Vertafore Insurance Podcast

The Service Superpower KPI.

Episode 33 of the VIP Podcast is now LIVE!

Seth Zaremba, Founder of b atomic!, shares how he bootstrapped an insurance startup that's changing the analytics game. This isn't your standard, run-of-the-mill KPI conversation about total premium, retention and monthly sales targets. Seth is introducing new KPIs that the industry has never seen. And it all starts with three little words: cost per transaction.

Meet Seth and hear:

• From agency startup to insurtech startup
• Do agencies really own their data?
• Why current analytics don't give us a competitive edge
• The cost per transaction: what it is and why it matters
• How to begin leveraging data in your agency

He’s building a sales world without duplicate entry.

Tolga Tezel, Founder & CEO of Canopy Connect, is solving for a massive problem in insurance: moving sales data WITHOUT human hands. In any other industry, data is supportive to the product being sold. In insurance, the data IS the product being sold...which means, there's a lot of it. And moving it between systems? Whew. Pretty sure sales teams are already tearing up reading this. But dry up those eyes. Tolga and crew have an exciting solution.

Meet Tolga and hear:
- How he ended up in insurtech of all things
- Why he has bootstrapped his company from the ground up
- How much time sales teams waste being data janitors
- An innovative solution for moving hundreds of data fields in just a few clicks
- Where Canopy Connect is going next

Marketing yourself on TikTok

Episode 31 of the VIP Podcast is now LIVE!

Elijah Goodman, Producer at Goodman Family Insurance, was looking for a creative way to gain attention and write more business. He and his buddies created a video that went quickly went viral and Elijah saw his sales increase and his Tik Tok fame rise in the process. Goodman Family Insurance is a family-owned independent insurance agency. Elijah's unique marketing efforts made this local agency a household name and now writes in multiple states outside of his home state of Wisconsin. 

Meet Elijah and hear:

• How he got his start in the agency.
• The origin story of his viral Tik Tok Videos 
• Elijah Goodman's marketing advice for Indie Agents
• The rise and fall of Elijah's Tik Tok Channel. 
• What is next for Elijah Goodman and Goodman Family Insurance

Click below to watch.

The First Ever Digital M&A Platform

Adam Bowe, Founder of Cake, has created a Carvana-like insurance marketplace where you can buy or sell your book of business. Today, the only way to buy or sell is...know the right person. With cake, that changes to...know the right platform. Not only are they democratizing the M&A space, they're also making it possible to exchange groups of accounts (known as "slices"), instead of the whole cake (aka, book of business). Believe us, this is one you don't want to miss.

Meet Adam and hear:

• How Cake works
• The *free Value Your Agency tool available on haveyourcake.com
• Why this platform makes the M&A space available to anyone and everyone
• The "trust" challenge Cake must overcome - and how they're doing it
• Where this platform is headed in 2024+

It Starts With The Data.

Margeaux Giles, Founder & CEO of IRYS, sits down with us to try and settle the CRM vs AMS debate. Her experience in both agency operations and insurtech gives her a unique perspective on what the next generation of technology could look like for the indie agent. And it all starts with...the data.

Meet Margeaux and hear:

• 4 key differences between a CRM and AMS

• A high-level overview of the importance of data architecture

• Why agencies need a CRM to be competitive in the digital era

• How to overcome the change management hurdle

SPOILER: An Agency’s Valuation Increases..

Carey Wallace, Founder of AgencyFocus, has an intriguing background. She cut her teeth in startup early-on after helping take a company public shortly after finishing undergrad. Since then, she's gone on to launch two more startups, both in the insurance analytics space. Her most recent venture is focused on helping agencies increase their valuation with......better data.  

Meet Carey and hear:

• Who is Carey Wallace and why has AgencyFocus taken off?
• Her belief on the importance of an agency's data in 2023 and beyond
• How data and valuation are linked
• The biggest data challenges she helps under-valued agencies overcome
• A few things you can do to improve your data maturity

 

A Startup Accelerator For Indie Agents ONLY

Pat Cline, Director of Accelerator Operations at 101 Weston Labs, is building a new kind of accelerator. This accelerator doesn't help carrier insurtech, MGA insurtech or, honestly, any insurtech other than solutions meant to drive change for indie agents. Its partnership with the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina state association is what truly makes it powerful.  

Meet Pat and hear:

• First, what is an accelerator and how is 101 Weston Labs different
• Why 101 Weston Labs & IIANC is a match made in heaven
• A look at the first cohort of insurtech solutions
• The 12 week startup bootcamp and annual event
• Where 101 Weston Labs is headed in the future

Making Insurtech A Profit Center, Not Cost Center

Steve Anderson, CEO of Catalyit, joins us to discuss 2023 insurtech trends across almost 500 agencies from his recent 2023 State Of Tech Report. In this episode, you'll learn:

- the #1 tech issue facing agencies in 2023

- the average number of solutions an agency uses (and why)

- how to turn your tech from a profit center into a cost center

- a simple process for selecting the right tech for your agency

Commercial Insurance Made Easy

Becky Monfre, VP of Digital Accounts at Coterie Insurance, joins us to talk about how Coterie is making small commercial Insurance easier. She has been in the industry her entire career and understands the value of speed and efficiency for commercial insurance.  As the head of digital distribution, she loves helping agents to embed small commercial insurance capabilities on their website. 

Meet Becky and hear:

• What is Coterie Insurance claim to fame?
• How Coterie is able to help agencies get a bindable quote in 2 minutes 
• The importance of having a strong process for this hard market.
• The impact of the Customer Journey
• How Coterie helps you matian the vital relationship peice with your customers. 

Click below to watch.

 

How To Increase Your Team’s Capacity

Tom Parratt, Chief Operating Officer at Sheally Insurance Group, can tell you down to the second how long it takes for someone to answer and log a call. In fact, it was the time saved on this activity that brought them to Vertafore's My Personal Lines Suite. Listen as Tom shares how his background in professional soccer has helped him achieve operational excellence in a fast-growing North Carolina agency.

Meet Tom and hear:

• How he ended up in insurance after his successful career in professional soccer
• His philosophy around operational excellence
• Why data is a carrot not a stick
• How his Vertafore tech suite helps his team work 2.1X faster