Software saves time, client’s premiums

Most advisors tend to focus on the part of the book that generates the most revenue. In doing so, they often fail to take advantage of opportunities elsewhere.

In the insurance industry, this can mean losing clients that could have been retained.

It is quite an undertaking for advisors to actively mine and analyze their client-book, as they focus on bringing in new clients to grow their businesses.

Sensing an opportunity there, a technology and management consulting firm, Jacox-Hilton, has developed a program that does all the heavy lifting for advisors and prepares a client-ready report that identifies opportunities for saving money or enhancing coverage.

Known as AdvisorAssist, the software helps the advisor maximize each sale with minimal effort, finding opportunities to enhance policyholder value, says Cameron D. Jacox, president, Jacox-Hilton.

“A value opportunity may be something simple like replacing a term policy to lower annual premiums, or it could be a more complex issue such as addressing an under-funded universal life policy, a growing policy loan, or an unnecessarily complex plan.”

The software actively scrutinizes each policy and compares it to available alternatives. Once an opportunity is identified, it generates a proprietary report that an advisor can take to their client.

The client-ready report contains a detailed summary of the in-force policy, two to four strategic alternatives based on available product offerings, and a short- and long-term cost analysis illustrating the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative.

“By using real market product quotes and actual in-force policy data, such as renewal premium schedules or growing policy loans, advisors can communicate with their clients objectively in a more action-oriented manner,” says Jacox.

Often there are doubts about the accuracy of such analyses. However, Jacox guarantees “100% analytical accuracy” subject to the accuracy of “in-force policy data from carriers and actual product quotes,” on which all analyses are based.

He further claims that in 2011 the software helped policyholders save, on average, $790 versus their upcoming renewal premiums.

“Each opportunity is identified in terms of client value, as opposed to production value, and represents circumstances in which a client would be worse off by taking no action.”