Vertafore Insurance Podcast

Did the independent agent peak in high school?

Welcome to 2020! Our first guest of the year is Ryan Hanley, Founder and Chief Strategist at Hanley Media. Ryan is an industry veteran across both the insurance and marketing fields. Now he spends his time trying to educate and inspire others to use the most modern tools and methods to enhance their businesses. This week's episode starts out with Ryan's background (around 6:17), how he realized he could transform the way insurance agents sell with the power of storytelling (around 8:45), and leaves us with some strategic and tactical takeaways that you can put to work in your own business immediately (from about 24:32 until the end). 

The best of 2019: Angela Adams

With the VIP team still recovering from their busy end-of-2019, we've got one more week with a replay of the (second) most popular episode of the year. Angela Adams (President of Angela Adams Consulting) is an industry legend with over thirty years of experience. Before opening her own business to consult exclusively with Vertafore customers, Angela was the only female agency owner in Augusta, Georgia in the 1990s. If you listen, you'll see why this episode was our #2 hit across all of 2019.

The best of 2019: Agency Revolution

The VIP team is taking a holiday break, so we're bringing you the most popular episode of 2019. It's our conversation with the team from our Orange Partner, Agency Revolution, which took place at the 2019 Accelerate, powered by NetVU conference. Industry veterans Justin and Dave share their wisdom while relative newcomer Tim offers a fresh perspective on industry and technology trends. If you didn't tune in the first time around, or even if you did, this top episode from 2019 is a great listen. Check it out now! 

Plan, work, build, achieve

It's time for part two of our "time capsule" series with six more guests with great advice to share. At the end of each episode, we ask our guests for their one biggest piece of advice for the industry and now we're unpacking that advice with a little commentary from Rick to tie it all together. This week, Rick pulls answers from Doug Mohr (3:29), Ron Berg (6:29), Angela Adams (8:39), Bryan Bernier (11:56), Carey Wallace (15:25), and Patti Harman (17:40). Tips span from the importance of strategic planning and working on your business to projections about what agencies of the future will need to survive and thrive. Don't miss our collection of these valuable nuggets of wisdom. 

Yeah, but what does "customer first" look like?

It's all about the customer, right? You hear it a lot, but do you know how to back up those words with actions? This week we're talking to longtime industry veteran Troy Korsgaden who (literally) wrote the book on making customer service your differentiator. In this episode, Troy walks us through how changes to the insurance ecosystem have created new challenges and opportunities for agents (at 3:40), the number one way you can actually use your customer service to stand out (around the 9:30 mark), and some small steps you can take towards overhauling the entire customer service experience (jump to 15:50). Troy also tells you how to get a free copy of his book Discussion Partner if you email him and mention you're a "friend of Rick Fox."

Embrace technology without fear or delay

At the end of each episode, we ask our guests for their one biggest piece of advice for the industry. Now, it's time to open up the time capsule and see what we find! Throughout 2019, our guests have given excellent advice from their own personal and professional experience. So, we're unpacking this advice with a little commentary from Rick to tie it all together. This week, Rick pulls answers from Jason Keck (2:27), Chad Hawkinson (3:49). Dale Steinke (6:00), James Hobson (7:32), Clive O'Connell (9:56), and Dave Morton (11:52) and discovers they're all saying one really important thing: embrace technology! Listen to this week's InsuRant to get a reminder on how you can do this and why it's vital to your future success.

Re-connect the dots: Listen (again) to our connectivity roundtable discussion

It's a special Thanksgiving treat! Did you miss our roundtable discussion about connectivity across the industry? This week's podcast features a replay of our conversation between industry experts Ryan Deeds, Chris Cline, Joyce Sigler, and Vertafore product executive Sharmila Ray - moderated by our host Rick Fox. Hear from all sides - agency, carrier, and software - how connectivity is vital to your success and how to achieve it. 

Give your customers a reason to be grateful

Rick is back with another InsuRant and, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, he's focusing on the topic of gratitude. Whether you're thankful for your family, customers, employees, or anyone else in your life, this is a season where most of us take stock and make sure we're showing those people how important they are to us. Hear Rick's thoughts on why gratitude is important to your business and why doing what you've always done just isn't enough (around 4:18). Then, hear how you can use this time of year to add even more value to your customers to show your own appreciation and inspire theirs. Rick shares some reminders and safety tips (around 18:05) that you can take to your customers to let them know you're thinking of them. We can't think of a better way to show your customers you care than by checking in to make sure they know how to stay safe and to double-check they have the right coverages just in case.

Fires, floods, and cannabis, oh my!

This week's guest is Patti Harman, Editor-in-Chief for Claims Magazine. Patti is a lifelong writer and storyteller who also developed a passion for education along the way. She joins us to talk about the importance of learning styles and experiential learning, particularly within the insurance industry (around 6:53). You'll get to hear her adventures touring the American Modern training facility in Ohio, the use of virtual reality in job-training, and how she once got to flood a living room for educational purposes (around 15:20). If you fast-forward to 18:55, Patti shares her thoughts on the new opportunities and challenges that are on the horizon as the insurance industry begins to reckon with the legalization of cannabis across the United States.

Have you googled your business lately?

This week, we're joined by John Bachmann, Regional Vice President, Insurance at Social Survey to talk about the importance of a solid online presence for everyone in our industry. From the basics, like having a modern website (around 4:20) to understanding what it means to have a brand (around 9:08) to the importance of customer reviews in the buying process (around 18:00) John walks us through some of the most important things that you can do to build and maintain your online reputation.