New Generation E-Applications Let Agents Submit More Deals With Less Work

Top producers have been using the power of the Internet to bring prospective clients into their sales funnel for years. With the advent of smart e-application programs, they're now using Internet technology to drive leads and prospects into a fully submitted application - and faster commissions.

Smart e-applications are more than just online forms. They're programmed to anticipate the common mistakes that delay underwriting, as well as guide users for a faster completion.

Self-Service Speed
Online consumers are used to self-service - especially when it means faster turnaround. In fact, consumers have come to expect and demand self-service speed from Internet retailers and businesses.

It may take online shoppers more time to make a decision, as they exploit the Internet's resources to research their purchase. But when they do decide to purchase an item, they want to complete that transaction as quickly as possible.

Online shoppers don't want to wait hours, let alone days for agents to mail or fax them an application form. Once they did receive those "hard copy" forms, they would still have to fill them out by hand and send them back to the agent, who then has to process and submit it into underwriting.

Their lives are too busy to waste that much time when technology already allows them to open bank accounts, start businesses and buy almost anything online. With e-applications, prospects can eliminate all that wasted time and go directly into a submitted application.

Improved Navigation
The problem with many online forms is that they're not very user friendly. They can be confusing, especially the long ones that are divided into two or more pages.

The current generation of e-applications now incorporates design features that eliminate much of the confusion that many consumers feel when they face a complex application.

Most of these helpful design features are small fixes. But together, they can radically improve the customer's experience. Here are just a few of these helpful features you'll now find in successful e-applications:

• Progress bar
  A graphic indicator of how much of the application has been completed and how much remains to be done minimizes that sense of "lost in the woods" that many people feel when they're filling out long applications.
• Readable design
  Improved layout, better colors and the right fonts greatly improve the form's readability.
• Forward-reverse control
  It may seem like a small thing, but the ability to go back and correct entries is a big plus for users. It gives them an important sense of control, and it allows them to make sure that they're providing accurate information on their application.
• Minimal questions
  Besides being annoying, excessively long questionnaires run the risk of losing clients just when they've decided to buy your product. The best e-applications eliminate all unnecessary questions and focus on what is absolutely needed to get an underwriting decision.
• Pre-filled entries
  Another innovation found in top e-applications are pre-filled entries. For example, integrated systems such as the Norvax technology package will transfer the lead's data into the e-application. Applicants can make corrections or changes to it, but they don't have to re-type their basic information.
• Save and return
  Incomplete applications aren't unusual. People get interrupted or run out of time. Top e-applications allow your clients to save their inputted data and return later to complete it.

Smart Applications
Many of the delays experienced with submitted applications can be traced back to the form itself. Incorrect and incomplete application forms result in the file being halted or sent back to the agent for updates and additional information.

This area is where today's smart e-applications are making the biggest impact. The right programming can minimize errors and incomplete entries. The Norvax-developed health insurance e-application available with some carriers, for example, eliminates many of the common obstacles and issues that could otherwise delay underwriting.

And fewer delays mean faster decisions - and potentially faster commission checks.