that many agents are great at selling, but not so great at detail-oriented paperwork. A good way to fix the problem is to apply the principle of "standardize, systematize, automate."
But how?
Error-Free Insurance Applications
There’s one solution that can make the process smoother for everyone—a partnership with an application fulfillment team. BGAs that offer app fulfillment services provide drop-ticket systems that allow you to make the sale and transfer your client’s information to their team for app completion and follow-up. As a result, this streamlines the entire process with a standardized, systematized, automated approach that ensures no client information falls through the cracks.
There are three good reasons to seek out such a partnership:
- First, it reduces your paperwork burden. Instead of rushing through paperwork (and potentially generating errors), you get more time to connect with prospects and sell.
- Second, a smoothly running partnership will make your clients happy. If their apps get submitted to the carrier without any mistakes, they get covered faster – and they won’t have to worry about getting emails or phone calls asking for information that was missed the first time around. As an agent, this is a fantastic way to improve your clients’ experience with your brand, increasing your likelihood for referrals or repeat business.
- Third, you’ll get paid faster. This is especially true with electronic fulfillment, which is rapidly becoming the industry standard. eSignature not only reduces the app-to-issue timeline, but it improves the client’s entire experience. After all, when your client can use a smartphone to unlock their front door and turn on the lights before they even get home, it doesn’t make much sense to ask them to fill out a paper application that still has to travel through the mail.
If you’re ready to find a partner to handle your paperwork, give us a call. We call our application fulfillment team the A-Team because they’re always saving the day. We'd love to introduce you to them.
