Most agencies don’t make a bad technology decision.

They make a late one.

Early-stage systems are often the right choice when an agency is small.  The agency typically has:

• Simple accounting
• Few staff
• Limited commercial lines
• No commission-based producers

Problems start when agency growth quietly changes the rules, but the Agency doesn’t recognize that it’s time to change with them.  They don’t recognize that the agency has reached what we call a technology inflection point and continue right past it without realizing it is going to get increasingly difficult to do business the right way.

So, what are some common factors that define technology inflection points for small or new agencies? 

Here are just a few:

• Hiring the first commission-based producer:
  • Having to accurately track commissions injects a whole new level of complexity into agency operations.
• Starting to do meaningful agency bill:
  • incidental agency billing can be done by hand, but very quickly becomes cumbersome and time-consuming with any volume.
• A growing commercial lines book:
  • Commercial Lines business requires an entirely different set of workflows, processes, checks, and balances.  Before hitting the Commercial Lines wall, the agency’s technology should be upgraded to a more robust system that can handle the business.
• Difficulty understanding account status or servicing efficiently:
  • Running a successful agency is all about your clients and their data.  If your current system is unable to capture, service, or report accurately on accounts, it’s time to upgrade.

Once an inflection point is passed, staying on entry-level technology doesn’t preserve simplicity, it creates friction and introduces bad practices into the agency that can take years to correct.

Thankfully, most of the current system vendors have products in each technology tier, giving a growth path for the agency.  The trick is to recognize when it’s time to move from startup tools to entry-level systems to fully integrated platforms built for scale and complexity.  Recognizing the right time to make this move is often the key to sustainable growth but making it too late can hamper growth for years.