Equisoft Research Reveals Tech Gap in Life Insurance Industry: Only 14% of Broker Agency Management Systems Have Digital Commission Accounting Fully Integrated

While brokers deliver significant value for life insurance carriers, their top challenge is a lack of technology that would improve broker, advisor, and end-customer experience, Equisoft commissioned study reveals.

MONTREAL, March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Equisoft, a leading global digital solutions provider to the financial industry, is pleased to reveal the results of a newly commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Equisoft, "Digitalizing Life Insurance Distribution." The study¹ explores the digital synergies among life insurance carriers, brokers, and advisors and identifies key challenges.

One of the study's findings is that while 75% of brokers use agency management systems to manage their relationship with carriers and customers, only 14% of broker respondents have digital commission accounting capabilities fully integrated into those systems — creating delays in payments to advisors and obscuring payment transparency.

"The life insurance industry is in a time of flux. Every company in each part of the ecosystem is undergoing some type of digital transformation, and each is at a different stage in their journey," said Grace Ata, AVP Product Development at Equisoft. "Carriers depend on brokers to build their business because they do a great job of guiding life insurance customers through the purchase journey. Unfortunately, many brokers still lack the digital tools needed for advisor success."

The study also revealed that compensation management remains a perennial sore point for brokers, which is a critical issue since compensation is so important for creating superior advisor experiences. In fact,11% of carriers said it takes more than 60 days to pay their brokers. At the same time, brokers are hungry for better tools to help them manage commission plans and get them paid faster. They identified a poor commission process as a strain on their relationships with carriers.  

"Both of these findings reveal that there's a clear digital transformation opportunity available here. Better digital management tools could mitigate tension around compensation," said Ata. "What the responses to the study showed was that more effective digital management tools will turn brokers and advisors from adversaries into advocates."

Download the full study on "Digitalizing Life Insurance Distribution" here.  

Sign up for our Accelerate Webinar "Life Insurance Distribution: New Solutions to Agency Management and Commission Accounting Challenges" on March 15 to learn more about this study.

 ¹ Respondents consisted of 200 life insurance carriers, brokers, and advisors in both the U.S. and Canada

Founded in 1994, Equisoft is a global provider of advanced insurance and investment digital solutions. Recognized as a valued partner by over 250 of the world's leading financial institutions, Equisoft offers a complete ecosystem of solutions, from innovative front-end applications to extensive back-office services and unique data migration expertise. The firm's flagship solutions include SaaS policy administration, CRM, financial needs analysis, financial planning, asset allocation, fund and portfolio analysis, quotes and illustrations, electronic application, agency management systems, as well as customer, agent and broker portals. Equisoft is also Oracle's largest and most experienced partner for the OIPA platform. With its business-driven approach, deep industry knowledge, innovative technology, and multicultural team of experts based in North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Australia, Equisoft helps its clients tackle any challenge in this era of digital disruption. For more information, please visit www.equisoft.com. 

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SOURCE Equisoft