Apliant’s new SaaS platform designed to connect independent P&C agencies with active shoppers

Arguably the biggest challenge most independent insurance agencies face is finding and onboarding new clients. That is precisely the challenge year-old InsureTech startup Apliant is aiming to solve.
Boston-based Apliant is a turnkey Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that enables independent P&C insurance agents to reach more customers in their existing market and beyond – and do so in a more efficient manner than they have to date.

The company, backed by MassMutual Ventures (among others), was founded last year by former Boston online insurance agency Goji executive Casey Gustus, who serves as CEO. The senior leadership team also includes co-founder and COO Reilly Bayer (formerly of EverQuote) and CTO Jon Erickson.

While most of today’s InsureTech startups intend to use automation to minimize or bypass independent agent involvement altogether, Apliant is decidedly pro-agent. Company founders realized that insurance, being an inherently complicated product, needs insurance agents to continue to play an important role in educating consumers to help them select the coverage that best fits their particular needs.

“Our experience in the industry for the better part of the last decade honed our belief that insurance agents are a vital part of the insurance ecosystem, and that the industry cannot afford to eliminate them,” Bayer said. “Rather, by empowering them with technology, they will be able to adapt to the ever-changing world of insurance and continue to be the preferred distribution channel for consumers and insurance carriers.”

Apliant’s agency solution platform combines several applications and processes which have been historically disconnected, into a single workflow management platform designed specifically with the independent P&C agent in mind. This single and simple solution includes customer acquisition, integrated telephony, relationship management, comparison rating, marketing intelligence, performance reporting, and data-driven workflow.

“Our single platform markets to prospects, converts them to clients, and on-boards them to carriers in a single phone call or conversation,” Bayer said. “Over time the platform, driven by information from the insurance carrier, continues to enable email and phone communication with the client to maximize retention.”

Apliant has partnered with a number of marketing channels that help refer customers to agencies that may not be easily accessible or close in proximity – and don’t have to be. One example would be when one agency needs to refer a customer to another agency because they don’t have access to a certain market.

Independent agencies using Apliant can essentially enter into an on-demand economy. Bayer says agents can still acquire customers in the same traditional way they always have, but can now use Apliant’s “uber-like platform” to pick up new customers on demand.

“Uber delivers people looking for rides to drivers, just like Apliant delivers insurance shoppers to agents via a web-based platform that can be run from the office, home, or anywhere with an Internet connection,” Bayer said. “With the click of a button, Apliant finds, vets, and delivers live customers who are actively searching for insurance.”

Without contractual lockup, risk or up-front cost, the company’s stated goal is to help independent P&C agencies:

• Grow on-demand with a complementary platform that does not disrupt existing agency operations or technology
• Eliminate duplicative data entry and tasks to more effectively turn prospects into customers
• Make the phone ring with consumers who are actively shopping for insurance
• Save time and improve policy conversion with more efficient sales processes and renewal nurture automation that enhances policy retention

Apliant’s current focus is auto insurance, with homeowners, renters and more markets on the way.

“As we look toward 2017 we expect to be the technology backbone for hundreds of insurance agencies, and partnering with other InsureTech companies looking for greater distribution for their marketing and insurance products,” Bayer says. “We will also continue to release new features that allow agents to communicate better with prospects and customers, and make the onboarding of customers even easier.”

ProducersGrowth.com readers are invited to sign-up with Apliant, using promotion code APLIANTIF16, for a trial run or request a demo by visiting http://apliant.com/for-agents.html.

This article was originally published on Insurance Forums: http://ifn.insurance-forums.net/personal-lines/auto-insurance/insuretech-startup-apliant-takes-pro-agent-approach-to-helping-consumers-easily-shop-for-insurance/