In part 1 of this series we looked at how Dynamic Distribution would enable much more straightforward distribution for everyone in the market.

In Part 2 we saw how this would enable a true marketplace to form, delivering instant e-trade on any product.

In this final part we will look at how the same technology can be used by brokers to simplify and enhance handling quote requests from multiple insurers.

The key aspect so far has been dynamic product definitions, which allow products to be quickly defined as needed by insurers and then made available to the market.

One aspect of this capability is form-builder technology that allows users to define their own screen forms to capture whatever information they need in order to generate a quote based on an underlying question set.

Brokers can directly use the forms defined by insurers within their broker policy administration environment. However, while this is fine for singular products, if the broker wishes to request quotes from a panel of insurers then this can be cumbersome as it still requires the broker to enter the same basic data into several forms, one after the other.

ParaCode makes this easier by allowing brokers to define their own forms to capture risk data on the customer service desk or web quote and buy portals. This would typically contain a superset of the questions required by all of the insurers that will be asked to quote. The system can be configured so that the information captured by the broker’s form is mapped to the questions on each insurer’s form. This mapping is then invoked whenever the broker completes their form, allowing the data to be entered once and then piped through to each insurer that is being asked to quote.

The benefit of this approach compared to the current standards-based one is that each insurer can set up their product according to their own needs (e.g for rating), while the broker can work with a form that captures precisely what is needed to get quotes from their panel of insurers.

In a similar manner, a single form can be defined to span the question sets of several complimentary products and then the relevant data mapped through to each product individually, so that quotes for different elements can be sought automatically and combined into a single purchase for the policy holder. For example, scratch and dent insurance could be added to gap insurance, or personal accident insurance to travel insurance.

These capabilities mean that many more types of insurance can be handled on-system and e-traded, with much less data being rekeyed across different insurer systems.

It also means that each party is able to mange their own product or data capture process to suit their own needs and timeframes without waiting for a standards body to approve changes or 3rd party platforms to adopt changes.

So, in summary, the overall benefits of Dynamic Distribution are:

• MGAs & insurers can create products immediately, in-house, and get them to market without delay. They can easily make optimisations to ensure that the product is performing as required.
• MGAs can create products that work the way they want them to in terms of defining a unique question set to drive the specific rating parameters, referrals and underwriting processes.
• MGAs can manage all distribution channels centrally.
• MGAs can reach the entire broker market without artificial technical boundaries.
• Brokers can find and transact all products quickly and equitably.
• Brokers can set up forms that focus on capturing the relevant details and getting these to the insurers without rekeying, saving time and eliminating errors.
• Customers get quotes more quickly and with less effort, and get a wider variety of quotes in more scenarios to ensure they are getting the best deals possible.

Which altogether means that Dynamic Distribution is enabling the innovative and agile future of the general insurance market.