.jpg)
One of the primary pain points in daily operations for agencies and carriers is password management. In the past, an independent agent writing business with 15 different carrier partners had to obtain and manage 15 different usernames or passwords in order to connect with those carrier sites.
The ID Federation believes the time agencies spend managing credentials for carriers, solution providers and other business partners could be time better invested in sales and service.
To address this pain point in the independent agent distribution channel, the ID Federation has launched a password solution called SignOn Once - a single-password, secure online interface that enables seamless connection between insurance professionals. A host of big insurance names have backed the solution, including The Hartford, Progressive, and insurance software solutions firm, Vertafore.
“SignOn Once removes the need to administer a load of usernames and passwords in order for the independent agent to connect up with a carrier like The Hartford, Nationwide or CNA,” said Doug Mohr. “It’s a huge time saver, which also increases efficiency, security and protection.
“Passwords typically need a reset every 60-days or so. If an agency fails to maintain passwords, the CSR account manager is simply going to bypass the agency management system (AMS) and go straight to a carrier website. That increases the risk of duplicate data entry, errors and omissions, and other issues that could be prevented by connecting easily through a single source solution linked up via an AMS.”
Vertafore and Applied Systems have been two key insurance technology drivers behind the SignOn Once solution. It’s only in the past one or two years that the solution has started to pick up steam, with more carriers coming on board and accepting the token-style agency/carrier connection.
“At Vertafore, we’ve been working closely with our user community, NetVU, to provide exposure to all of our agents that this technology is available to them today through our Vertafore Single Sign-on solution (VSSO),” Mohr told Insurance Business. “If they have a Vertafore AMS, such as AMS 360, they can take advantage of our VSSO and set up a token system very easily.
“When we analyze the incoming support calls to our help desk, a large percentage of calls revolve around people who forgot or need to reset a password, or agents who want to establish a new connection with a carrier. The VSSO takes pain out of the demand chain that shouldn’t have been there in the first place. The feedback we’ve had from agents who have enabled single sign-on technology is extremely positive.”
