The Challenge
Maximizing the Potential of Small Commercial Accounts to Drive Profitability and Growth
With a client base of more than 72,000 and over $3 billion annual premium, this top-20 P&C full-service insurance agency was one of the fastest growing U.S. independents.
As a result, they had grown their portfolio, primarily made up of middle and large commercial accounts, from which they could generate high levels of premium and commission.
But within this portfolio, there were several untapped smaller accounts that had the potential to increase profitability. The problem was, they needed a way to reach these accounts.
They decided to invest in growing a group of ~20,000 small accounts, through a new unit called “Select Business”. At this point, they called in a strategic partner who could coordinate this new unit, from account management and servicing to expanding the book.
The Outcome
Expertise-Driven Cost Optimization, Operational Efficiency, and Business Growth
Sutherland was recruited to maximize the profitability of this small business unit. Our end-to-end approach achieved several strategic objectives simultaneously:
Sutherland Connect, a cloud-based omni-channel telephony platform was implemented to support customer interactions, allowing the insurer to handle a larger volume of calls, email channels, chat and SMS, therefore boosting contact rate.
- Operational Cost Optimization. To effectively build stronger producer relationships, personalize client services, enhance underwriting accuracy, and manage coverage evaluation and negotiation, we brought licensed US based account managers on board. This localized approach driven by experts enhanced customer satisfaction, strengthening business partnerships.
By strategically decoupling and right-shoring 60% of transactional activities, we reduced operational costs and enhanced overall efficiency. This included leveraging skilled insurance associates from our offshore Center of Excellence to handle transactional tasks such as COI, endorsements, renewals, and policy administration. Doing so freed up valuable onshore resources to focus on higher-value activities and core business functions. - New Business Growth. Critically, we also brought our small commercial direct sales expertise in recognition of the segment’s growth potential. By dedicating tailored resources and strategies for small businesses, such as target segments, companies, and coverages, alongside personalized customer support and competitive pricing, we helped improve close rates, drive value, and attract a larger market share.
- Enhancing CX. We strategically leveraged our partnerships with advanced digital platforms to boost productivity. Through its lead generation and prospecting features, Bold Penguin helped drive new business acquisition for the agency and streamline the quote-to-bind process. Combined with the Quote-Bind platform, we simplified and accelerated the quoting process, enabling accelerated turnaround times and enhancing the customer experience.
The results speak for themselves. Overall, our small accounts expertise and resultant business growth empowered the agency to remain competitive, agile, and customer-centric in an evolving insurance landscape.
