The importance of insurance APIs shouldn’t be overlooked. They are becoming increasingly important in the insurance industry to make data more accessible. Because they provide a way for data to be accessed and used by other applications, APIs are used to access customer data, third-party integrations, and information that would otherwise not be available.
APIs are also important because they allow for new features, services, and products. With APIs, developers can create tools that provide customers with a better experience when purchasing insurance, and it can increase communication and efficiency for agents, underwriters, and wholesalers.
This article discusses the importance of insurance APIs in today’s world and how different groups leverage them to increase efficiency and drive more premium.
What are APIs
First, let’s review what an API is. An Application Programming Interface (API) allows two computer programs to communicate with each other without having to know all of the details of the system they are linking to. APIs specify the types of data that can be accessed, how to retrieve it, and what operations can be performed on the data.
For example, when you want to quote multiple insurance carriers for a commercial client. Instead of filling out an ACORD and submitting it to every carrier you want a quote from, you could use Wheelhouse, Talage’s submission management platform. Wheelhouse is connected VIA API to many carriers and offers multiple lines of business you could quote for your client.
By logging into the system and filling out a single-entry application, you can submit your client’s information to one or all carriers on the platform, instantly returning quotes that can be emailed to your client. Talage’s API connections to commercial insurance carriers simplify the process of submitting and managing commercial quotes for clients by the agents and their wholesalers.
The Importance of APIs in Today’s World
Why are they important?
APIs are important to the insurance industry because they can be used to create new features, automate and streamline processes, and improve customer experience.
Consider your renewals. How many times have you lost business because a client thought they could get a better price from a competitor? Or, what about how much time you spend each renewal period processing submissions or resubmissions? Insurance APIs that can automate your renewals by providing you with an application can substantially reduce paperwork, processing time, and help increase your retention rates.
They also provide a way for developers to build new apps or features on top of existing data sets, which is helpful in today’s world where there is so much data available. For example, how many times have your carriers come to you asking you why you aren’t writing more business with them? Anecdotally, you know that it’s because their prices are often quite higher than their competitors. A system, built on APIs, could provide you with data-backed evidence that the carrier is higher in price than its competitors.
API Security
API security is a very important part of any API. It is the protection of data and resources that are being accessed by an API. According to PingIdentity, “Gartner recommends adopting a continuous approach to API security across the API development and delivery cycle, designing security [directly] into APIs.”
Some security techniques for APIs include:
- Regularly updating an API to make sure that it has the latest security features
- Make sure that the API has a secure transmission protocol, so data can be sent securely from one system to another
- Implementing proper authentication mechanisms to verify the user’s identity and keep unauthorized users out
- Ensuring that the API doesn’t store sensitive information in plain text
APIs are the backbone of the internet and need to be protected. When working with a partner who leverages APIs to access and transmit data, you must be aware of what and how they protect that information.
Leveraging Insurance APIs to Optimize Operations and Increase Efficiency
Carriers
An insurance company can use APIs to optimize its operations and increase efficiency. By connecting to a platform that has access to thousands of wholesalers and agents, a carrier can increase its reach quickly without having to bring on more staff to manage the API connection. It can also get more products to market faster. When a new product is launched they can leverage their API partners to efficiently get the word out and at scale.
Insurance Agencies
For years insurance agencies were told technology would disrupt their business and replace them. However, many of those technologies have either been purchased or have disappeared from the insurtech landscape.
Today, most of the emerging and existing insurtech solutions focus on empowering existing players. For example, an API can help the company quote more policies by providing an embedded quoting engine directly on their site. This allows agents to focus on clients who are ready to purchase policies.
Wholesale Brokerages, MGAs, AMSs, Networks, and other Partners
APIs allow wholesale brokerages, MGAs, AMSs, Networks, and other partners to enable wholesalers to speed up their operations by automating the workflows, improving data quality, and reducing human error. These companies should have an API strategy in place to be able to take advantage of the benefits APIs provide.
Conclusion
Companies that implement and leverage APIs can use them to access data from different sources. This will enable them to make better decisions about their customers’ needs. They can also use APIs to integrate third-party systems with their system, saving time and money on development because they don’t have to build everything from scratch themselves. Finally, they can use an API to share data with other companies in the industry. This will allow them to collaborate and compete more effectively in a changing market environment. Overall, APIs are important to the insurance industry because they enable users to improve their customer experience, reduce costs, and stay ahead of the competition.
How Agents, Brokers, and Carriers are leveraging Talage’s Insurance API Solution
For years, Talage has been known in the industry as a rater. But what prolific users of the platform realized is that Wheelhouse isn’t a rater at all. It’s a comprehensive, proprietary submissions management platform that simplifies the quoting, renewal, and submission management of commercial applications.
Our suite of tools gives our customers the power to fully understand their commercial business from what industries are performing well, to what carriers are quoting which lines of business. We’ve reduced question sets, simplified the submission form, automated renewals, plus so much more.
To learn more about Wheelhouse, Talage’s Submission Management Platform, or to get started click the button below.
