Category: Uncategorized

Questions Agents Forget to Ask

Posted on by xanatekweb

How many years have you been in business? How many updates do you do per year?
Xanatek, the creator of IMS4, has been in business since 1997. In 2002, we started the first agency management system and have the sole focus of working on software that improves the independent insurance agency office processes and procedures. We send out 4 to 6 updates a year.

Do we pay for any updates? Are software revisions or upgrades required?
We do not charge for updates or upgrades to our product. In 2013 we launched IMS4 (new product) and allowed our clients to upgrade without any cost.

What database is used to power IMS4 software?
IMS4 by Xanatek uses a Microsoft SQL Database.

Is Training Included?
Yes! Your initial setup and monthly support fees includes training. There are no additional charges for web-based training as long as you are a Xanatek client. We do offer boot camps and workshops to enhance your training experience if needed.

What is your client satisfaction rate?
IMS4 is so proud to have a 98.4% satisfaction rate. We strive to excel in this area—THIS IS A PRIMARY FOCUS FOR OUR TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS!

How many times in the past 10 years have you increased support rates?
We have increased our support fees twice in the past 10 years.

Do you have people who will be helping me with training or is training done with videos?
Clients are so pleased with our outstanding training program. An assigned trainer takes you through the entire process. In addition, we have videos for basic topics and webinars that cover advanced features. We are continually making improvements to provide you with the best training experience.

Should some downtime be expected?
In the last year, IMS4 has had exceptional uptime. In the past, a few clients had to call us because our server reboot on Sunday night prevented login. In both cases this was corrected in less than 15 minutes.

Is there a charge for data storage?
No. We do not charge extra for data storage with IMS4.

Do you charge us when we need to obtain a backup of data?
Xanatek will give you a backup of your data once a year upon request. We charge for any additional backups you request.

If I purchase your software and stop paying support, do you shut me out of IMS4?
If Xanatek is hosting IMS4 for you on its cloud, access to IMS4 stops when you stop paying support. You may purchase a copy of your data. If you are hosting IMS4 on your local server (or someone else’s cloud), you may continue using IMS4 as your agency management system. However, insurance company downloads cease at the time you discontinue paying support.

Who owns my data?
You own your data! We do not send backups encrypted or written in any way that would prevent others from reading this data!

What are the long term plans for Xanatek?
Our plans are to continue making exceptional software for the Independent Insurance Agency.
A few comments from our clients…
“Our Trainer was exceptional….”
“They are always so nice when I call….”
“We could not be happier….”
“Continue just the way you are—it is wonderful….”

Top 5 Steps to Getting the Most Out of Your Agency Management System

Posted on by xanatekweb

Many agencies don’t maximize the potential of their agency management systems to acquire and retain clients. Follow these steps to make the most of your investment.

Growing your business in specific markets.
Building a larger customer base.
Better customer service.
Improving workflow efficiencies.

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The ability to work anywhere.
Eliminating the need to rekey data.
Speeding up communications with carriers.
Reducing the paper required to conduct business.

These are just some of the many benefits of your agency management system. At its core, your system will help you automate and accelerate your business—giving you more time to focus on customers. But most agents don’t get the full value out of their systems. Only using the basic functions of your agency management system is like purchasing a smart phone but only using it for phone calls and texting.

Here are tips on how you can experience the full benefits of your agency management system

1. Clean Your Data

Make sure your data is accurate and up-to-date. Your system’s functions and processes won’t be of use if the data within the system is inaccurate or incomplete. Whether you’re upgrading or switching systems, don’t just transfer over all data from the old system. Review the information. Remove old data. Update information that has changed. Delete errors. Ensure only quality data is transferred to the new system. Then, conduct regular audits of the data in your system. Run reports so that you can identify incomplete fields or inaccurate data that needs to be corrected.

Top Takeaways:
1.Review all of your data before transferring to a new system or upgrading.
2.Run reports regularly to identify incomplete fields or information that needs to be corrected.

2.Take The Time to Train Your Employees

Training is key. It will help your employees become comfortable with the platform and introduce them to all of its functions. Set up a training plan for each employee and designate time within the workday for them to dedicate to learning the new system. Take advantage of all the training offered by your vendor. Consider taking booster— or tune up — sessions after your teams has been working in the new system for a while. Vendors are always adding new capabilities and this will help your staff take advantage of the latest features. Designate employee ambassadors for the new system, individuals who have greater knowledge of how it works and can help others at your agency.

Top Takeaways:
1.Take advantage of your vendor’s training—get as many employees as possible involved.
2.Attend booster sessions to learn about new features and capabilities.
3.Appoint employee ambassadors who can help others

3.Enable and Use Downloads

Work with your carriers and IVANS to take advantage of policy and claims download and eDocs and Messages. These capabilities enable policy data and other information to be electronically added to your system and attached to specific customer files. In many cases, these features will enable you to eliminate paper and hard copy files, and to be more efficient in servicing clients. While not all carriers offer all lines of business, more carriers are adding capabilities every day.

Top Takeaways:
1.Work with your vendor to enable download.
2.Check with IVANS (Connection Report) and your carriers to set up download and eDocs and Messages

4.Ask About Integrations

In addition to your agency management system, you may be using another solution — such as a rater —that helps you write new business and serve customers. Your agency management system vendor may be able to integrate — or, in some cases, may already have integrated — the solution. By taking advantage of integrations like this, you can improve your workflow and eliminate the need to keep reentering information.

Top Takeaway:
1.Ask your vendor if it offers any integrations that could help save you time

5.Keep an Open Dialogue With Your Vendor

The best agency management systems are looking to continually improve their offerings and adapting their platforms to provide the best service for agents. Communicating with your provider can help them make the improvements you would like to see most. Stay in touch with your customer service representative. If there is a capability or feature you want, let them know. They might already have it and you were just unaware. Or it can be something that they are working on adding. Participate in webinars, user groups and other opportunities. These can connect you with others who are on the same platform and you can learn how other agencies are using the system and keep up to date with any new developments.

Top Takeaways:
1.Stay in touch with your customer service representative.
2.Take advantage of webinars, user groups and other opportunities to connect with system users.

A Checklist for Selecting Your Agency Management System

Posted on by xanatekweb

We’ve designed this checklist to help guide you through the process of evaluating an AMS – enabling you to match your needs with features and benefits that are most important for your business.

1.Assemble the Right Team to Access Your System Needs

As the agency owner or principal, it’s likely that you will make the ultimate decision, but you also want to make sure that you have input from the users.


You will want to get perspectives from users who have varying technical skill levels and different jobs. You can bring everyone together and whiteboard the system features they want, or you can conduct a brief survey (using Survey Monkey or another online tool) to assess users’ preferences and requirements. Their responses about what they like—and don’t like—about the current system, workflows that still require manual processes, capabilities that customers are asking for, how users work (in-office, remote, traveling to clients) as well as processes for new policies, billing, endorsements, and quoting will help you determine your priorities and system requirements.

Your team should include:
• Producers
• Customer Service Representatives
• Selling CSRs
• Administration Team Members

2.Put Everything In the Context of Your Business and Strategy

Your short-term and long-term goals will also determine your selection and identify the features and benefits you need.


Some areas to consider:
• Do you plan to grow your business?
• Are you adding new lines?
• Do you have plans to add staff?
• What is your business mix?
• What are your sales production and closing rates?
• What is your customer retention rate?
• Where does the team work? In the office? Remotely?


3.Develop a List of the Features You’d Like Your New System to Have

Based on the input from your team in the context of your strategic plans and metrics around your business, you should be able to develop a list of features you’d like your new system to have.

Some of these include:
• Cloud access
• Mobile application
• Intuitive user interface
• Comparative rater


• Integration with other vendor partners
• Accounting and financial capabilities
• Management and sales reports

• eDocs and Messages
• Marketing capabilities
• Claims downloads

4.Research Your Options and Conduct Demos of the Finalists

You can’t demo every product. Research the different options and identify which ones might be best. When you have your finalists, set up demos with the sales team to walk you through the platforms.

You should:
• Review the websites and capabilities of each system
• Look at online reviews for any potential red flags
• Compare platforms with your capabilities list to ensure they have all necessary features
• Make sure they show you all of the features most important to your needs
• Keep a tally of what you like and don’t like about each platform
• If you need longer than the allotted demo time, set up a second or third session
• Don’t be afraid to ask all of your questions

5.Make the Decision

Before making the final decision, there are several other important considerations.

Things to consider:
• Review the vendor’s training and support capabilities
• Are the current customers satisfied?
• What is the process for customer service? How quickly does the vendor answer calls?
• Who will your day-to-day contact be?
• How will your team learn the new system?
• What are the plans for upgrading the technology?
• What is the pricing? Are there any extras that need to factor into your total cost?
• Talk with current customers to get their perspectives on service.

Selecting an agency management system is an important decision. If you find any red flags be sure to ask the vendor for more information. It’s important to have stability and a long-term partnership. Once you have all the answers you need, review all of your notes, talk with your team and choose the platform that has the features you need that will help take your agency in the direction you want.