Noveri Insurance was formed in late 2001 in an attempt to capitalize on the experience and clientele its three principals had acquired over a decade working for one of the largest Farmer's agents in Texas. It seemed the right time to go out on their own, so in October 2001 the Noveris found some office space, acquired some furniture and computer equipment, and bought a four-user AMS Prime agency management system. They were in business by the beginning of the 2002.
Recently I had a chance to talk with Chris Noveri, who founded the new agency with his parents. At the previous agency, Noveri managed the agency's technology besides being a commercial lines producer. Though the technical work was farmed out to a consulting group, Noveri came to understand the capabilities of the agency's Applied Vision system, knowledge he carried with him when shopping for his own system.
About the agency
The Noveri agency, serving the Houston area, focuses especially on homeowners insurance, though it also writes commercial lines, personal auto, life, and health. Like many small, start up agencies, the Noveris struggle to find major, nationally known carriers who are willing to appoint them and now work with small regional carriers.
Because the Noveris are fluent in Spanish and a significant part of the Houston population is made up of native Spanish speakers, the agency has pursued Spanish language direct mail to Spanish surname residents of their community and nearby areas. And because U.S. insurance concepts can be foreign to recent immigrants and policy language incomprehensible, the agency makes a special point of thoroughly educating its prospects on their insurance needs and available coverage. It is in this way the agency creates value and becomes a trusted insurance advisor to its customers.
According to Noveri, the agency does business the old fashioned way. They expect prospects and customers to come into their office. They explain and educate before they try to sell. Whether the prospect buys or not, Noveri wants them to feel good about and have confidence in the agency. A key component of their marketing strategy is word of mouth advertising. So far it's worked well.
Time for a new system?
The agency has been using its Prime system for more than a year and Noveri reports that it does everything they need, for now. Why is he looking for a new system and in particular an ASP solution? One reason is the safety an ASP affords. Since the software and database is hosted in a secure data center, the agency could lose the use of their office, but be back in business quickly just by using alternative access to the Internet, from home for instance. And since the agency is still small, it could be a good time to migrate to a new environment — before conversion turns into a massive job.
But perhaps a more important reason is the way the industry and the world at large is now being shaped by the Internet. Noveri wants to use a system that is designed from the ground up to work with and take advantage of the Internet. He wants to use what is sometimes called native IP (Internet protocol) software. That disqualifies legacy, client/server systems that are being hosted and made available through utilities like Citrix and Microsoft's terminal emulation server. Noveri has identified ebix's ebixASP, XDimensional's Nexsure, and AMS's AMS360 as potential candidates.
Noveri is Internet adept and so has spent a good deal of time surfing recently to thoroughly understand ASP issues (what he should look for and the questions he should ask) as well as prospective solutions. He's also had a chance to review some of the systems via remote demos and worked with sales people relative to pricing and proposals over the phone and Internet.
What's important to Noveri besides the offering being a native IP ASP? Cost certainly is an important aspect. Maintenance and support for the current Prime system runs about $150 per month and a new system can't be much more expensive and still be within budget. Any startup costs must also be modest. And the system must include the functionality Noveri is looking for. Because of his experience with Vision, and now with Prime, he feels comfortable being able to review systems relative to his needs.
A significant motivation for going the ASP route is agency safety. That means the vendor must be dependable as well — and with the right service philosophy and behavior. He expects to talk with agents about their experiences using candidate systems. And he has to be comfortable that the vendor will be in business for the long run.
What will trigger the decision to buy? The software must fit his needs, though Noveri suspects that each of the three packages he is looking at would work. So ultimately, what he's looking for is the right financial arrangement. We'll check back with him in the future to find out what he decided and — if he got a new system — how training, conversion, and ongoing use matches his expectations and helps him grow his new business.
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Noveri wants to use a system that is designed from the ground up to work with and take advantage of the Internet.