Breaking Open the Compliance Black Box: How M3 Insurance Took Back Control of Producer Licensing
When M3 Insurance began rapidly expanding its distribution channels, its existing licensing process wasn’t just inefficient: It was becoming a serious obstacle to growth. The Wisconsin-based insurance agency needed a way to more than double its producer force quickly, and without sacrificing compliance or adding administrative staff.
Read M3 Insurance’s success story now.
The challenge of invisible compliance
M3 Insurance wasn’t managing its producer compliance in an old-fashioned or manual way, but that doesn’t mean the process was efficient or seamless. For the agency’s Carrier Relations Coordinator, Kim Lockwood, the part of her job spent managing producer licensing felt like sending requests into a black box. While their previous vendor handled the licensing work, the lack of visibility into the process left Lockwood constantly wondering about the status of the agency’s producers’ licenses and appointments.
“We didn’t have any visibility into what was actually happening, or where things stood,” Lockwood recalled. In an industry where compliance can’t be left to chance, this uncertainty was becoming increasingly untenable as the company grew. The challenge was, how could Lockwood gain more control and insight into producer licensing without taking on an exponential amount of work?
Scaling without breaking
Beyond the challenge of having limited visibility into the status of their licensed producers, M3 Insurance also struggled with its ability to add even more producers without overwhelming its two-person internal licensing team. The limitations of M3 Insurance’s old system became glaringly apparent as the agency expanded.
“Before getting AgentSync, we had roughly 125 licensees and it was manageable using the system we had at the time,” Lockwood explained. But, as they were preparing to add 100 or more new producers in the course of just a year, the thought of how the existing way of doing things would scale (or not) was top of mind.
“As we began to grow more and more, it wouldn’t have been doable without AgentSync. We’re up to around 350 licensees today and we had a point where we added 100 agents in a single year. And we manage all that growth with just me on the P&C side and another person on the Employee Benefits side. And licensing isn’t even the only thing we do!” ~Kim Lockwood, Carrier Relations Coordinator
The need for change was clear, but Lockwood had concerns about implementing a new system. With any change in software or processes, there’s a real risk of disrupting business.
“I’m not a real techie person,” Lockwood said, “so one of my biggest fears was how long it would take me to learn a new system.”
Luckily, those fears proved unfounded. Lockwood remarked that getting started with AgentSync was smooth and easy with very little time needed to learn the technology. Plus, Lockwood raved, “The staff at AgentSync has always been so helpful, and the customer service has been amazing.”
New and improved producer onboarding
What started as a solution to a compliance challenge became a powerful differentiator for M3 Insurance’s producer experience. New agents, typically accustomed to managing their own licensing and license renewals, were impressed by the agency’s streamlined, professional approach to distribution channel management.
“Most of the producers who join M3 Insurance are used to doing everything themselves, so having AgentSync, along with the work I do, impresses them and we get a lot of positive feedback,” said Lockwood. “They’re not used to the level of service we provide and they can’t believe we do it all for them.”
This exceptional producer experience sets M3 Insurance apart from other agencies that still require producers to complete repetitive and manual tasks during onboarding and wait weeks, or even months, before they’re ready to start selling.
“When a new producer joins M3 Insurance, we go through everything with them in their first week, including getting them set up in AgentSync and seeing which carriers they need to get appointed with. If they complete their Producer Detail Record, they can be ready to sell after their first week.” ~Kim Lockwood, Carrier Relations Coordinator
Right-sizing producer licenses to save money
Beyond efficiency, compliance, and producer experience, investing in AgentSync saves M3 Insurance real dollars each year by making it simple to eliminate unnecessary state license fees. With AgentSync, Lockwood can spot any licensee the agency is paying for in states it doesn’t need to be.
By ensuring producers are only licensed in the states they’re actively selling in, and by keeping more difficult states’ licenses active without lapse, M3 Insurance reduces its costs and avoids late renewal penalties or the chance of someone accidentally selling without a license.
Get peace of mind with AgentSync distribution channel management
“When I click ‘renew’ in AgentSync, I know it’s done and I can forget about it. It’s just that easy. The system just works.” ~Kim Lockwood, Carrier Relations Coordinator
Can you say this about your producer, adjuster, or broker licensing solution? If not, is it really a solution at all?
M3 Insurance is a prime example of a large and still-growing insurance agency that was paying too much and getting too little from its existing distribution channel management methods. Read their full success story to learn how M3 Insurance reaped the benefits of real-time, automated license compliance management, and contact us today to see how AgentSync can do the same for you!