Some people love pen and paper, and some haven’t picked up a pen in while. While handwritten notes and letters add a personal touch to any occasion, it looks like the insurance industry is slowly phasing out the old pen and paper routine. Even before COVID-19, virtual meetings, and working remotely, the e-application, otherwise known as an e-App, has been making its way into the workings of insurance carriers. Here is why you should start becoming familiar with them.
Faster Signing and Less Errors
Since most of us have become natural typist in this technological world, typing is almost faster than writing by hand. Because of this, you can save time filling out applications when you make the switch to e-Apps. Even if you are not a fast typist, you can save time on scratching out misspelled names, using whiteout to fix incorrect numbers, or if your client decides to make changes. With an e-App, you can simply scroll up, backspace, and try again.
“The system will highlight all of the requirements, making the forms easier to read for target information. E-Apps are built so that you must complete all required information before the application can even be signed. This way, you won’t overlook any vital information and the suitability review will go much quicker.”
Lindsay McVicar, Impact Case Processor that works with e-Apps
Less in-house Delivery
If you are still using paper applications, you know the time it takes for scanning, faxing, printing labels, or going to the post office to mail those hard copies. Think of all the time you could save for yourself, your team, and your clients by eliminating those time-consuming steps.
Also, let us not forget there is a pandemic occurring right now and face-to-face meetings are not super popular, especially among older clients. This is when an e-App can come in handy. Clients can fill out these applications in the comforts of their own home and even sign it without ever going to your office. As a financial professional that cares for their clients, you can set up a video or audio chat with your client to ease them through the whole process.
By saving all this time, you can now invest that time into meeting new clients, engaging with current clients, or reaching out to prospects.
Faster Processing Time
After filing out your paper application and sending it for processing, someone then must enter that information into their system and that can take some time to accomplish. If an e-App is submitted, that whole data-entry process is eliminated, which makes processing time a breeze for all parties involved. A quicker processing time means arrival to the approval process is even faster too.
Faster Approval Time
Since you must have made the switch to an e-App by now, you’ve gotten to the approval process much faster and carriers appreciate that. Carriers are busy with so many applications (probably a lot of data-entry from those paper applications) and if they can arrive to yours sooner and process it quicker, then you are much more likely to be accelerated through the approval as well.
Additional Benefits
“Brighthouse and Symetra, partners with Impact Partnership, can offer some additional benefits for the use of these e-Apps. Because this electronic application system is less expensive to process for the carrier, that means they can put more into what their products have to offer, benefiting both the consumers and the financial professionals.”
Mike Weinberger, Impact’s Advance Resources of Annuity Sales
A variety of benefits are offered by different carriers, but the use of e-Apps is showing more perks than paper applications.
Keep up with the carriers
Insurance carriers are realizing their jobs can be a lot easier because of this technological advance in the application process. Some carriers are already making certain products e-Apps only, such as Symetra. Over the next few years, this trend might start to become normal among carriers. If you want to keep up with them, it might be time to become familiar with these e-Apps before you are left behind with just a stack of papers.
-Lauren Purcell, Director of First Impressions
1295268-0821
