AccuBenefits

Technology: The Answer to Most—But Not All—Problems

accuBenefits Team — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:17:34 +0000

The following article is important for our users to read and remember. While AccuBenefits provides the best tools available to help your agency succeed in the online world, the results you achieve are only limited by its implementation and use of its tools. PEOPLE are the beginning and end users. The article speaks for itself.

BY ROBERT REGIS HYLE of PROPERTYCASUALTY360.com

January 9, 2012

When you cover technology for a living it’s easy to get caught up with the idea that software solutions are the answer to every problem known to man—and the insurance industry. Occasionally we need a reminder that people operate the technology and are the ones who feed the data we so desperately treasure into the systems. Technology can provide the answers, but it is humans asking the questions.

That’s why an interview with Gartner’s Kimberly Harris-Ferrante posted on our Website is an excellent reminder that insurers can ill-afford to ignore the human element when initiating new technology implementations for the enterprise.

The industry knows this issue as change management, but for many companies it’s simply change. Business users often are told to do their jobs differently without the courtesy of being asked what about their jobs should bedone differently.

Believe it or not, there are people who want to do their jobs more efficiently. Saving money for the company often means employees are less likely tostand by and watch a representative from HR visit a neighboring cubicle and start cleaning out a co-worker’s desk.

Harris-Ferrante listed change management as one of the areas of concern she sees for the insurance industry in 2012. In the interview she explains how some insurers have forgotten how the culture of the company needs to change in order to facilitate the improved working experience that is supposed to take place when using new technology appropriately.

“It’s not just buying technology and voila you are modern and doing fancy things,” says Harris-Ferrante. “When you focus on how you are going to do things differently you have to be sure the employees, the culture, even the incentive and compensation plans are driving the behavior you want. Otherwise the technology won’t do anything for you. You can’t just wake uptomorrow and do something different. You have to deal with training, employee retention, change management, employee education. If youdon’t take a strong look at the role of people and process, and change management from an organizational point of view, you can’t be successful.”

Of course this is a lesson for all of industries, not just insurance. Technology doesn’t magically transform businesses. People need to understand the capabilities of new systems and how best to make efficient use of their time and the software in order to achieve sought-after results.

Ways to increase traffic to your site

accuBenefits Team — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:48:17 +0000

We all know the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and that certainly holds true for getting visitors to your website. Most agencies think “I’ll just put up a site and all is right with the world” well, think again. Think of your site as a “new business”, you need to tell people about it or no one will know about it.

In this article I’ll provide you with some simple (yet effective) ways you can help increase traffic to your site. Like a new business, it is important to work at this in order to see results. Invest at least 2 hours per week in getting your site seen using some, or all of the points covered in this article. If you truly want more visits to your site then you MUST work to get them. Remember, the more time you invest, the more return you’ll get. This holds true with anything.

The points listed here are to help motivate your creative thinking. I can’t give you all the answers because I don’t have all the answers. You know your business better than anyone else.

Offer free, original, and quality content on your site. – This is probably the most effective of the points mentioned. You must continue to provide your visitors reasons to come back to your site. Ideas may include:
- Providing a blog of insurance tips or helpful resources
- Adding a video to your site that will help the insured
- Insurance word of the week (make it fun)
Advertise your website – Take some time and think of all the ways you can get your website noticed. Some may included:
- Paid banner advertising on your local news paper or other popular sites. Most banner advertising is month-to-month and depending on the popularity of the site will determine the monthly amount you will pay each month.
- Put your website on a billboard.
- Be sure that your site is listed on every piece of correspondence you handout. Your email, mail and don’t forget your business cards.
- Shopping cart advertising
Search Engine Optimization & Search Engine Marketing – These are great tools to promote your site in search engines. Because of the importance, I will be expanding on how to use them to their fullest potential in next month’s article, but here are the basics to get you started.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – This is used to help your site get found when internet users search Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. The good news is that the accuBenefit sites are already setup for SEO. With a little work on your end, you can be found with improvements in your title pages, keywords, and key phrases. I’ll go into more detail on SEO in next month’s article. You see what I did here? I’m making it so that you come back for more.
- SEM (Search Engine Marketing) – This is paid adverting on Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. SEM in conjunction with SEO help with site visibility.
Monitor your sites activity – accuBenefits comes equipped with Google Analytics built in and is located on your Dashboard. Another cool tool is a heat map which tells you where your visitors are clicking on your site. These help you alter your site so that it is easier for your visitors to use and find what they want. Email or call us and we’d be happy to setup the heat map for you.

I hope these points help get your creative thinking moving and we wish you the very best success with your accuBenefits website.

We’d love to hear feedback from you so feel free to post a comment. Next months article will be on SEO / SEM.

Suggestions

accuBenefits Team — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 02:13:05 +0000

We don’t know unless you tell us. Do you have a suggestion? Leave us a comment below and we’ll do our best to make sure you are listened to. We are here to make sure your accuBenefits experience is the best possible.

Carrier Element Available

accuBenefits Team — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:52:04 +0000

Carrier Element

Allows the agency to choose from several existing carries from our carrier database.
Allows you to upload a carrier logo to the carrier database if not listed. This will then be available for all accuBenefits community members to choose from.
Add Claim and Quote Links for the carrier added.
Display’s them in a nice looking format on your website.

Element Requests

accuBenefits Team — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:05:35 +0000

Do you have an element that you would like developed that we don’t currently offer? If so, enter your thought here and it will be added to our Element Features Requests list.

We will develop and add the most requested Element to your service ,free of charge, on a quarterly basis!

Staff Directory Feature Available

accuBenefits Team — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:34:35 +0000

The accuBenefits Element “Staff Directory” is now offered to all accuBenefits members. This new feature offers the following:

Enter staff member contact information (Name, Title, Email, Phone)
Setup unlimited locations
Add staff members bio
Organize staff by location
Clean business card layout
Lightbox popup box

How-To Video Tutorial Here.

Theme One

accuBenefits Team — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:52:16 +0000

Click the image to get a larger detailed image of this theme or click the “Live Preview” link to see this theme in action.

Theme Two

accuBenefits Team — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:03:04 +0000

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Theme three

accuBenefits Team — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:07:47 +0000

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Theme Four

accuBenefits Team — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:27:13 +0000

Click the image to get a larger detailed image of this theme or click the “Live Preview” link to see this theme in action.