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TECHNOLOGY

Big ideas for small business insurance

BizInsure's 10-minute process offers consumers instant access
to multiple quotes, policy issuance

By Nancy Doucette

Greg Morris intends to revolutionize how small business owners experience commercial insurance. "The process needs to be simpler, more immediate, and more cost effective," he declares. And the way he sees it, the time is right for technology to make that happen for what he describes as "an underserved market—the low end of the commercial market—that segment that represents low revenues for agents and brokers."

And Morris says that segment is growing, due in part to the down economy which has brought about an increase in the number of individuals starting their own businesses. This bodes well for his vision of offering a one-stop solution for small business owners, consultants, and sole proprietors. "There's a burgeoning industry of independent contractors, consultants, and freelancers," he notes. "There are a lot of first-time buyers out there who are already accustomed to buying personal insurance online.

"There's been an explosion of online purchasing in general, including the personal insurance market," he observes. "Consumers understand this is a reliable way to purchase insurance, in addition to being efficient and cost effective."

Blue-sky thinking

A self-described blue-sky thinker, Morris joined Woodruff-Sawyer & Co., a multi-location West Coast insurance broker, about 10 years ago and he has since become a partner. "I was always struck by the lack of technological innovation in the commercial insurance space," he remarks. He recalls sharing his ideas about how to incorporate technology into the commercial insurance process with "anyone who would listen." So when a client suggested he touch base with an Australian friend who had started a company several years earlier based on an open-market direct commercial insurance small business model, Morris wasted no time.

And the rest, as the saying goes, is history. A joint venture was formed between Woodruff-Sawyer and the Australian company, and in September 2012, BizInsure went live with Morris serving as president. Morris' revolution had begun. BizInsure is an online underwriting system which allows small business owners to compare quotes, buy online, and receive the policy via e-mail in as little as 10 minutes. Actually, Morris says, "the BizInsure platform is many things. It's a cloud-based consumer-facing platform, a back-end administration infrastructure for our agents, and a full agency management and accounting system."

While BizInsure is currently housed in Woodruff-Sawyer's San Francisco headquarters, all its employees are separate, Morris explains. However, the agency helps with office administration, HR, and some of the accounting.

Before that "live" date, though, Morris put on his best sales hat and set out to establish a panel of insurance carriers who agreed that this model represents large market opportunity. "My pitch was: 'You don't want to fall behind the technology curve; the time is now for commercial insurance innovation,'" he recalls. "'Work with us to obtain early-adopter advantage.'" CNA, Hiscox, Liberty International Underwriters, and Philadelphia Insurance Companies agreed with Morris' view of the future, and work got underway to create standardized questions for the professional liability application—the first coverage BizInsure offered. Morris notes that because BizInsure is licensed in all 50 states, this phase of the development effort took the longest.

"More carriers are knocking on our door now that they've seen what we're doing and the success that we're having," he says.

Morris says BizInsure's professional liability coverage is fully automated, but that doesn't mean that prospective buyers are left to their own devices should they have a question. Licensed agents are available at any time during the purchasing process and for as long as the individual is a BizInsure customer. "We encourage the call," he says. "Human interaction is an important component to our offering: high-level customer service, wrapped with modern technology. The personal relationship is important and the business becomes 'stickier' when there's interaction." But for those who qualify for a fully automated process, BizInsure can also do just that.

Morris says prospects seeking professional liability insurance answer an average of eight underwriting questions, and based on their answers, the state in which they're located, and their revenue, they could qualify for up to four instant quotes. "Prospects are able to review a summary of coverage—the differentiators with each of the quotes, and the actual policy language—if the individual wants to look at an endorsement or policy. Then—in real time—we help them decide which best fits their needs," he explains.

BizInsure clients pay by credit card and have three payment options: in full, quarterly or monthly, Morris notes. "Once the payment is accepted in the payment gateway, our system releases the policy documents, certificate of insurance, and receipt via e-mail. This information is also saved in a cloud-based fashion on our Web site. Clients have a login and password so they can come back and view their policy or request a new certificate," he says.

"The small business sector is ready for a change. In addition to high-quality customer service, these customers demand efficiency and immediacy that can be achieved only through the use of technology." –Greg Morris President BizInsure

Expansion plans

In July 2013, BizInsure rolled out offerings for general liability and businessowners packages. "Our roadmap for the different product launches (which will also include workers comp and management liability) takes into consideration that some carriers are comfortable being fully automated while others require a human to be part of the process to determine eligibility. But the way we're building this is different. It will be seamless and focused on customer experience," Morris explains.

"We're starting out with a select number of class codes and professions," he continues. "But we have a roadmap to build other class codes over time." He says BizInsure is primarily focused on "micro businesses" and office-oriented professionals to start but that this will expand gradually over time.

Going forward, Morris expects BizInsure will offer tiered coverages and pricing. "We may offer gold, silver, and bronze levels, for instance. We'll outline what the coverage options are within each—keeping it easy to understand. We'll be able to tell business owners what limits the average person in their industry buys. If they want to go above that, the gold level would be suitable. If they want to reduce costs, the bronze level is available but we'll be sure to advise them of what they should be aware of when taking the lower option."

Morris says Woodruff-Sawyer, like many agencies its size, historically has turned down small commercial business. BizInsure is now getting the calls that Woodruff-Sawyer used to refer to another broker.

He is also working on some large partnerships with online organizations that "aren't monetizing commercial insurance right now," he says. "There are also opportunities with associations that deal with the types of buyers we target. They're looking for a better solution for their members.

"An automated portal wrapped with licensed human support isn't going to replace traditional agents and brokers," Morris concludes. "But the small business sector is ready for a change. In addition to high-quality customer service, these customers demand efficiency and immediacy that can be achieved only through the use of technology. This is a long play for us. Buying patterns are already starting to shift as customers learn that solutions such as BizInsure are available. We're building our business to better serve these customers as the 'online business insurance revolution' continues to take hold."

For more information:

BizInsure

www.bizinsure.com

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