(Image source: State Auto homepage.)
State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company (Columbus, Ohio) has completed the latest release of its State Auto Connect digital technology platform. The release, completed within 38 months, is a major milestone in the insurer’s ongoing technology transformation.
State Auto reports that agents and customers in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina now have access to its Commercial Connect and Connect Suite of Products. Commercial Connect, which includes three new commercial lines products, has rolled out to agents in 30 states in just one year, with ongoing enhancements to the platform. The new and enhanced products, which vary by state, include business owner, business auto and umbrella. State Auto also offers State Auto Fleet Safety 360, a telematics-based program offering business owners an easy way to monitor their fleet, and potentially save money.
Digital Platform and Products
Mike LaRocco, President and CEO, State Auto.
State Auto Connect for personal lines features a new digital platform and a suite of products, including Connect Auto, Home, Dwelling Fire and Umbrella. Connect Auto features the State Auto Safety 360 telematics program, which can give auto insurance policyholders a reduction in premium of up to 50 percent. The insurer describes State Auto Connect for personal and commercial lines as an entirely digital experience for independent agents and customers, with digital signatures, electronic payments and digital delivery of policy and billing documents.
State Auto embarked in 2015 on a five- to seven-year project to build a new technology platform for agents and policyholders. President and CEO Mike LaRocco, who joined the carrier as President and CEO in that year, challenged the State Auto team to move more aggressively. The company’s business and IT team responded with the launch of Personal Connect in Arizona, 14 months later, on Oct. 12, 2016.
Listening to Agents and Customers
“Completing this first phase of our transformation in just 38 months is an incredible accomplishment that wouldn’t have been achieved without the focus, drive and dedication of our associates,” comments LaRocco. “The State Auto team has been focused on delivering a best-in-class digital experience for independent agents and customers, and based on the feedback I hear regularly, we’re delivering. We haven’t gotten it right every time, but we respond to that feedback and are getting better with every release. State Auto Connect represents the future of the independent agency system.”