PS4 plus helps agents cope with the hard market

Rough Notes, Jul 2003 by Strazewski, Len

Product helps agents deal with underwriting demands

Am I asking the right questions? Am I getting all the risk information? Am I offering the client all the right coverages?

Am I covering all the bases?

Agents and brokers struggle with these questions every day-particularly when they deal with commercial clients and their increasingly complex mix of property and casualty insurance coverages. And sometimes, agents say, they need a little help.

Every commercial lines producer has to be certain he or she is getting it all and getting it right all the time, explains Keith Riley, chief marketing officer of Peel & Holland Financial Group, a 79-year-old multiline agency headquartered in Benton, Kentucky.

But that isn't easy in an insurance marketplace driven by an increasingly diverse set of insurance products, underwriting restrictions and service demands, he notes.

Peel & Holland producers market commercial and personal lines as well as financial services products and, on any given day, they have to be all things to all clients. But no single agent can know every aspect of every risk or guess all of the information that underwriters want in this difficult and complex market, Riley explains.

And no single application guarantees that a commercial insurance client is going to get the right coverage at the best rate.

"In today's market, an imperfect submission doesn't get a look from underwriters, let alone the best available rates," says Riley. "An agent needs complete information and an informed analysis of the risk to make sure he's asking for everything the client needs and giving the best picture of the risk to underwriters."

Peel & Holland uses PS4 Plus, a commercial lines sales system from AMS Services, Inc., in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to automate a wide range of sales, risk analysis, submission and commercial lines support-and fill in the information gaps that are the bane of all commercial agents.

The software, which integrates with Peel & Holland's AMS Sagitta Browser management system, allows producers not only to automate the application and submission process, but also to review risk information and proposed coverages against industry-specific errors and omissions checklists.

"It's a wonderful tool for the independent agent," he says. "Without it, we would have to spend twice as much time and double the effort just to keep the same book of business and serve the same client base-let alone grow."

Riley says the agency has been using the software for many years-back to the days when the first version was released for the venerable but now long obsolete DOS personal computer operating system. But like the commercial lines market, the software had evolved steadily into a more comprehensive and flexible support tool.

Originally designed to just manage the application and submission process, the early versions of the software allowed producers and customer service representatives to enter client information into relevant ACORD forms for uploading as submissions to commercial insurers.

Integrated into an agency management system, the software eliminated duplication of data entry and also automated service functions including generation of certificates of insurance, binders, and auto coverage identification cards. The early versions also included some simple risk analysis checklists that allowed producers to capture information more completely and efficiently for entry into the ACORD applications.

The latest version of PS4 Plus, version 2.5, available this month, incorporates Internet technology such as hypertext linked documents to improve the natural flow of information, according to Becky Clegg, PS4 Plus sales manager and carrier account manager. The Internet links will provide additional market and coverage information, including The Rough Notes Company's Insurance Marketplace, which includes a detailed description of more than 650 programs and coverages for difficult-to-place exposures. Hypertext links to SilverPlume's Sage are also included.

The comprehensive package of commercial sales, risk management and client support tools also includes:

* Industry overviews. Each overview contains detailed information on specific industrial categories with key underwriting and coverage considerations and SIC/NAIC codes.

* General liability and workers compensation codes. Worksheets detail the codes and profile underwriting needs for these coverages.

* Risk questionnaires. Provide detailed risk analysis questions for 650 risks that extend beyond ACORD applications.

* E&O checklist. Identifies critical coverages that are often overlooked by agents and their clients and helps document completion of the coverage review by both the agent and client. The checklist includes an expanded coverage definition library with 1,200 listings and agents' notes highlighting alternative coverages or common problems for each coverage definition.

* Safety programs. Provide value-added safety designs for key risk categories that can be customized by clients to meet their specific needs.