Seeking Feedback: What Do You Wish Your AMS System Did?

[abe2017]

Longtime reader here, first-time poster.

Looking for feedback form P&C brokers.

We are a California based commercial lines agency run by brokers and software engineers. We’ve built an internal AMS system that runs our brokerage and we’re exploring releasing it to others.

Before we do that, I wanted to ask folks here what are the killer features that you’d want to see or wish your current AMS did?

Ideally it’s something like, if a new AMS did __, I would switch to that system.

I know there are many AMS systems out there and before we jump into the fray, I want to make sure we are solving your painpoints.

Thanks in advance for your advice and feel free to reach out directly if you prefer: spike at hiabe dot com

 

[djs]

This question, or a similar one gets asked a lot on this forum. Your question is way to generic for any meaningful feedback.

What type of AMS are you working on? Personal lines, commercial, health, life, etc???? Basic needs and 'pain points' vary a lot by what it is people do.

I highly recommend you visit agents and sit down with them and have them show you their process with the existing AMS and then ask what additional thing(s) does it need to do? Asking about pain points is skipping over basic needs, which will cause it to fail.

For instance, IVANS integration and carrier download (with updates) is a basic need if you ask me about AMS systems. Not all offer it, so I would skip over those instantly in a pain points discussion, because it is a basic need, already fulfilled.

Trying to reinvent the wheel in an AMS is not a simple task.

Dan

 

[abe2017]

This question, or a similar one gets asked a lot on this forum. Your question is way to generic for any meaningful feedback.

What type of AMS are you working on? Personal lines, commercial, health, life, etc???? Basic needs and 'pain points' vary a lot by what it is people do.

I highly recommend you visit agents and sit down with them and have them show you their process with the existing AMS and then ask what additional thing(s) does it need to do? Asking about pain points is skipping over basic needs, which will cause it to fail.

For instance, IVANS integration and carrier download (with updates) is a basic need if you ask me about AMS systems. Not all offer it, so I would skip over those instantly in a pain points discussion, because it is a basic need, already fulfilled.

Trying to reinvent the wheel in an AMS is not a simple task.

Dan

Hi Dan, I should have been more specific. We are a commercial lines agency. We are quite familiar with existing systems (our agency used one of the existing systems before building our own). We have IVANS integration. Any specific features you with you had?

 

[djs]

Curious, what made you build your own? Its a big undertaking and interfacing with the various carriers seems to be a daunting task. I've never written one, not sure of all the ins and outs of doing it, just seems cheaper to pay someone else that has done it already.

 

[BADTROUT]

Not to mention the added liability and responsibility for the security of the data. If you build something it best stand up to the test of some of the big AMS's out there. You can get a couple college kids to put together a very robust AMS in minimal time, after all a database is a database, your just building the interface to it, differently, and no doubt better for YOUR agency. Assuming all of these precautions have been considered... CONGRATS!

As for what I want mine to do?

Custom workflows... because you don't know me... or how we work, or what we call things...
Custom fields... because you don't know me... or how we work, or what we call things...
Custom Carrier Names... because you don't know me... or how we work, or what we call things...

Best of luck to you!