What’s in a Wizard?

wizard holding crystal ball

By Kitty Ambers, CIC, CPIA, CISR, Chief Growth Officer, AVYST When I think about the word “Wizard”, the image of a yellow brick road leading to the Emerald City comes to mind. I think about a little dog named Toto pulling back a curtain to expose a middle-aged man operating machinery and speaking into a…

Read More

Partners or Pirates?

Photo of lock on computer memory board

Consider your agency integrations before you accidentally walk the plank. By Kitty Ambers, CIC, CPIA, CISR, Chief Growth Officer at AVYST Strategies, guidelines, and protocols for Reopening America are hitting headlines on both micro- and macro-levels. Churches, schools, restaurants, offices, salons – every business and organization imaginable is having to rethink and retool how they…

Read More

In Case You Missed It – Technology Must Support Sales

Photo of human hand shaking computer image hand

In the recent 2020 NUPC/PIA Independent Agent Survey, technology was a focal point.  There were several responses that caught our attention here at AVYST. One noted that the agency owner “has no time to look at new technologies.” But what happens to an agency when the owner doesn’t carve out time to deal with technology…

Read More

ACTION is How You Get Things Done!

Chalkboard writing of ACT: Action Changes Things

Author Tim Fargo sums it up nicely, “Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today.” To grow, expand, change, evolve, transform or whichever term you choose to describe your strategy, you must DO something. Doing is what leads to progress. To focus our doing, it’s wise to first define some milestones and action…

Read More

InsurTech Talk: Three Common Misconceptions of Cybersecurity

Padlock laying on keyboard

Many insurance professionals are interested in cyber security not only for their own organizations but for their clients.  During this InsurTech Talk,  Kitty Ambers and George Robertson speak with special guest Dustin Mooney of RigidBits about the most common misconceptions surrounding cyber security including common terms that can be confusing and what compliance requirements are…

Read More

Keeping it Conversational

Face it, doing a good job with front line underwriting requires agents and brokers to ask a ton of questions.  A significant amount of data is required by insurance carriers to accurately rate a risk.  Consumers, who aren’t really enamored with having to purchase insurance in the first place, get turned off when there is…

Read More

Argo Adopts AVYST Technology to Improve Distributor Experience

ARGO Group logo

HAMILTON, Bermuda – June 17, 2019 – Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: ARGO), an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance, has adopted insurtech that enables MGAs, wholesalers and independent brokers to submit, quote and bind risks seamlessly, without paper or error. Argo has deployed AVYST’s bi-directional forms system, eForms Wizard, making it possible…

Read More

Insurtech & Insurance: Perfect Together

Group of 3 business people talking

You can’t tell the players in insurtech without a scorecard. Here’s one for reference: Crunchbase’s website lists 642 insurtech firms. Their combined total equity funding is $6.1 billion. Their average founding date is April 2011. They have cool names like Pie Insurance, TheGuarantors, Premonition, and Descartes Underwriting. Investor types include accelerator, incubator, angel group, venture…

Read More

Technology to Attract Younger Employees

Three young men looking at a computer

Upgrade Your Technology to Upgrade Your Appeal Here’s the truth: entering the same details about a client’s account again and again into different forms is killing your opportunity for some of the best and brightest employees out there. That’s why it’s time for agencies to embrace technology – not only as a tool to save…

Read More