This article was produced in partnership with Amwins Group.
Gia Snape of Insurance Business America sat down with specialists from Amwins Access about delivering retail agents and clients choice, ease, and flexibility in flood risk coverage via Amwins’ digital platform.
Flood continues to be one of the cumbersome risks to place in today’s property and casualty marketplace.
Retail agents must navigate a complex and ever-changing market for their clients, which means they need the speed and quoting efficiency of a digital platform with the hands-on assistance of human underwriters.
To address this, Amwins is introducing flood coverage on its personal lines platform, Amwins InstantQuote (IQ). The new capability provides retail agents with choice and flexible coverage options and aims to create a “one-stop shop” for flood risk.
But unlike other platforms, Amwins IQ doesn’t just offer straight-through policy processing. Retailers can also engage human underwriters on more complex risks that require a more thorough assessment.
“With Amwins IQ, we can solve problems for retailers, removing friction from the sales process while also providing best-in-class underwriter and customer support,” said Colin Tinley (pictured below), senior vice president of Amwins Access.
“We give clients a choice of markets, coverages and how they interact with Amwins underwriters. The result is that agents feel confident about getting their clients what they need when they need it.”
The capability is being rolled out gradually across the US, with all 50 states expected to have access to flood risk on Amwins IQ by mid-year.
With its quote-to-bind capability, Amwins IQ does the heavy lifting of quoting multiple products and programs, outlining the differences in coverage and forms.
Agents can instantly view options via a coverage comparison document and live comparison on the platform, which can show what limits and coverages are available.
Amwins IQ will also offer both NFIP and non-NFIP equivalent forms, giving agents product options to cover a client’s assets, no matter how coverage-sensitive the insured is.
“Flood is a peril that requires expertise, and few retail agents are fully versed in the coverages available,” said Tinley.
“As such, retailers often choose to work with the markets they trust to guide them in making the best decisions for their clients while also trying to find the best price.”
Adding flood risk to Amwins IQ makes the transaction process as seamless and easy as possible, according to Eric Weber (pictured below), executive vice president of Amwins Access. The platform aims to address pain points and put the retail agent and their clients in control.
“We have heard for years that flood is too cumbersome, with too few options, and is an overall manual process that takes control away from the retailer,” said Weber.
“Clients want things fast. Amwins IQ allows retail agents to control the pace of the transaction, moving quickly enough to capitalize on opportunities. The more ‘self-serve’ functions within the platform, the more the retail agents can control and the better the overall experience.”
Retailers may have had to contend with a lack of choice in the flood insurance space. Through its digital platform, Amwins aims to change that – offering coverage that can be as stripped down as an NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) equivalent policy or as broad as a typical homeowner’s policy.
“Choice has been a missing component in the flood insurance space for a long time, and Amwins aims to change that in a way that will not overwhelm a retail agent but empower them to make the best decisions for their clients within a platform that’s easy to understand and use,” Tinley said.
Moreover, Amwins doesn’t limit its appetite to small risks that can be placed directly via an online marketplace. It can also handle those difficult-to-place risks that require underwriter support and guidance.
“It is the best of both worlds,” said Tinley. “We are here if you need us, but we won’t get in the way if you can do it yourself.”
Finally, retailers can rely on Amwins’ highly experienced underwriting team, which has placed more than $40 billion of flood insurance through its private market program.
With a team of underwriters that collectively boasts more than 100 years of flood underwriting experience (both domestic and through Lloyd’s) and deep agency relationships, Amwins’ expertise in the flood market sets them apart.
“Amwins underwriters are the best flood underwriters in the game and have access to a multitude of markets, including exclusive programs that can compete with both the NFIP and other private carriers,” said Weber.
For more information on Amwins IQ, please visit https://www.amwins.com/quote-online.
