Tag: illustration

Robots Take Over Illustrations- Humans in Awe!

Picture This…

Your broker is flipping through multiple illustrations with their client- you emailed them a dozen scenarios to keep them prepared. Right in the middle of their discussion, out of the blue, the client reveals they have high blood pressure. They also think the premiums are too high, the face amount is wrong, and the payment lengths need shortening. Unfortunately, in that instant, your broker has no access to carrier software or WiFi.

The broker stays cool, breaking out their smartphone, and within 30 seconds they’ve got side-by-side comparisons of the new numbers for their client. With the tap of a button, the compliant illustration pops up on their screen. They flip their phone on its side, and the client e-Signs with their finger. An automated email copy is sent to them instantly for their records. Another tap on “Apply”, and the illustration data pre-populates to the application.

Boom. Your broker just made a sale. They didn’t panic. They have iSolve®.

With iSolve, they can:

  • Instantly respond with 40 million pre-run quotes
  • Eliminate complicated carrier illustration software
  • Reduce wait times to zero for illustration requests
  • Enable easy, side-by-side carrier comparisons
  • Have access for both Brokers and back office staff
  • Have a mobile friendly, WiFi independent experience
  • Provide multi carrier compliant illustrations on-demand
  • Allow clients to e-Sign illustrations in seconds
  • Pre-populate illustrations in iGO® e-App

Crystal Balls: Are They Ever Right?

Few people buy without some insight into the associated price, and agents know that selling insurance is no exception. Clients often demand to be shown various premiums and coverage options before signing an insurance application.
The challenge is most agents rarely know a client’s true premium tolerance or their medical background at that early stage of the selling process. Client unknowns can create significant variance in the cost of coverage and are typically not discovered until the underwriting stage is complete, thus requiring additional re-proposals.

Further complicating the selling process is the fact that illustrations are simply projections into financial futures, and the outcomes are rarely perfect. Agents attempt to show their clients this imperfect ‘crystal ball’ through varying illustrative outcomes.

Like Hitting a Wiffleball in the Wind

Client curveballs can be tricky. In order to handle all the unexpected ‘what if?’ scenarios, producers pre-run countless illustrations in advance of a client meeting hoping to avoid potential objections that could prevent a sale. This exhaustive quoting process is a producer’s only hope to get a hit with their potential client.

Same Dog, Same Tricks

Unlike the above situation, in the independent brokerage channel, brokers have no access to carrier illustration software. Their reliance is on their distributor’s back office staff to run illustration scenarios for them, providing the PDF outputs by email. This creates a back-and-forth ritual that takes hours, if not days, leaving everyone frustrated. So, can the industry be taught a new trick?

Tom Sawyer, the Producer, Passes the Paint Brush

Each carrier within the brokerage channel has their own custom illustration software, and these platforms are super complex and confusing. It’s not practical to try and teach individual brokers how to run their own illustrations on them.

Because of this, quoting aggregation tools like Winflex, Lifetrends, and Ensight were developed, with the intention of making quoting easier. But they were designed only for back office staff, and producers didn’t have access to them. The result? Agents are receiving daily emails from their distributors, requiring them to wade through pages upon pages of PDF attachments. Even worse, a third of these agents re-contact their distributors to request further tweaks to the proposals.

It’s an inefficient process: someone needs to put a fresh coat of paint on this fence for the producers.

iSolve: The Game Changer

iSolve does what no other software can: creates a digital, end-to-end experience that enables agents to quote and apply faster by avoiding the complications associated with traditional illustrations. iSolve is quite simply the fastest illustration tool they’ll ever use. Why? Because robots have been taught how to run illustrations, which avoids clumsy PDFs and provides instant responses with 40 million pre-run illustrations. Watch the webcast today or schedule a demo to learn more!

Robots Take Over Illustrations- Humans In Awe!

Quote | Illustrate | e-Sign | Apply

Presenter: Bill Atlee, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, iPipeline

Imagine if robots could handle 80% of the countless illustrations requests that come from brokers daily. Well, it’s not some cyber fantasy. iPipeline’s iSolve® robots pre-run 40 million illustrations a month to help you avoid illustration nightmares. Brokers can manipulate these solves without ever learning carrier software, have an illustration seamlessly e-Signed, or sweep it into iGO® e-App for completion. 

Let’s face it: illustrations as they exist today only output PDFs. That output stinks. It handcuffs your brokers. Why? If the illustration numbers don’t jive with their client, they call you back for more re-proposals. Even if the numbers are solid, they can’t execute the sale without printing and wet signing an illustration (Does anyone even own printers anymore?).

Isn’t it time that illustrations experience an innovative breakthrough? Join Bill Atlee, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, as he walks you through our newly enhanced version of iSolve and how to:

  • Instantly retrieve multi-carrier comparisons (GUL, CAUL, IUL)
  • Reduce running illustrations by 80%
  • Rarely access Winflex, Ensight, LifeTrends or carrier software
  • Shift 71% of illustration quoting to your brokers
  • Collapse 18.9 days off of wet signing an illustration
  • Pre-populate iGO e-App, e-Sign and submit

Catholic Order of Foresters Modernizes With WELIS Ascent Illustration System

New Platform Enables Agents to More Effectively Present Products to Consumers

Exton, PA (April 13th, 2021) – iPipeline®–a leading provider of no code / low code cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry–today announced that Catholic Order of Foresters has selected its WELIS® Ascent illustration system to modernize how their agents present diversified insurance products to consumers seeking protection.

The WELIS Ascent illustration system is a scalable platform, designed to help insurers sell and service customers in a multi-channel distribution environment. The award-winning software is constructed as a standard single life illustration system that can be transformed into a sophisticated multiple life / multiple plan system with a single button click. iPipeline acquired WELIS in September 2020 and is one of the largest providers of illustrations in the life insurance industry.

“Educating consumers about what they are buying and how it is likely to perform in the future is critical to selling life insurance products. Automating the task of providing detailed illustrations to consumers not only enables agents to more effectively sell but allows them to show the differences more effectively across a range of products. Agents need to ensure that they are clearly educating consumers about products shaping their financial futures. Our platform fulfills this important need,” said Larry Berran, CEO, iPipeline. “WELIS Ascent is a feature-rich illustration platform offering flexibility and a range of features to improve sales presentations. The ability to rapidly make changes to support ongoing presentations provides speed-to-market advantages and improves consumer satisfaction. We are confident the agents at Catholic Order of Foresters will see an immediate benefit by using this new platform to educate their customers during the education and selling process.”

“From the beginning, iPipeline’s WELIS team stood out from the competition as a group that would build a strong relationship with us and forge a joint effort for the implementation of the new illustration platform. This was critical for us as we wanted to be able to update interest rates and make rider changes on our own, as well as execute other modifications to the platform without a heavy dependence on the tech provider. We were seeking a level of self-service to address our daily needs on the fly and saw that with iPipeline’s WELIS system,” said Geno Turek, Vice President, Product Solutions, Catholic Order of Foresters. “Of equal importance was finding a highly scalable platform with a variety of presentation features to support our growth and make life easier for our agents. Ultimately, the ability to present our product portfolio more effectively is what led to the selection. Their platform allows our agents to efficiently select the best products to address specific financial needs.”

To learn how you can implement iPipeline’s innovations to automate how your products are sold and processed, contact sales@ipipeline.com or call 1-800-758-0824, option 2.

About Catholic Order of Foresters
Catholic Order of Foresters is a fraternal benefit life insurance society dedicated to helping members achieve financial security through life insurance while supporting the Catholic community through fraternal outreach. COF is licensed in 32 states and Washington, D.C. Our product portfolio includes Term, Whole Life, Universal Life, and Annuities. Visit us at www.catholicforester.org.

About iPipeline
iPipeline is a leading provider of no code / low code, cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry. Through our SSG Digital, end-to-end platform, we accelerate and simplify sales, compliance, operations, and support. We provide process automation and seamless integration between every participant in our ecosystem including carriers, agents, general agencies, advisors, broker-dealers, RIAs, banks, securities/mutual fund firms, and their consumers on a global basis. Our innovative solutions include pre-sales support, new business and underwriting, policy administration, point-of-sale execution of applications, post-sale support, data analysis, reporting, user-driven configuration, consumer delivery and self-service, and agency and firm management.

iPipeline’s platform is used by approximately 450 carriers and fund companies, 1,400 distributors and financial institutions, and their agents and licensed advisors in a cloud-based environment. With headquarters in Exton, Pennsylvania, iPipeline has locations in Boston, Bromley (UK), Burlington (Canada), Cheltenham (UK), Dallas, Davidson, Fort Lauderdale, Huntersville, Ontario (CA), Philadelphia, Pleasanton, and Salt Lake City. Visit www.ipipeline.com.

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For iPipeline:
Lisa Shea
Marketing
lshea@ipipeline.com
484-870-6234

iPipeline’s WELIS Systems Wins 2020 XCelent Award for Depth of Customer Service for Ascent Illustration System

WELIS Excels in Customer Satisfaction Above All Other Illustration System Providers

Exton, PA (December 2, 2020) – iPipeline® – a leading provider of low code cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry – today announced recently acquired WELIS Systems has won the 2020 XCelent Award for Depth of Customer Service. The award is given to a company for outstanding performance in implementation and post-implementation services, training, the quality of user conferences, service-level agreement (SLA) scope and features, and mechanisms to obtain and service customer tickets. WELIS is long considered to be an industry leader in Illustration systems for the U.S. life insurance industry. The acquisition of WELIS positions iPipeline as one of the largest providers of illustrations in North America.

The WELIS Ascent® Illustration System is designed to help insurers sell and service customers in a multi-channel distribution environment. The multi-time, award-winning software is constructed as a standard single life illustration system that can be transformed into a sophisticated multiple life/multiple plan system with a single button click.

“Happy customers are what customer service is all about, and the WELIS team delivers services at a level not easily emulated by others within the Illustration System industry. Stephen Frederick and his team are a unique breed with an intense focus on excellence,” said Larry Berran, CEO, iPipeline. “Celent’s awards are highly coveted within the life insurance industry, and I am thrilled to see WELIS setting the bar for depth of customer service within our industry. Our focus will remain fixed on maintaining exceptional customer satisfaction.”

“Celent’s framework for evaluating vendors is called the ‘Celent ABCD Vendor View.’ Our standard representation of a vendor marketplace is designed to show our industry readers at a glance the relative positions of each vendor in four categories: Advanced Technology, Breadth of Functionality, Customer Base, and Depth of Customer Service,” said Karen Monks, Senior Analyst, Celent. “In the category of Depth of Customer Service, WELIS emerged as the clear winner based on customer evaluations. We congratulate Stephen and his team on a job well done.”

“Our customers are viewed as family at WELIS. Our team’s accessibility for them is second to none, and we understand the critical role Ascent plays in their agents’ abilities to attract and secure customers,” said Stephen Frederick, Senior Advisor, iPipeline. “We are honored to receive this award and committed to maintaining the same level of performance for our customers in the future.”

Ascent will be integrated into iPipeline’s low code, SSG Digital® Platform to enable agents and advisors to quickly run real-time scenario-based illustrations, save them, and send them to customers for review and e-Signature through the PAS+® (Policy Administration System Plus) agent portal. Agents and advisors will also be able to run an illustration and include it during the e-App process to collect e-Signatures, reducing cycle times and improving iGO® e-App processing rates.

To learn how you can implement iPipeline’s innovative solutions to automate how your products are marketed, sold, and processed, contact sales@ipipeline.com or call 1-800-758-0824, option 2.

About iPipeline
iPipeline is a leading provider of low code, cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry. Through our SSG Digital, end-to-end platform, we accelerate and simplify sales, compliance, operations, and support. We provide process automation and seamless integration between every participant in our ecosystem including carriers, agents, general agencies, advisors, broker-dealers, RIAs, banks, securities/mutual fund firms, and their consumers on a global basis. Our innovative solutions include pre-sales support, new business and underwriting, policy administration, point-of-sale execution of applications, post-sale support, data analysis, reporting, user-driven configuration, consumer delivery and self-service, and agency and firm management.

iPipeline’s platform is used by approximately 450 carriers and fund companies, 1,400 distributors and financial institutions, and their agents and licensed advisors in a cloud-based environment. With headquarters in Exton, Pennsylvania, iPipeline has locations in Boston, Bromley (UK), Burlington (Canada), Cheltenham (UK), Dallas, Davidson, Fort Lauderdale, Huntersville, Ontario (CA), Philadelphia, Pleasanton, and Salt Lake City. Visit www.ipipeline.com.

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For iPipeline:
Lisa Shea
Marketing
lshea@ipipeline.com
484-870-6234

iPipeline Acquires WELIS

Acquisition Expands Life Insurance Illustration System Offerings with PAS+ Integration for Insurers in the US

Exton, PA (September 22, 2020) – iPipeline® – a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry – today announced it has acquired WELIS, a premier provider of life insurance illustration systems to carriers in the US. The WELIS Ascent® Illustration System is designed to help insurers sell and service customers in a multi-channel distribution environment. The award-winning software* is constructed as a standard single life illustration system that can be transformed into a sophisticated multiple life / multiple plan system with a single button click. The acquisition positions iPipeline as one of the largest providers of illustrations in the life insurance industry.

“Stephen Frederick, CEO of WELIS, and his team have created a benchmark illustrations system against which all other platforms are compared. Ascent will be integrated into our low code, SSG Digital® Platform and allow agents and advisors to quickly run real-time scenario-based illustrations, save them, and send them to customers for review and e-Signature through our PAS+® agent portal. Agents and advisors can also run an illustration and include it during the e-App process to collect e-Signatures, reducing cycle times and improving iGO® e-App processing rates,” said Larry Berran, CEO, iPipeline. “Carriers can manually run or automate the distribution of in-force illustrations, re-run illustrations during underwriting, and make the necessary distributions to agents and consumers for e-Signature pre- and post-issuance.”

“We are excited about integrating WELIS’ in-force illustration solutions with PAS+ and our ability to offer iSolve®, our research and permanent quoting product, to their customers. Additional Ascent integrations with our AlphaTrust® e-Sign and InsureSight® business intelligence and data analytics products will give insurers great tools to accelerate sales, better leverage information, and increase compliance for in-force reporting requirements,” added Berran. “We are looking forward to changing the permanent insurance game with WELIS’ high-powered illustration system and our omni-channel, quote-to-claim low code platform.”

“iPipeline has done an outstanding job of developing one of the industry’s most powerful and versatile platforms. The current COVID-19 environment has placed a spotlight on the need to accelerate the integration and use of digital platforms. iPipeline’s clients are well-positioned to reap the benefits of their investments, and our Ascent Illustration System is a perfect next-step for carriers seeking to use a highly customizable, brandable, rapidly deployed product,” said Stephen Frederick, CEO, WELIS. “The integration of Ascent into the SSG Digital Platform with PAS+ will deliver immediate benefits to customers who are committed to taking the digital journey. I am pleased to see our technology being put to great use by Larry and his team.”

Morgan Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to WELIS in this transaction.

To learn how you can implement iPipeline’s illustration products to streamline and accelerate new business acquisition and in-force management processes and better engage the digital customer, contact sales@ipipeline.com or call 1-800-758-0824, option 2.

*Novarica RAVE Award

About WELIS
WELIS is a premier provider of life insurance illustration systems supporting individual and group lines of business for carriers in the US. Its Ascent Illustration System is designed to help insurers sell and service customers in a multi-channel distribution environment. The software is constructed as a standard single life illustration system that can be transformed into a sophisticated multiple life / multiple plan system with a single button click. As a single platform it can be used by multiple distribution channels requiring only a basic ledger to those with sophisticated multiple life COLI needs. To learn more about WELIS and the Ascent Illustration System, visit www.WELIS.com.

About iPipeline
iPipeline is a leading provider of low-code, cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry. Through our SSG Digital, end-to-end platform, we accelerate and simplify sales, compliance, operations and support. We provide process automation and seamless integration between every participant in our ecosystem including carriers, agents, general agencies, advisors, broker-dealers, RIAs, banks, securities/mutual fund firms, and their consumers on a global basis. Our innovative solutions include pre-sales support, new business and underwriting, policy administration, point-of-sale execution of applications, post-sale support, data analysis, reporting, user-driven configuration, consumer delivery and self-service, and agency and firm management.

iPipeline’s platform is used by approximately 150 carriers, 1,400 distributors and financial institutions, and their agents and licensed advisors in a cloud-based environment. With headquarters in Exton, Pennsylvania, iPipeline has locations in Boston, Bromley (UK), Burlington (Canada), Cheltenham (UK), Dallas, Davidson, Fort Lauderdale, Huntersville, Ontario (CA), Philadelphia, Pleasanton, and Salt Lake City. Visit www.ipipeline.com.

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For iPipeline:
Lisa Shea
Marketing
lshea@ipipeline.com
484-870-6234

Five Mistakes Agents Make with Permanent Quoting

Agents need to be able to react to client pricing objections in the field. But let’s face it- lugging a laptop out to a client meeting is clumsy, and distracting when trying to present. Not to mention the fact that illustration software is awkward to use in front of clients. So it gets left behind, and agents make critical mistakes that waste time and lengthen the selling process.


Here are the top 5 mistakes agents make with permanent quoting:

  1. Quoting before knowing
    Pre-running illustrations to avoid running them in front of clients is a fool’s errand. Without knowing the client’s premium tolerance, 90% of scenarios end up in the trash, wasting valuable time.
  2. Hopping on the “health class” mystery tour
    Agents are typically unaware of a client’s “true” medical background or lifestyle at the quoting stage, resulting in an assumed health class and often setting wrong pricing expectations with the client. This misalignment causes higher “not taken” policies.
  3. Whiffing on the client curveball
    Clients throw unexpected objections that require agents to adjust illustration options on the fly. And we already talked about how awkward that software is to use in front of clients, so they avoid it, causing unnecessary delays and multiple client meetings.
  4. Dying by the PDF
    Flipping through lengthy PDFs of calculations and disclosures is a presentation nightmare. Not only is it confusing to a customer, but it’s a difficult experience showing clients death benefit options, payment lengths, premiums and products hunched over a stack of 8 x 11 papers.
  5. Getting stuck in a wet world
    Illustrations are simply projections, that for compliance reasons must be signed to acknowledge the understanding of their disclosures. Why is a “wet” signature still used for collection?
    e-Signing accommodates face-to-face or remote selling, enabling deals to close faster.

Finally… a solution

We solved these quoting problems plaguing the industry by allowing agents to react instantly to client needs. No running clunky illustrations software, no pre-running multiple illustrations in advance of a meeting. This mobile experience redefines how agents quote and present a traditional illustration to customers, without having to replace your existing software. This innovation will change the way agents sell and will make the entire process more efficient at every level.

Contact Naish Berran at nberran@ipipeline.com to request a demo.

When Was the Last Time You Gave an Inforce Illustration to Every Single Policyholder? It’s TIME!

Presenter: Bill Atlee, Chief Strategy Officer & Co-Founder, iPipeline

Interest rates have been historically low for 10 years, which has placed tremendous performance pressure on illustrated products. Most policyholders are unaware of how this impacts their policy, and if their current values still meet their original expectations. The challenge is, less than 1% of policyholders actually receive an inforce illustration to gain this valuable insight. Why? The majority of carriers don’t have the ability to run the hundreds of thousands of inforce illustration necessary to educate ALL of their policyholders each year. The last several years, our industry has paid out over 6.6 billion in class action law suits on this topic alone.

Join our Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Bill Atlee as he discusses:

  • How your existing legacy inforce software can still scale to generate millions of illustrations
  • Why it’s critical to know the financial “health of your block”
  • How to identify your most vulnerable policyholders that are in danger of future involuntary lapse
  • How you can help policyholders course correct, before it’s too late
  • How most carriers overlook $200 million of untapped premium

When Was the Last Time You Gave an Inforce Illustration to Your Policyholders? It’s Time.

Carriers Are Feeling the Impact of Negative Interest Rates

Without a doubt, carriers are under enormous pressure to maintain profitability in a low interest rate environment. Historically low interest rates over the last 10 years have pushed many carriers into a negative interest rate environment, meaning the money carriers invested in the open market cannot earn what they promised policyholders in contracts sold many years ago when yields were at 10%. Millions of universal life contracts, as well as interest-sensitive whole life policies, offered guaranteed interest rates of 4-5% and guaranteed cash value. Most of these older contracts are now paying the minimum interest rate guarantee (maybe 3%) and in some cases, carriers have raised their mortality rates to offset these losses. The impact on policyholders: their contracts are under-performing, which results in involuntary lapse or policyholders that outlive their contracts.

Policyholders Deserve to Know

The fact is, the only way to give a policyholder a present snapshot of the “health of their policy” is to run an inforce illustration. These new projections can give a client a good indication on how the policy values will perform at current assumptions. Doesn’t every policyowner deserve to know from their carrier today how future projections impact their financial expectation? There’s a problem though- most of the old illustration software that calculates these projections is sitting on old architecture and can’t scale. Why wasn’t this illustration software modernized on new infrastructure? The answer: because the majority of these products have been discontinued and are no longer sold through agents. Consequently, agents don’t need to access it. This software is usually used by the home office staff to satisfy an inforce illustration request from an agent or policyholder… and less than 1% of policyholders receive an inforce illustration each year.

Can the Course Be Corrected?

If most carriers’ inforce illustration software resides on Windows 95/98 machines, mainframes, or is hand calculated by actuaries, it’s virtually impossible to provide every policyholder with current projections each year. The solution simply doesn’t scale to educate existing policyholders on their policy performance.

Here’s what I mean by not scaling- Let’s say you have 500,000 policyholders on your inforce block and you want to give each policyholder an inforce illustration. That would be 500,000 inforce illustrations that the home office would have to manually run each year. Sound like it’s not humanly possible? Let’s look beyond this assumption.

Imagine the complete irresponsibility of simply telling policyholders that their policies are under-performing, and not providing them with ways to course correct. That alone would generate tens of thousands of calls from panicked policyholders into a carrier’s call center. So providing policyholders with options is a must. For example, can they reduce their face amount or add premium to extend the policy years farther into the future? We factored that it would take an additional 8 inforce illustrations for each policyholder to provide these critical options. You did that math correctly: this would mean running 4,000,000 inforce illustrations (500,000 policyholders x 8 illustration options each) to accomplish this task- daunting at best! 

Why It Needs to Be Done…Now

Our industry has had over 6.6 billion dollars in class action suits over the last several years for improperly informing their policyholders of this ticking time bomb. It’s time we solve this problem. It’s our fiduciary responsibility as an industry to meet policyholder expectations.

We at iPipeline have a solution for this industry-wide dilemma- it’s innovative, avoids the financial burden of rewriting all of a carriers’ legacy inforce illustration software, and makes the task far more approachable.

I’m very passionate about this topic, and I’m looking for your thoughts as well.