IBAC Demonstrates Benefits of Api Connectivity
February 14, 2023
TORONTO, February 14, 2023 – The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is pleased to announce the results of a study that demonstrates and quantifies the tangible benefits of API (Application Programming Interface) connectivity for insurance brokers and carriers.
IBAC has been leading the efforts to achieve real-time connectivity in the insurance industry for several years. In 2018 we launched the IBAC Data Exchange (DX) Initiative and in 2021, we merged our efforts with CSIO Innotech to achieve results more quickly through the development of APIs.
Currently, brokers and carriers use their own separate systems to manage transactions. Brokers first enter client data into their Broker Management System (BMS), and then must re-key the data into the carriers’ portal. This double entry introduces delays and data quality issues and ultimately negatively impacts the client experience. API technology makes it possible to transmit data in real-time and eliminates the need for double entry.
“Other industries have made great headway in real-time data sharing, but the insurance industry is lagging behind. To ensure that the broker channel remains the preferred choice for consumers in Canada, brokers and their insurance carrier partners need to up their game in this area. That’s why IBAC and CSIO are working together to improve this through adoption of API connectivity,” said Tom Reid, DX Lead for IBAC.
The Study
To demonstrate the benefits of this approach, IBAC commissioned a study that analyzed the effects of adopting APIs into brokerage operations, focusing on two of CSIO’s priority transactions for 2022 – Personal Lines Quote and Personal Lines Policy Change.
The project team first measured the time it takes to process those transactions by observing live broker operations over an extended period with a diverse set of participating brokerages. Then the double-entry portions of the process were removed, allowing the team to actually quantify the broker benefits and calculate the savings.
The Results
For Personal Lines Quote transactions, connectivity dramatically increased the accuracy of insurance broker quotes. Today, more than a third of quotes provided to clients do not match the price in the carrier portal. With connectivity, this becomes a non-issue. Improved accuracy saves over 10% of the time taken to quote, saving time for both the broker and the client. The start to finish duration of a quote was reduced by almost half.
Significant benefits were also seen in Personal Lines Policy Change transactions. Allowing insurance brokers to make client changes in their own system without double entry saved as much as 40% of the work for the broker and reduced client wait times by the same amount.
The project team also noted that with real-time connectivity, as many as a third of the transactions measured could have been done by clients themselves through an insurance broker’s self-serve platform, increasing efficiency for the broker, and providing the digital experience many customers expect.
“IBAC has an important role to play in raising awareness of work that is being done on broker connectivity and encouraging brokerages to adopt API technology into their own business practices,” said Peter Braid, IBAC CEO. “The more friction and duplication we take out of the insurance broker channel, the more that the insurance broker’s true value can come to the forefront – professional advice, choice and advocacy.”
A winning combination
Connectivity has been gradually increasing in the P & C broker channel, with notable advancements by some carriers and vendors, but we’re not there yet! We need the entire industry – insurance carriers, BMS vendors, and insurance brokers – to get on board and invest in API connectivity. As the IBAC study has proven, the benefits are real.
Consult the White paper at the following link:
For more information, please contact:
Liz Scott, Director of Operations
Insurance Brokers Association of Canada
416-367-1831 ext. 120
[email protected]