Vertafore

Ever feel like your team is working nonstop all day… but somehow the simple stuff still takes too long? A policy change takes five systems. Or someone’s out for the day and suddenly nobody knows where something stands. That’s not a workload problem. That’s operational friction. A lot of agencies are carrying around this kind of drag without realizing how much it’s shaping the business. Teams look “busy,” but a surprising amount of the day gets spent re-entering information, routing documents, double-checking work, following up on status updates, and fixing preventable errors. Over time, agencies start adapting around the friction instead of removing it—adding headcount, stretching timelines, and accepting slower service as normal. And clients notice it too. •Delayed responses •Repeated questions •Slower quoting •More back-and-forth Conversations become status checks instead of actual advice and relationship-building. The agencies gaining momentum right now are the ones reducing the extra work wrapped around routine tasks. When systems connect and information moves cleanly, work takes fewer steps to move forward. Employees spend less time chasing process and more time helping clients. Leaders get a clearer picture of true capacity. And growth stops feeling so operationally heavy. Distribution drag doesn’t usually show up as one giant problem. It shows up in hundreds of tiny moments that slowly make the business harder to run than it should be. Read the full blog here 👉 https://ow.ly/6ss750Z3htw

Independent agencies today are being asked to do more than ever. Move faster. Deliver better customer experiences. Manage more channels. Grow without adding complexity. That’s why we’re proud to share that AgencyZoom has earned Silver 🏆 at the TITAN Awards🎉 This recognition reflects a bigger shift happening across the industry. Agencies need technology that doesn’t just help them sell but helps them operate smarter across the entire client lifecycle. AgencyZoom was built specifically for independent insurance agencies to simplify the day-to-day chaos of managing leads, follow-ups, renewals, service requests, and customer communication across disconnected systems. By bringing everything into one connected platform, agencies gain better visibility, stronger workflows, and more time to focus on what matters most: serving clients and growing the business. And the impact? ✔️ 7,000+ agencies on the platform ✔️50,000+ users ✔️Agencies reporting 40% growth in their first year ✔️30 hours saved per month through automation As agencies continue navigating rising customer expectations and increasing operational demands, connected, insurance-specific technology has never been more important. We’re honored by this recognition 👏 and even more excited about what it means for the future of independent agencies.

After winning the Business Intelligence Group Excellence in Customer Service Award for the fourth consecutive year (!), we sat down with our VP of Customer Support, Andy Mickelson, to talk about what’s driving the team’s continued success: Great support doesn’t end when the call does. After the conversation, there’s documenting case notes, follow-up actions, and making sure the next person who touches the account has the full picture. That back-end work can add up quickly, and AI is available to handle the lift. In practice, that could look like: ✴️Summarizing calls so notes are more consistent and actionable ✴️Capturing key details and making action items automatically ✴️Surfacing help articles or next best steps during live conversations with clients The goal is to let technology handle manual, behind-the-scenes work so you can focus on the meaningful interactions, the human side of insurance. When repetitive tasks shrink, support teams gain back time for what matters most: listening carefully, providing guidance, and solving real problems. At the end of last year, we disrupted normal operations for a week to give our team space to explore AI as a tool. Over those few days, every department tested real use cases by crafting prompts and strategizing how to create structured, beneficial best practices. The aim was to build confidence and outline guardrails before scaling AI implementation further. Instead of fearing automation, the team is using AI to reduce wrap-up time, putting standardization process in place, and increasing meaningful conversations with insurance agencies, carriers, and MGAs. Technology works best when it strengthens human expertise instead of competing with it. What does this look like for your support team? After a client interaction ends, what part of the process takes the most time for you?

If you are following our series, here is part two of our conversation with CEO Amy Zupon, CCO Rick Warter, and host William Jones, CPCU with Agency Nation Radio! We dive into the conversation with Rick, from Accelerate to customer conversations and, of course, AI. Q: What can someone expect from Accelerate, and what sets it apart from other industry conferences? A: The community. NetVU does a great job fostering community building. Some of our customers directly compete with each other, but they still have this sense of community. That ability to connect is a real differentiator. Q: What do you see as the biggest opportunities to remove bottlenecks for independent agents? A: A huge part of my job is spending time with customers and understanding where friction exists and where those pain points are. For example, the Reconciliation Agent we talked about on the mainstage is built around a very time-consuming task. AI’s ability to streamline that process down to mere minutes is amazing. It’s exciting hearing about these friction points and then bringing the solution to reality. Q: Where is AI on the hype scale right now? A: We’re all going to use it — whether you’re the CEO or the newest person in the organization. I heard someone explain it really well once: think of AI like interns. They can help you out, but you better review the work before you hand it in. It’s incredibly valuable, but you should think of yourself as the team lead over a team of agents. You can’t just let it run on its own. Q: What are independent agents doing with the extra time gained from Vertafore’s Project Impact initiative? A: They’re reconnecting with the insured. The industry has become so administrative with everything that needs to get done that agents were losing those important connection points. Streamlining technology is freeing them up to spend more time with clients, better understand their risks, guide them through their journey, and ultimately become better advisors. Q: What advice would you give independent agents to dive into AI? A: Small steps. If you give everyone everything at once, adoption stalls. Find fun ways to embrace it and experiment!

Recorded live at Accelerate, our CEO Amy Zupon and CCO Rick Warter joined William Jones, CPCU from Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America on the latest episode of Agency Nation Radio to talk about the evolving insurance landscape, customer experience, and industry innovation. We’ll be sharing a few highlights from the conversation in a two-part social series—stay tuned tomorrow for more insights from the episode! Q: You’ve been at Vertafore for about eight years now. How is Vertafore different today than when you first walked through the door? A: As a company built through acquisitions, we recognized the opportunity to reinvent Vertafore for its next chapter—transforming from a company focused primarily on acquisition to one focused on building and innovating software. Today, we are a unified organization powered by some of the best talent in the industry, delivering innovative technology solutions that help our customers succeed. Q: Where is the independent agency channel on its digital journey? A: We’re at a pivotal moment where AI is no longer hype—it’s real, and it’s already transforming the industry. The pace of change will accelerate faster than many people expect. AI creates opportunities to automate administrative tasks, allowing agencies and carriers to work differently than they have in the past. Q: Why is cross-industry dialogue important during a time of change? A: Insurance distribution is complex, with many stakeholders involved across the ecosystem. Historically, that has created friction as work moves from one partner to another—but that level of inefficiency is no longer acceptable. What’s encouraging is that the industry is aligned around a common goal: becoming easier and better to do business with. With the technology available today, the organizations that embrace innovation and collaboration will be the ones that lead the market forward. Q: How should agencies think about adopting AI? A: The technology is incredibly powerful, but adopting AI simply for the sake of adopting technology is not the right approach. The key is identifying the business challenges and use cases that matter most, then applying AI in ways that solve those specific problems. At Vertafore, we’ve made significant investments in our AI platform to build intelligent solutions and AI-powered agents focused on delivering real value for our customers. Most importantly, now is the time to experiment, learn, and embrace new ways of working!

Our chief product officer, James Thom, sat down with Carrier Management yesterday to answer a big question facing the insurance industry: What separates insurers that are ready to scale AI from those still just talking about it? From moving beyond pilots to driving measurable ROI, James shared practical insights on what it really takes to turn AI experimentation into real business transformation. Here are a few highlights from the conversation: Q: What’s the first sign a carrier is genuinely ready to scale AI? A: It shows up in how they talk about it. If the conversation is still centered on theory, concepts, or “what AI could do,” there’s more work ahead. The carriers that are ready are talking about outcomes, process change, and how AI fits into the day-to-day work of the business. Q: How can insurers move beyond experimentation? A: Pick a real use case and move. At some point, organizations have to jump from pilot mode into implementation mode. Transformation doesn’t happen by endlessly testing around the edges. Q: Where do AI pilots tend to break down? A: Too often, teams solve interesting problems instead of important ones. The real test is whether the use case connects to measurable ROI and integrates into existing workflows. If AI creates more “swivel chair” work, it won’t scale. Q: Should insurers build or buy? A: Leaders need to be realistic about the pace of technology change. Building internally means taking on the responsibility to keep up with fast-moving infrastructure, models, routing, and governance. That’s a big commitment. Q: How should insurers think about ROI? A: The ROI can be very real, very quickly — but only if organizations commit. Tiptoeing into AI can cost more than it returns. The value comes when leaders drive toward clear outcomes from the start. AI success in insurance is not about chasing the most interesting idea. It’s about choosing the right problem, embedding AI into real workflows, and moving with intention from pilot to impact. Thanks to Elizabeth Blosfield and Carrier Management for putting together the 2026 InsurTech Summit! https://lnkd.in/eiTZAyY

Have you ever tried to explain a commission issue that should’ve taken two minutes, and now it’s day five, multiple emails deep, and nobody’s quite sure what happened? Those moments shape the agent-carrier relationship. Celent research shows 86% of agents prioritize resolving payment disputes quickly and easily with their carrier partners. It’s not just about getting paid, it’s about getting paid correctly, without friction. At the same time, carriers are managing more complexity than ever, moving faster, and trying to deliver a better experience without adding more overhead or risk. That’s exactly where Sircon Compensation comes in—and it’s why it’s being recognized with a GOLD win in the 2026 TITAN Awards and a FINALIST designation in the PropertyCasualty360 Luminaries. Industry recognition comes from seeing Sircon Compensation solving real problems. The solution is already saving carriers: ✴️Up to 50% less time managing compensation ✴️~30% reduction in IT effort and costs ✴️Faster resolution and clearer visibility for agents This isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about giving carriers the ability to remove friction, build trust with their agents, and keep business moving. That’s the bar now. And it’s only getting higher.

Join us tomorrow at the InsurTech Summit with Carrier Management, host Elizabeth Blosfield and our chief product officer, James Thom. James will be on the panel, "Why some insurance AI initiatives scale while others stall." He will address questions like, "Where do AI pilots typically break down?" & "What distinguishes AI features that customers actually use from ones that sit idle?" See you tomorrow! 💥

The line between underwriting and distribution is blurring and that has strategic implications. For a long time, MGAs relied on underwriting expertise as their edge. But as the market has grown to more than $114B in premium, that edge is getting harder to sustain on its own. Growth today is shaped just as much by how business flows in as how it is underwritten. We are seeing two primary paths emerge: 1) The MGA + wholesale model 2) The MGA + broker model Advances in technology are making it easier to connect underwriting and distribution, giving MGAs greater control and visibility across the value chain. In both models, the focus is the same: improving visibility, increasing control, and enabling faster, more informed decisions. When underwriting and distribution are more connected, the impact is immediate. Teams spend less time chasing information and more time acting on it. Brokers receive faster, more consistent responses. MGAs can focus their capacity on the business they actually want to write. At Vertafore, we see this shift happening across the market. The MGAs gaining traction are not just refining underwriting. They are rethinking how business flows from submission to bind and investing in technology that connects the entire process. The structure of the MGA model is changing. The opportunity lies in how you respond.

QQCatalyst is on a G2 winning streak—because agencies running with less friction and 98.7% retention tend to get noticed. And this one’s because of you. 🧡 G2 awards are driven by real reviews from agencies using QQCatalyst every day, sharing what’s actually working in your agency. You’re the one staying on top of every client interaction. You’re the one keeping business moving without things slipping through the cracks. You’re the one building a book that’s stronger, more connected, and easier to manage. QQCatalyst just helps make that easier, with everything in one place, workflows that keep up, and fewer manual headaches slowing you down. When your system works this well, growth isn’t a stretch goal, it’s a natural outcome. So, keep the reviews coming. We’re building this with you 👏