This article was produced in partnership with Amwins Group.

Insurance Business America’s Gia Snape sat down with specialists from Amwins Access about offering retail agents and customers choice, ease and flexibility in flood risk coverage via the Amwins digital platform.

Floods continue to be one of the most stressful and casualty risks in today’s real estate market.

Retail agents must navigate a complex and ever-changing market for their clients, which means they need the speed and efficiency of quoting that a digital platform provides with the hands-on assistance of human underwriters.

To address this issue, Amwins offers flood coverage on its personal lines platform, Amwins InstantQuote (IQ). The new capability provides retail agents with flexible coverage choices and options and aims to create a “one-stop-shop” for flood risk.

But unlike other platforms, Amwins IQ doesn’t just offer direct policy processing. Retailers can also engage human underwriters for more complex risks that require more comprehensive assessment.

“With Amwins IQ, we can solve the problems retailers face, removing friction from the sales process while providing best-in-class escrow and customer support,” said Colin Tinley (pictured below), senior vice president of Amwins Access.

“We give customers a choice of markets, coverages, and how they interact with Amwins underwriters. The result is that agents feel confident their customers will get what they need when they need it.”

This capability is being gradually rolled out across the United States, and it is expected that all 50 states will have access to Amwins IQ flood risk by mid-year.

Amwins IQ aims to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for flood risk

With its ability to quote to link, Amwins IQ does the heavy lifting of pricing many products and programs, detailing differences in coverage and models.

Agents can instantly view options through a coverage comparison document and live comparison on the platform, which can clarify limits and available coverage.

Amwins IQ will also offer equivalent NFIP and non-NFIP models, giving agents product options to cover a client’s assets, regardless of how sensitive the insured is to coverage.

“Floods are a risk that requires expertise, and few retail agents are fully aware of the coverage available,” Tinley said.

“As such, retailers often choose to work with marketplaces they trust to guide them in making the best decisions for their customers while also trying to find the best prices.”

Adding flood risk to Amwins IQ makes the transaction process as seamless and easy as possible, according to Eric Weber (pictured below), executive vice president of Amwins Access. The platform aims to address vulnerabilities and put the retail agent and their customers in control.

“We’ve been hearing for years that flooding is very stressful, with very few options, and it’s an end-to-end manual process that takes control away from the retailer,” Weber said.

“Customers want things fast. Amwins IQ allows retail agents to control the pace of the transaction, and move quickly enough to capitalize on opportunities. The more ‘self-service’ functionality within the platform, the more control retail agents have and the better the overall experience.”

Experience, flexibility and choice: the Amwins advantage

Retailers may have had to contend with a lack of options in flood insurance. With its digital platform, Amwins aims to change that – offering coverage that can be as stripped-down as an NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) policy or as broad as a typical homeowner’s policy.

“Choice has been a missing element in the flood insurance space for a long time, and Amwins aims to change that in a way that does not overwhelm the retail agent but enables them to make the best decisions for their customers within a platform that is easy to understand and use,” said Tinley.

Furthermore, Amwins does not limit its appetite to small risks that can be placed directly via the online market. It can also handle those risks that are difficult to identify and require the support and guidance of the guarantor.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” Tinley said. “We’re here if you need us, but we won’t get in your way if you can do it yourself.”

Finally, retailers can rely on Amwins’ highly experienced underwriting team, which has allocated more than $40 billion in flood insurance through its private market program.

With a team of underwriters who collectively have over 100 years of flood underwriting experience (both locally and through Lloyd’s) and deep agency relationships, Amwins’ expertise in the flood market sets them apart.

“Amwins insurers are the best flood insurers in the game and have access to many markets, including exclusive programs that can compete with both NFIP and other private carriers,” Weber said.

For more information about Amwins IQ, please visit the website https://www.amwins.com/quote-online.