Insurance software provider Vertafore has partnered with Microsoft to give insurance agents access to the capabilities of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM (customer relationship management) platform.
The partnership is designed to improve customer-facing interactions and give agents data that can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. The capabilities, which will be integrated into the Vertafore Agency Platform and mobile offerings, will extend to Dynamics CRM pipeline management, prospect & opportunity tracking, email campaign and other CRM capabilities.
A recent report by Novarica found that insurance professionals are starting to deploy CRM-driven campaigns that share customer data across the distribution, underwriting and service channels. CRM deployments are expected to increase in 2015, with 21 percent of respondents planning to integrate them into their business.
Microsoft Dynamics’ deal with Vertafore allows agency customers to leverage the Dynamics platform to build out a sales force automation application that is integrated with the Vertafore Agency Platform. This gives agents a complete view into the policy lifecycle, and allows them to track prospects and use this extended information to increase customer conversion rates.
The Dynamics announcement comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that Microsoft will offer special discounts to Vertafore customers on the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, HP, and Toshiba Tablets.
A recent survey by Channel Harvest Research, found that over the next two years, insurance agents expect a significant increase in tablet-based applications over smart phone apps, especially for display-oriented tasks like sales presentations and training. A quarter of agents expect tablet use to increase for sales purposes and 22 percent expect tablet use to increase for accessing training tools.
Theo Beack, CTO of Vertafore says the company will continue collaborating with Microsoft to innovate legacy processes and identify more efficient ways to bring enterprise technology to the insurance industry.
Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies
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