Quick Quote takes the “work” out of workers’ comp
Although it’s a vital coverage for every business, workers’ compensation is complicated and often difficult to quote and write. Arrowhead, part of Arrowhead Programs, launched an online system that radically streamlined the process several years ago. Called Quick Quote, the platform was upgraded last fall to require even fewer data points, shortening the quote-to-bind time even more significantly.
More than 180 class-specific questions were removed, speeding up the quote process while improving accuracy. Plus, their upload feature has been streamlined to save producers time and accuracy. Producers pick the commission level required, from 0-15 percent, based on each risk’s requirements.
“There’s almost a limitless array of business and worker classifications and business options,” explained Becky Pinto, president of Arrowhead’s Workers’ Compensation Program. “And because every business is unique, agents need to know the right questions to ask so they can provide the right coverage. Our Quick Quote has removed the complexity, making rating, quoting and binding much more streamlined.”
How Quick Quote came about
Prior to Quick Quote’s launch a few years ago, quoting, binding and policy issuance was extremely time-consuming. The manual process of asking a plethora of questions and obtaining documents from an applicant relied on emails, telephone calls and USPS to gather and verify the necessary information before preparing a quote. Add to that the effort involved in looking up information in databases and keying in data.
Arrowhead’s innovation team examined the process and built a platform to speed each transaction, yielding improved accuracy, greater efficiency and reduced cost.
Much of the data required to price and underwrite a workers’ compensation policy exists in the public domain – on company websites, through Google search and from rating bureaus. The team identified data that could be imported into its system without having to request it from each applicant.
A model was built that relied on automated data aggregation without any human intervention. The model is paired with responses to the dynamic question set so the risk criteria can be compared to the filed rating plans and underwriting guidelines. Producers can communicate with the system in the way that’s most convenient for them, via an API.
Related: A case study in innovation: Arrowhead Daily Rental Program
How Quick Quote has been innovated
The platform includes straight-through processing, a feature dear to producers, allowing a submission to be entered and in a few quick minutes, the quote is returned to the producer, without waiting an underwriter to approve.
“The producer logs into our portal, Arrowhead Exchange, to select applicable class codes, locations, experience mods and ownership of risk. If those selections fit our carrier’s underwriting parameters, the API returns the questions to the producer to complete,” said Doug Noone, vice president of digital product. “After receiving the producer’s submission, the tool produces a quote; the producer can bind the account then and there – in just minutes.”
“This is another instance of Arrowhead’s commitment to continually innovate,” says Tom Kussurelis, chief operating officer. “Arrowhead doesn’t invent the technology. Instead, we’re constantly looking for innovative offerings from Insurtech, bringing them into the fold to increase efficiency, reduce expenses, better serve our producers and bring profit to our partners.”
This article first appeared in Arrowhead’s corporate blog. It has been modified to better fit the needs of Arrowhead Programs’ audience.
