The Drivers of Automation
Managing licensing and registration operations means providing a high level of exceptional service to agents and producers against a challenging backdrop of fluctuating volumes, complex transactions, ever-changing regulations, and rigorous data and reporting demands. It requires extraordinary levels of efficiency and continuous assimilation of best practices. We take a look at the biggest drivers that propel insurers and distributors to implement advanced technology into their licensing operations.
Time to Market, User Satisfaction, and Reduced Risk
There are many drivers of automation in licensing and registration operations, but the most significant are the need for increased staff productivity and, as always, lower costs. Given the fierce competition for top talent within the industry, recruiting and retaining leading agents and registered reps and providing them with a positive, seamless onboarding and credentialing process that speeds their time to market is key. This can influence their choice to do business with a carrier. Also, with significant consolidation, insurers and distributors continue to expand their distribution channels, and they need a dependable way to scale their operations as they acquire new advisers.
As compliance grows more complex, automation can help to ensure successful processes. Proper agent and adviser credentialing and compliance goes well beyond licensing and appointments. It includes FINRA data and completion of mandated state training, such as long-term care, annuity best interest, and product training. This all must be done efficiently so that new accounts can open on time, orders can be placed, trades can happen, and compensation can be paid—compliantly. In addition, market conduct exams have become vastly more thorough. Gone are the days when states looked at just a few files; they now request data on policies written during an entire audit period for an appointed agent and examine closely for exceptions. Licensing has remained one of the top six findings in each of the last 10 years.
Building, Buying, and the Total Cost of Ownership
The largest insurers, brokers, and broker-dealers can easily build internal systems that manage licensing, registrations, and much more, and the cost of an in-house solution can be lower than a commercially built system. However, commercial systems tend to have a substantially lower total cost of ownership when calculated over time.
Commercial systems come fully featured with regulatory rules that are integrated and actively maintained by a team of experienced experts. Also, commercial systems regularly incorporate new capabilities, enable continuous optimization, and take full advantage of the industry’s latest best practices. In-house systems require tremendous maintenance and expertise to accommodate regulatory and business rules that change often and have far-reaching effects on multiple transaction types within the firm. Any IT resources efficiently focused on customer experience and innovation will deliver a real competitive advantage. With best-in-class commercial solutions available in the market, there is a decreasing appetite to build compliance and credentialing applications in-house.
About RegEd
RegEd is the market-leading provider of RegTech enterprise solutions with relationships with more than 200 enterprise clients, including 80% of the top 25 financial services firms.
Established in 2000 by former regulators, the company is recognized for continuous regulatory technology innovation with solutions hallmarked by workflow-directed processes, data integration, regulatory intelligence, automated validations, business process automation and compliance dashboards. The aggregate drives the highest levels of operational efficiency and enables our clients to cost-effectively comply with regulations and continuously mitigate risk.
Trusted by the nation’s top financial services firms, RegEd’s proven, holistic approach to RegTech meets firms where they are on the compliance and risk management continuum, scaling as their needs evolve and amplifying the value proposition delivered to clients. For more information, please visit www.reged.com.