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The Next-Generation AgentExperience Platform:Spur Sales Growth and EnhancedCustomer ExperienceWhitepaperAbstractToday’s digitally-connected consumers often demand that insurers must become easier to conductbusiness with. As a consequence, an insurance agent’s emphasis has to change from encompassingprice differentiators to also delivering a delightful experience across all channels and devices. Toimpress upon their customers with the unique value proposition of their products, agents need tobe empowered with digital interaction tools which help them engage with customers and meet theirexpectations. This is reflected by the key digital trends in the insurance industry - be it with improvingcustomer experience by utilizing capabilities like Chatbots, making smart decisions using Analytics,Machine Learning, and AI, or with personalized content and product offerings. Coforge’ AgentExperience Platform is designed with these new digital initiatives by insurance carriers in mind byleveraging the emerging technologies.www.coforgetech.com

The platform’s focus is on strengthening the relationshipbetween carriers and agents. This solution makes iteasier to not only generate sales, but also assist theinsurers in developing a long-term relationship withcustomers.Agents Caught in the Throes of ChangeAgents, as valuable touchpoints for the insurancecompanies, are the critical link between the insurersand customers. They are instrumental in tailoring theright coverage to customers based on their needs anddemands. Customer groups highlight the need and valueof personal interaction during the insurance productpurchase process, though its degree varies based onthe transaction and the insurance product complexities.Overall, insurance agents are the lynchpins thatguarantee the integrity and efficiency of the insurancesales cycle.78% of commercial insurance premiumis controlled by insurance brokers(Source: Professional Indemnity Insurance Brokers Ltd, 2017)As digital transformation is driving major shifts incustomer purchasing behaviors, the role of the agentsand their expectations are changing as well.60%Of agents citeavailability of bettertools affect theirpreference for usingcertain carriers35%35%Of agents citeavailability of bettertools as a majorreason for switchingcarriersOf agents wantbetter CRMtoolsSource- EY: Agents of the future, 2017Changing Agent ExpectationsAgents are currently quite concerned about the digitalcapabilities and tools that the insurance carriers providethem. Therefore, in order to incentivize agents, insurancecarriers need to invest in new-age technologies tosmoothen the agents’ sales journey, which would, in turnlead to more sales.Agent’s Journey Maps: Understanding thePain PointsAs product complexity grows and customer requirementsdiversify, agent responses to customers need toencompass not only the price differentiators but also anuanced articulation of the unique value proposition ofthe specific products. In the final analysis, agents needto ensure that all queries and concerns are completelyaddressed and build a trusting and caring relationshipwith the customer.In this context, agent journey maps are a great wayfor insurers to gain deeper understanding of therequirements and the pain points of the agents. Thiscan, in turn, help prioritize their investments in the rightareas for maximum impact.2

StageProcessBefore Sales Identify prospects Gather information about theprospects Gather information about thecompetitors' productsDuring Sales Initiate meeting with theprospectsAfter Sales Gather customers’ feedback Send reminders and notices Identify prospects’ insurancerequirements Captures prospects'documents Inspect and analyze customers’ Send contextual marketingcontent – new and existingproduct info Manage the targets andcommissions infocredit rating Calculate premium and decidethe insurance coverage termsNeeds Customers’ geographicalanalysis Customers’ financial analysis Competitors’ product analysisPain point Relatively lower premium,thus low commissions Meetings scheduling (Timeslot not given) Sales effort very high,geographically displaced Need to be up to date withInsurer products Capture customers’ information Calculate premium Analyze credit history of thecustomers Low risk for end consumer, hencedifficult to sell Higher competition from other Broker’s dashboard andcalendar Analyze customers’ feedback Documentation branding No way to manage customer(notices, etc.) efficiently(self-driven) No dashboard to knowbrokers Clarity of minimum requirementsfor coverage is missingprogress of self (target vsachieved) Consolidation ofdocuments/formats/ hard copyChannelsAgent Journey MapIn todays’ competitive brokerage market, agents need tobe proactive and move into the digital age while focusingon specialization as a way to secure new clients. Today’sagents are proactive advisors rather than just basicinsurance service providers.Less demand for paperwork, better sales tools, andgreater process simplicity from insurance carriers willenable agents to be more responsive to customerservicing. Insurers need to empower agents with anonline solution to suit customer needs and make theirexperience smooth and hassle-free.SolutionOur recommended solution is based on our partnerSitecore , along with rich user experience via react,angular, bootstrap etc. An integration approach withmultiple backend platforms, including BPM workflow isalso supported.3

Coforge Insurance Portal Framework Powered by Sitecore BrokerUnderwriterActuaryCEOSitecore Content ManagementContent ManagementContent ManagementContent ManagementContent ManagementContent ManagementWeb ContentManagementSecure MessagingCampaign CreatorFlexible Workflows &FormsExperienceAnalytics (xDB)TransactionalDocumentsMulti-lingual &Translation ManagementLive Chat & VideoCallingSocial rofileBrochures,DocumentsSupport for DifferentBrandingCo-Browsing Bot(Partner enabled)Email ExperienceManagerModule DesignRules Based & AdaptivePersonalizationDigital Signing ofDocumentsDeliver Right Offers &Services at Right TimeReduced Timeto MarketPersonalized Content& OffersManage all Your DigitalAssets from One PlaceTailored PlatformsIncreased ProductivityEnterprise Application IntegrationsPolicy AdminSystemDataWarehouseNavigatorExternal Systems IntegrationsCRMNLP Enginefor BotsDocuSignConsumer Skype/Skype for BusinessDigizuite/SharepointCoforge’s Platform Built on SitecoreSeamless Experience Platform – Connecting Agents, Carriers, and CustomersOur Agent/Broker platform provides a seamlessexperience empowering the key stakeholders of theInsurance carriers to do their business effectively.Designed using Sitecore -based CMS platform, itprovides off-the-shelf capabilities and a range of widgetsto create customizable experiences. Our solution isflexible to work with other content platforms whichthe carriers have already invested in or are planningto. Personalized experiences connect agents withinsurance carriers better and help them overcome thechallenges of selling a complex product like Insurance. Italso provides many features required for assessing therisk more effectively.Leveraging our extensive and in-depth experience withagents and insurance companies, Coforge has built aunique quote-to-policy solution. The agent experienceplatform has evolved based on our interactions withmultiple agents and understanding the issues they facewhile doing business with the insurance companies. WeContentAnalyticsA/B TestingUX/DesignContentManagementFull StackFrameworksWCAG, DigitalAsset MgmtConsulting &Architecturehave used our design-thinking framework to get to theroot of these challenges and formulated an agent journeymap to understand a typical agent’s perspective. We arealso able to draw on our vast repositories of in-depthexpertise in the business and advanced technologies.4

How to Empower Business Users?Empowered business users are vital to the success ofany solution. So, we asked ourselves, what is the bestway to empower insurance carriers and their business?How can we ensure that the business assumesownership of preparing the agents better? Our solutionencapsulates many complex scenarios and the typicalagent sales journey map in an easy-to-use design. Thishelps agents to focus more on their sales process ratherthan on the product complexity.Supporting Empowered Agents throughtheir Sales JourneyOnboarding: The solution enables a simplified andonline boarding process, which reduces paperwork andhelps to attract today’s digitally perceptive agents.Customer Insights: Through the use of advanced dataanalytics technology, agents are presented with insightsabout their prospects. This can help them provide abetter customized offering to their prospects.Dashboard: The dashboard feature enables agents tohave better understanding of customer segmentation,geographical analysis, quote histories, conversion rates,cost of sales, and profitability rates.Simplified Processes: Enhanced technologiesfor document capture and management, electronicsignature, and workflow management can help agentsreduce their time-to-market.Ease of Implementation - Customize andScaleThe Agent Experience Platform enables an easy-to-use,customizable, and scalable solution for the insurers todesign a portal for their agents. The loosely-coupledSitecore -based solution offers a rapid developmentenvironment for the IT-enablers whereas our matureagile practice helps us release decoupled features withan aggressive time-to-market.Digital E3 – True Care for Agents andCustomersSuccess, these days is defined by not just digitaloperational excellence but the creation of emotionallyempathetic experiences for customers, employees,and business partners. We enable these experiencesthrough specific digital services using advanced digitaltechnologies.5

Deliveremotionallye mpathetice xperiences to end usersUX Framewor kKickoEvaluateImplement Understand target user s Integrate & analyse data Develop business goal s Set foundation for design Oversee development &implementation Monitor & continuousl yintegrate user feedback Requirements & projec troadmapDiscoverDesign Design & executeresearch progra m Gather customer insightDesignThinking Progress from low to hig hfidelity prototypin g Validate architecture andcreate visual desig nUser-CenteredResearchA comprehensive ‘Digital E3’ (Emotional EmpatheticExperience) system addresses the challenges thatagents face at every step of their journey. Applying‘Digital E3’ in Insurance goes a long way in makingpeople feel cared for and delivering digital services thatevolve as industry needs shift.Business Benefits Improved inquiry-to-buy ratio Seamless and consistent customer experienceacross platforms Improved agent retention Improved branding White-labelled portals for agent’s own customizedstore-front with a range of localization andCognitivePsychologyVisualDesigncustomization abilities and integration with theinsurers Ability to rapidly deploy in new territories Improved Time-to-market for insurers for agentportal launch and direct customer portal launchOptimized operational efficiency Ease of integration with multiple channels Reduced administrative costs Improved agent productivity Enhanced cross and upselling of products Centralized content management Self-Learning tools Commission dashboards6