Every industry has a core system. For insurance, it's the agency or policy management system (AMS or PMS). And for the 40+ years that these insurance-specific management systems have existed, we are still constantly discussing:
At our webinar on ‘How to make your AMS work for you,’ our guest panelist, Olivia Schmitt, helped break down why this is a perennial conversation and provided a unique perspective on how to answer them. What most companies miss is that getting the right management system comes down to the fine details that companies overlook in the rush (or stress,) to buy the software.
For AMSs, it is critical to spend time upfront thinking through the user experience. System adoption is often a prelude to seeing employees leave because of the friction of switching from a system everyone is familiar with to one they are not. Focus on the core functions of a business and solve for those first. A common example is, at some point, you are going to want to take information from your AMS and feed it into a bookkeeping system.
Other points that were discussed:
- Your data is complex and valuable. It’s important to have a game plan on what data you need to collect and make sure that your management system supports it.
- Rather than spending money to fix the system post-implementation, spending a bit of money upfront to bring in a consultant can save the hassle and even more money later.
- Most companies never maximize their use of the system they have today. The best way to get your agency management system working for you may just be to explore how to use what you already have and configure it to reduce friction.
- Your AMS or PMS is your single source of truth. Treat it as such.
