A 2022 ICTA nomination Toronto, ON (May 2, 2022) – Commercial insurance is still largely a painfully slow, paper-based process that lags far behind personal lines in terms of digitization.Recognizing this lack of innovation in the Canadian commercial insurance space, we started Fuse Insurance, a technology-centric insurance brokerage.In August of 2017, development began on our quoting software, with the initial launch in January 2018.

Since then, we have continued to work to find the best ways to automate broker day-to-day tasks with API integrations to seamlessly connect our technology partners.Our most notable partnership has been with Calefy Inc., which powers our online application creation and quoting platform.With Calefy, we can obtain high-quality website leads that have made our lead-to-submission process faster than ever before.

Since implementation, we’ve had over 1,750 leads come in through this tool.The Calefy Quote System ensures the right questions are being asked during the initial lead intake process and adjusts to answers in real time – eliminating the need for follow-up questions.This improves our overall data accuracy and produces a ready-to-send, high-quality submission as a result – creating a smooth transition from broker to underwriter.

Apart from implementing a quoting platform, we have also added a number of third-party software integrations to streamline our employee’s daily workflow.We have leveraged our in-house custom-built software to connect all of our data portals for a highly automated and seamless experience.These data-driven partnerships incorporate leading technology companies including Google and Opta to enhance the quality of our submissions.

We recently added a digital brokerage management system through Vertafore to help increase our organization and speed up our processes.On top of this, we added a CRM that is focused on lead generation to help our employees develop a more efficient system for tracking leads.We utilize automated prospecting and cold-calling solutions to supplement our new business development strategy.

We also leverage search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing best practices across our website in order achieve an out-sized digital presence.The time that our brokers would normally spend on manual data entry and preparing new submissions for a number of insurers can now be spent on more complex tasks.These digital integrations have also created more time for our brokers to focus on building meaningful relationships with our clients and prospects.

With the help of our technology partnerships and software integrations, our brokers become more useful at their jobs and can dedicate more time to working with insurer partners.Reduced back and forth time with underwriters also results in less frustration around delays and paperwork – improving employee morale and productivity.The new digital sales strategies we have implemented have also allowed us to unlock new markets.

We’ve been able to drive a considerable number of leads in under-targeted sectors solely based on our SEO and digital marketing strategies.Having the technology in place to automate several steps in the process has allowed us to quote and close hard to place leads at an accelerated rate.We are constantly surveying our team to identify areas where we can make process improvements by exchanging manual steps for custom-built or third-party software solutions.

We continue to evaluate our performance and our broker daily processes to adjust and make improvements that benefit our staff, clients and industry partners.Business Impact As a result of our technology integrations, we have increased client satisfaction and made significant process improvements for our commercial brokers.Since implementing Calefy, users can get a commercial insurance quote from our website in as little as 5 minutes This has saved us an average of 40 minutes per lead Lead to submission time went from 45 mins to 5 mins per lead on average The time it takes to fill out an application and receive quotes back from insurers used to take an average of 7-10 days and now takes just 1-2 days Reduced broker touchpoints throughout the application process from 6 to 2 on average Processed over 1,750 quotes submitted through our platform since implementation Business Agility: During last fall, our website received a major surge in activity (including 900% growth in website traffic) due to new insurance requirements for an emerging market segment.

67% of users who visited our website during this time submitted a complete application through the Calefy Quote System on our website.Just two of our brokers were able to handle and submit 150 new business quotes within a two-week period.This was in addition to their other full-time responsibilities.

This would not be possible for two employees to handle if they were collecting leads through traditional methods, such as basic contact forms or phone calls.A combination of our custom software integrations as well as our partnerships with our technology providers allowed us to capitalize on this business surge and write twice as much business.About Fuse Insurance Launched in 2017, Fuse Insurance is the evolution of the commercial insurance brokerage, and the first of its kind in Western Canada.

Backed by policies from a selection of A-rated insurers, Fuse Insurance can provide coverage for businesses large and small from almost any industry.Fuse was voted as Brokerage of the Year (less than 10 employees) at the Insurance Business Canada Awards in 2019.Learn more at fuseinsurance.ca, and for the latest updates, visit the Fuse Insurance Blog.

Tags: automation, Fuse Insurance, ICTA nomination