February 15, 2016 – Sydney, Australia: In an industry dependent on the provision of timely, accurate and bespoke advice, Insurance Advisernet (IA) is differentiating itself amongst its competitors.
Through the power of Business Intelligence (BI), IA’s network of advisers are now unlocking the benefits of data to become more efficient, reach more customers and understand their customers better.
With insurance solutions specifically designed for small to midsize businesses (SMBs), IAA currently oversees 140 insurance practices, providing support and performance reporting to customers Australia-wide.
Previously, IA struggled with a disparate and costly set of reporting tools that were difficult to use, and only generated reports on a weekly or monthly basis.
The limitations of this meant that customers weren’t receiving reports when they necessarily wanted them, and information was growing quickly out-of-date.
To provide better insights and give its advisers a competitive advantage, IA wanted a more dynamic, self-service solution that would work smoothly with existing technologies, including Microsoft Office 365.
Steve Dymond, General Manager, Business and Information Systems at Insurance Advisernet Australia explained, “We were using a lot of Office 365 tools, and it’s really become our entire world. But we had this reporting package from another vendor that didn’t integrate with it,” Dymond explained.
Following a decision to move to the Microsoft Azure Cloud, IA looked to systems integrator TTS to help implement a new business intelligence solution.
Once introduced to Microsoft Power BI, a cloud-based suite of data visualisation tools, IA knew it was on the right track.
Today, IA has eliminated its information silos and replaced various reporting tools with a platform that includes Power BI, Azure SQL Database and SQL Server Analysis Services running on Azure virtual machines.
The new advanced analytics tools also work with Office 365, providing remote access to productivity apps and business insights in one solution.
Outlining some of the benefits of the new technology, Dymond said, “IA now has deeper understanding of customers, and the team is armed with more targeted selling strategies. We’re already looking at adding new data sources, including financial and customer relationship management systems.”
“Our industry is about giving advice, and by using the tools that we have now with Power BI, we can look at our portfolio and lay over it public flood and bush fire data for example, and provide our clients advice on whether they’re more at risk. These types of things just weren’t possible in the past.”
With its new BI platform in place, the company is already reaping the benefits of data.
Dymond says, “We have a roadmap ahead for the next 12 months that includes not just looking backward at our data to understand what’s happened in the past, but using the information we have to drive growth in the business going forward.
About Insurance Advisernet Australia
Insurance Advisernet was founded two decades ago and today our network has grown to span more than 180 independent insurance advisers across Australia and New Zealand. We are a principal member of NIBA, the National Insurance Brokers Association, and the largest member of the publicly-listed AUB Group (formerly Austbrokers Holdings Ltd) – one of the leading general insurance broking groups in Australasia with over 450,000 clients and $4.5 billion in gross written premiums. Our buying power spans every major insurer in Australia and New Zealand and also includes access to major overseas insurers as required, including Lloyd’s of London. Insurance Advisernet believes in delivering you the very best advice, the most efficient systems and the right insurance solutions, all built upon our four core business pillars: Trust. Advice. Choice. Value
