As we approach the end of this year and look toward the future, it's clear that the insurance landscape is set for an epic evolution. Insurance is evolving, and we're on the brink of the Next Generation of Insurance that promises to unlock unprecedented business value for agencies, carriers and clients.

We are spending a lot of time thinking about this next generation, and you will hear more about it in 2025. But for now, let’s take a moment to celebrate all the success Applied and the industry experienced in 2024!

Unlocking Break-Through Value for Insurance Agencies

Our goal is to boost your productivity while simplifying operations with modern technology, and this year, there is much to celebrate in this area. Let’s look at just some of our major 2024 milestones:

Investing in AI

Looking to the future, it’s clear that data and AI will be key to driving agency growth. That’s why, in 2024, we acquired Planck, the leading AI company in the insurance industry, and created the Applied AI Lab. For the past 12+ months, we've been hard at work, integrating AI-powered features into select products and pushing the boundaries in our Applied AI Lab. We've collaborated closely with our customers and partners to uncover practical and secure AI applications, enhancing intelligent automation throughout the insurance lifecycle. Check out some early and developing product innovations using Planck’s technology.

“We started Planck with the belief that access to real-time data to get a full picture of a business is more crucial than ever when identifying the actual risk factors that are core to insurance. We are excited to build on the success of delivering our industry-leading AI capabilities to carriers by partnering with Applied to extend the power of AI to the agency and broker distribution side of the market.”

Elad Tsur
Chief AI Officer, Applied Systems

Agency Management System Modernization

At Applied, we understand the challenges you face in managing your agency.

We’re excited to introduce just some of the powerful new features launched this year in Applied Epic® that were designed to make life easier for agents:

• AI-Powered Email Summarization: This feature uses generative AI technology to convert emails into Activity notes within Applied Epic. Say goodbye to the hours spent manually entering email notes – this automation saves valuable time and ensures accuracy.

• Drag & Drop Unrouted Attachments: An enhancement in Applied Epic allows agents to easily attach important documents, like policy paperwork and carrier correspondence, directly from the Unrouted Attachments area to the customer’s account with just a few clicks. This straightforward functionality simplifies your workflow, making it quicker and more efficient.

• Multi-Term Pr/Br Commissions: We've expanded this feature to support personal and commercial lines of business, not just Benefits plans. Now, you can manage and track multiple commission agreements per policy term without the manual effort.

Building on Digital Payments

In today's fast-paced world, providing a seamless payments experience is crucial, and Applied Pay® is here to make that happen. This cloud-based digital payments hub empowers you to offer clients a secure, online method to pay premiums from any device – computer, phone, or tablet. Let’s dive into the latest features designed to simplify the digital payments process for agents:

• Automated Receipt Reconciliation: Our updated functionality streamlines the agency’s finance team's efforts. Batch deposits from Applied Pay can now be directly imported into Applied Epic General Ledger Receipts, automatically matching each transaction. This reduces manual work and minimizes errors, letting your team focus on what truly matters.

• Re-Designed Hosted Payments Page: We've revamped the payments page, making it easier for insureds to confirm their identity, select specific invoices or balances to pay, and choose their preferred payment method. This redesign ensures a more intuitive, secure, and user-friendly payment experience.

• Simplified Routing of Unvalidated Payments: Agents can now quickly match individual payments in the Applied Pay Portal to the right accounts or invoices in Applied Epic. Our new 'Apply Payment in Epic' modal reduces errors and speeds up the process, keeping your operations running smoothly.

• Daily Balance Dashboards: Gain clear insights into daily balances across merchant accounts within the Applied Pay Portal. This feature enhances agents’ ability to track funds accurately and efficiently.

• Extended Expiration Dates for Payment Links: We've increased flexibility by extending payment link expiration up to 120 days from the send date, giving insureds more time to fulfill payments without the stress.

• Chargeback and NSF Payment Statuses: Monitor reconciliation with visible chargeback and insufficient funds statuses, improving your agency’s transaction reconciliation efficiency.

More Product News

These are just some of the product releases from the year. There were many other new and exciting capabilities across the Applied Systems portfolio. Check out the product release hub for a more comprehensive view of the latest product enhancements.

Focused on Customer Success

Agency success drives our every action. We're actively investing in implementation, training, support, and adoption practices to ensure you have exactly what you need, precisely when you need it. This year, we provided:

• A Clear Path to Connecting with Support: We’ve modernized our Support systems, utilizing automation and omnichannel, skills-based routing to ensure your inquiries reach the most capable techs available. We've enhanced our processes for initial case reviews and critical issue monitoring, leading to a remarkable 30% improvement in response times. Additionally, we've refined our Training and Knowledge Base management to empower you with more accessible resources. We're committed to maintaining minimal wait times, with phone hold times consistently around two minutes in 2024 and chat hold times under 30 seconds.

• More Learning Opportunities: We’re committed to empowering you with the tools and knowledge you need to thrive. This year, we significantly expanded our learning opportunities with Adoption Services, hosting 215 Office Hours sessions on critical topics like Epic Browser, Applied Marketing Automation, Epic Benefits Sales & Servicing, Indio, Applied CSR24, and Epic Dashboards. We've also delivered over 60 workshops tailored to products and personas, ensuring you get the focused insights you need. Our dedication is reflected in our engagement numbers, with over 1,000 client interactions and 1,100 inquiries tackled, achieving an impressive average response time of just one business day. With the introduction of LEARN (Learning Epic Accounting Right Now), our in-person seminar for novice Applied Epic accounting users, we're making sure our customers can become both functional and comfortable with Epic Accounting basics.

• Continued Focus on Providing Self-Service Options for Education and Product Optimization: We know that staying current with the latest tools and knowledge is crucial for agency success, so we significantly enhanced our learning platforms. The newly launched Resource Center on our Digital Adoption Platform now offers over 10 hours of content, including 16 comprehensive overview guides and 40 detailed step-by-step tutorials. In 2024, Applied University switched to a quarterly content release schedule, giving you advanced notice of new courses, updates, and release notes highlighting changes with relevant course mapping. Quarterly product roadmaps are now available in Applied University, ensuring you’re always informed about upcoming product functionalities and enhancements. Applied Systems teams introduced 80 new courses to Applied University, featuring new learning plans for Applied CSR24, Transactions, and Accounting and additional learning plans for Applied Epic.

Recognized Among the Best

This year, Applied was recognized for industry leadership, service and innovation:

Great Place to Work Certified

At Applied, we know that a positive workplace is essential for driving your business forward. We're thrilled to announce that we've been recognized as a Great Place to Work in the US this year. This Great Place to Work® Certification™ is more than a badge of honor – it's an affirmation from our team, highlighting their trust and satisfaction in their workplace experience.

“Our team is our most valuable asset, and this recognition is a testament to the collaborative, innovative, and inclusive environment that we are committed to fostering for our team at Applied Systems.”

Bridget Penney
Chief People Officer, Applied Systems

Other 2024 Recognition

Some of the other kudos we’re proud to have received this year include:

• 2024 Insurance Business’ 5-Star Technology and Service Providers

• 2024 Stevie® Winner

• Built In’s Best Places to Work

• G2 Crowd’s Best Software Awards (recognized for momentum leader, a leader in mid-market and small business, best relationship and highest user adoption)

Our Why: Helping You Win

Our commitment to the industry is unwavering and is at the heart of what we do each day. We pledge to listen to the needs of agents and provide innovation that fuels profitable revenue growth. The Next Generation of the Digital Roundtrip of Insurance, enhanced by powerful technologies like AI, promises to deliver exceptional value for you. We're proud of the work we achieved as an industry in 2024 and look forward to embarking on more next-gen tech. Check out our product hub for the newest enhancements and sign up for our quarterly webinars to stay updated on the tech that makes up the Next Generation of Insurance.