Propel Insurance Success Story

Propel Insurance finds PaperWise surpasses expectations

Propel Insurance is the largest independent insurance brokerage in Washington State. Founded in 1923 out of Tacoma, Washington, Propel has experienced considerable growth and currently boasts over 200 employees and five locations across Washington. This industry leader offers a range of services from personal and business insurance to construction and surety bonds, as well as employee benefits packages. The brokerage was recognized as "One of the Best Places to Work For" in 2006 by Washington CEO Magazine; in June 2003 Propel was named "Marketing Agency of the Month" by Rough Notes Magazine.

With such growth and a variety of financial services to offer, paper naturally accumulated, bringing inconsistency to processes for employees. Due to the paper intensive nature of the insurance industry, Propel found it necessary to approach their paper problems proactively. According to IT Manager, Eric Perdue, a key problem was space. Perdue explained, "Space costs money and file cabinets were taking up too much space." Rather than using it for storing documents, space could be utilized for more employees contributing to business. With this, Propel sought out a document management solution that would easily integrate with their agency management system, AMS Sagitta.

Seamless Integration

Finding a document management solution to integrate with was not a problem; however, PaperWise provided the most seamless integration available. The method of integration through PaperWise was more advanced than the traditional screen scrapes; a solution that ultimately minimizes future problems as the agency utilizes upgrades. "Instead of using screen scrapes to integrate, PaperWise used [an advanced technology to access] our agency management program," Perdue explained, "when we receive upgrades we don't have to worry about the integration not working because [Sagitta] doesn't change enough to impact the integration; it's all around seamless."

A Reliable Solution

In conjunction with a seamless integration, PaperWise provided the most reliable solution for the agency, as it was user friendly with a small learning curve. "One of the biggest reasons we chose PaperWise was it used an interface that was the most straight forward and easy for end users to figure out," said Perdue.

While integration compatibility and user friendliness were beneficial facets for Propel, they sought a solution they could have continued confidence in. "We got the feeling that the product was constantly under development," said Perdue, "and we enjoy that it is consistently being improved and updated." The assurance of future improvements gave Propel security in continued efficiency over time.

Consistent Customer Service

Not only did PaperWise regularly generate upgrades, but Propel discovered the support team had positive rapport with other users. Through reference research they heard praise from other customers, and what they discovered they found to be true. The support team has consistently provided the knowledge and attentiveness that Propel needs. "We like the responsiveness of the company to solve our problems," said Perdue, "They really listen and know what they are talking about; problems are dealt with quickly and efficiently."

Increasing Efficiency

At the beginning of 2007, Propel went into full production on the PaperWise System. "We were fortunate to not be the first agency to need an integration like this built," remembered Perdue. Not many challenges came with implementation giving added confidence in the solution chosen. As processes and information were centralized, it became increasingly easier for managers to track progress within the agency. Management at Propel saw a great return on investment as time with their solution progressed. The agency has benefited financially through savings on storage space that was once occupied by accumulating filing cabinets. Filing space has been reduced by fifty percent; by the end of 2008, they anticipate completely eliminating any paper files on shelves.

Employees see the benefit of the product, as they no longer have to go hunting for paper files; everything is at their finger tips, greatly improving productivity. Multiple people can view a document simultaneously without having to pass it around. Document retrieval is predictable and reliable which enables employees to provide even better customer service. Perdue explained, "If an employee needs a certain document they can easily pull it up and email it to a client; we can share documents as clients need them."

Even more, this accessibility has made it possible for Perdue and his team to provide service outside business hours. "Being a brokerage, one of our insured had a situation on a weekend where they had an explosion at their plant, causing an emergency claim situation," told Perdue, "I was contacted via Blackberry and was able to retrieve the applicable documents right then." The ability to offer better customer service, even outside of business hours, is an added benefit that has made this investment even more valuable for Propel. Perdue believes the complete PaperWise solution is "just a fantastic package."

Continued satisfaction has been Propel's experience with their investment in PaperWise. It is used almost universally throughout the agency, with only their Human Resource department left to implement. In the future, Perdue says they will most likely expand to this department, as he feels they would benefit greatly from it. As far as other plans or expansions, Perdue feels PaperWise is currently meeting all of their needs, but predicts the possibility of utilizing other modules, such as WebWise, to provide customers easier access to their information, giving Propel yet another advantage over their competition.