Making it easier for its independent agents toquote, bind and issue several commercial lines policies, Travelers expanded access to Travelers Commercial through Agent HQ from the Vertafore agency management system, TransactNOW.
The service is now offered agencies interested in boiler and machinery policies and both inland and ocean marine policies.
"In today’s competitive business environment, the ability to respond rapidly with qualified, up-to-date information is paramount to continued success," says Tony Giannone, national sales director, First Party, Travelers.
Travelers cited a survey conducted by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Inc., in which 54 percent of agencies with agency management systems report they are now doing real-time inquiries. 
"In expanding the single-click access through Travelers Commercial to include Quick Quote - Equipment Breakdown Rating Tool, IM Express and Ocean Express, agents can respond to more customers quickly with relevant, actionable information," says Giannone.
Expanding real-time access to the systems and resources for additional lines of business found within Travelers Agent HQ streamlines an agent’s workflow and creates additional opportunities for agents to provide individualized attention to their customers, according to Giannone.
More than 15,000 agency customers use Vertafore agency management systems, including AMS360, AfW, InStar, Prime and Sagitta. Travelers is making it easy for those agents to have access to the carrier’s writing and issuance systems, forms and marketing materials through their agency management system.
"Finding additional lines of business to quote from existing customers and generating new business takes time—time that many agents don’t have," says Giannone. "With this initiative, Travelers is helping agents save time by not having to enter duplicative data and recalling multiple passwords, which provides agents with the opportunity to spend more time with their customers and seek new opportunities."
Insurers Announce Enhancements to Smartphones
Both State Farm and Allstate recently announced updates to their mobile phone applications.
State Farm today released an update to its Steer Clear mobile application, bringing the capability to Android smart phones. The Steer Clear app provides young drivers a convenient way to complete the State Farm Steer Clear discount program and encourages supervised driving practice.
The app also allows teen drivers to enter their state requirements for getting their licenses and helps them track their required driving time.
State Farm first introduced the Steer Clear Mobile app on iPhone in February as a way to help reduce teen driving crashes, one of the company’s overarching goals.
The Steer Clear program is designed to align directly with graduated driver licensing laws. These laws prove to be effective at reducing teen car crashes in part by lengthening the duration teens must drive while supervised, and requiring practice in various driving conditions and limiting certain distractions.
Allstate announced the launch of Tag In, a new mobile messaging smart phone app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry users. This allows drivers to stay connected with family, friends or colleagues with a quick message and GPS location without using multiple applications or exposing your information and location to a broad audience.
"Allstate has clear goals for our mobile offerings: deliver services and tools that consumers value in ways that are consistent with who we are and what we stand for," says Bob Wasserman, vice president of e-business for Allstate. "People want to stay connected, but they’re also concerned about protecting their privacy. Designed with families in mind, Tag In combines convenient social networking, location features and user control of who sees personal information. It’s quicker than texting and more private than Facebook or Foursquare."