(Image credit: qimono/Pixabay.)
Did you know that a recent report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners cited 41,000 fines were levied against producers by state insurance departments, totaling $33 million in penalties?*
Don’t worry, you are not alone, but therein lies the problem. Lack of awareness regarding regulatory compliance is alarmingly rampant as is how to properly address the dilemma that has carriers, agencies, and brokers left largely in the dark or fearing they must either “comply or die.”
The dynamic nature of the insurance licensing industry causes it to be increasingly complex with a myriad of rules varying from state to state. When selling insurance, producers must be licensed to remain compliant, or organizations will be fined. Streamlining communications between operations and compliance enables faster onboarding and a more efficient means to quote and bind.
With the increasingly fast pace of innovation occurring in the insurance industry, the future of insurance regulation will be much different than anything we’ve witnessed heretofore. Technology innovation will impact how regulations are managed within the industry and an abundance of new regulations will affect carriers, agents, adjusters, and even consumers as will the cost of compliance. But staying on top of all the regulatory rules and changes can be a daunting task.
In this new normal, having a solution to manage your professional regulatory compliance is not only a necessity but could mean the difference between facing severe fines or staying in business. Employing a viable regulatory compliance solution can help alleviate the fear of these regulatory uncertainties, keeping your total cost of compliance to a minimum while greatly increasing your business efficiencies.
We believe software offers a critical element to an effective end-to-end solution, managing the lifecycle of an insurance professional’s licensing regulatory compliance from appointment through termination. A cloud-based solution allows insurers to keep up with all the latest changes to regulatory compliance from all U.S. States so that they are always prepared and most importantly, up to date.
Cloud-based solutions use automation to manage license requirements, applications, renewals, and appointments, relieving the stress of these tasks from the compliance staff. Some of the features to look for in assessing the effective cloud solutions include the following:
- Cloud-based storage enables efficient reporting
- Full integration with all regulatory transactions
- Automation delivers real-time compliance and electronic processes
- Centralized repository for quick sharing across teams
- Data import/exports
- Full producer lifecycle support and services
Cloud-based compliance solutions enable insurers to stay ahead of changing state regulations, modernizing processes while maximizing operational efficiencies from anywhere. Most importantly, by boosting your firm’s compliance capabilities, software enables your producers to keep selling while your organization is driving revenue.
*Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners report, September 2021