

Comparing the insurance industry of today to the insurance industry of just 10 years ago is like comparing apples to oranges. Over the last decade or so, modern-day problems begged for modern-day solutions, and the historically slow-to-innovate insurance industry experienced what can best be described as a boom in technological innovation.
While the insurtech wave may no longer feel like a tsunami, its ripples are still being felt across the industry as experts find new ways to leverage technology in centuries-old processes. For example, just look at the industry’s rapid adoption of APIs across all operations.
What is an application programming interface, or API?
To put it simply, APIs serve as intermediaries between two or more separate softwares or applications. They allow data to flow seamlessly from one system to another using a set of predefined definitions and protocols. In other words, APIs allow multiple separate programs to communicate with each other.
Industries across the board leverage APIs to create greater efficiencies in their workflows and to improve the customer experience. In fact, you’ve probably interacted with several APIs today without even knowing it, whether that was checking the weather app, online shopping, or browsing Netflix for your next binge-watch.
If you’re looking for more general information on APIs, including the most common types, start here. To learn more specifically how insurance professionals leverage APIs to optimize their producer compliance workflows, read on.
APIs are revolutionizing the insurance industry
APIs aren’t new to the world of insurance. In fact, here are six ways they’re already being used to speed up processes, eliminate manual tasks, and improve the user experience for policyholders and producers alike.
In this article, we’ll focus on just one area insurance organizations have found great use for APIs: producer compliance. Carriers, agencies, MGAs, and MGUs can optimize their compliance processes with API-backed software that connects to the industry’s one true source of truth regarding producer license status and compliance.
How does API-backed compliance benefit insurance businesses?
Improves the producer experience
The compliance checks involved in onboarding producers can be tedious, especially when they involve navigating between multiple different state websites just to find the most accurate and up-to-date information.
A cumbersome onboarding process speaks volumes about the kind of experience a producer or adjuster can expect when working with a carrier. Recruiting new talent is hard enough as it is thanks to the industry-wide talent crisis, anything a carrier can do to improve the producer experience increases their chances of standing out and attracting the next generation of agents and adjusters.
Insurance companies can take advantage of API connections in their onboarding to help speed things up. Forget time-consuming data entry, APIs can seamlessly integrate necessary data like background checks and CE credentials into your processes to get producers and adjusters onboarded and ready to sell a lot faster.
Reduce manual work and associated errors
Remember that time-consuming data entry we just mentioned? Not only is it a pain in the butt for your compliance team, producers, and anyone else involved in the onboarding process, but it also puts your insurance business at a higher risk for human error.
The less human touch in the process, the less likely it is that your team enters a license renewal date incorrectly, overlooks a FINRA registration, or makes any other potential mistake. APIs allow for information to flow between systems in both directions. For compliance purposes, this means data can sync both to and from the insurance industry’s one source of truth for producer license status without human interruption.
Plus, anytime a producer’s information is updated or new information is added, the data syncs up with the producer’s official record so that it’s accurate the next time someone accesses it.
Avoid compliance fees and commission clawbacks
Using APIs to connect producer or adjuster information to their official record gives insurance carriers an accurate view of who in their distribution channel is licensed, appointed, and ready to sell or adjust claims in each state.
Is there a producer in your channel whose license renewal deadline passed? Not to worry! With API integrations, carriers or agencies can receive alerts anytime someone falls out of compliance, preventing them from selling without a valid license. With this real-time, 360-degree view of the compliance status of anyone selling insurance, agencies and carriers can wave goodbye to costly compliance fees and dreaded commission clawbacks.
Tech-forward compliance raises the bar for the entire industry
Just as they revolutionize our personal lives, APIs revolutionize the way the insurance industry operates. If you think APIs are just a passing trend, now’s the time to change your perspective before it’s too late. These integrations are already proving to be a crucial part of many insurance organizations’ daily operations.
When it comes to unlocking better business data, using an API to connect a producer’s data to their official record is a great place to start. Insurance carriers, MGA/MGUs, and agencies that use API integrations to support their producer management and compliance processes can access their data in real-time without having to spend multiple hours each day on manual compliance.
Join the insta-compliance revolution before it’s too late
Consumers and producers alike will prefer companies that can offer more modern, faster, and seamless experiences. Failing to adopt APIs as part of their tech strategy puts companies at risk of being left behind.
AgentSync Manage and the ProducerSync API are built on the concept of a multi-directional information exchange between end users and the insurance industry’s source of truth. With Manage and ProducerSync API, users can monitor producer, adjuster, and broker-dealer compliance across all states and territories and receive real-time status updates. If you’re ready to stop wasting time on manual compliance processes and set your business up for future success, contact AgentSync today.