To keep its team mobile and available to customers around the country, Absolute Insurance wanted a solution that would allow for a paperless office, streamline processes and keep all client information in a central database.

It opted for Microsoft Dynamics CRM because it could streamline business processes, improve efficiency and reduce overhead costs for the company, all without compromising on quality or compliance regulations.

Absolute Insurance is a nationwide, full service, independent insurance brokerage that helps Kiwis insure their health, life, income, business and personal assets. Absolute’s insurance advisors are all mobile, which allows them to reach all four corners of the country.

“We started the business in 2004, and right from the beginning we realised that if we were going to succeed nationwide we would need the right technology in place,” says Craig Hudgell, director of Absolute Insurance.

“Massive amounts of data and record-keeping are required to make sure everything is both tracked correctly and complies with government regulations. It’s not sustainable to have a physical office in every town around the country, so we looked for a solution to give us commonality across the company and which would allow our mobile advisors to access the information they need remotely.”

The system needed to:

• Hold all client information and present it clearly
• Be accessible from anywhere  in New Zealand via the internet
• Provide clear, accurate reports that give an overview of the business
• Link in with calendars to make booking appointments easy
• Track correspondence
• Provide reports to assess leads and cross-sell opportunities

Smooth CRM
Hudgell and his team searched for a CRM system that could completely integrate with its existing electronic systems and had the ability to adapt to meet changes in the company and external environment – such as government regulations.

The system also needed to be easy to use, as brokers were moving from a paper to a digital environment. As they’re located throughout the country this was critical. They also insisted that the solution have solid local support.

“We chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM because it was the best fit for our business and worked with and just like Microsoft Outlook, which brokers use every day. It’s also fully supported and there aren’t many total technology solutions out there that allow you to run a paperless office without compromising on quality, particularly ones with good New Zealand examples in use.”

“With a system like this in place, we’ve prepared the company for the future – specifically, to meet government compliance regulations, which are expected to become more stringent in the coming years.”

Smooth booking too…
Absolute Insurance also needed a solution that could record all appointments and correspondence with clients – and allow the company’s call centre team in Nelson to access advisors’ calendars and input bookings.

Derek Simpson and the team at Altair Computer Systems made this all possible, says Hudgell. They helped install and customise the solution for the best fit.

“We need to be able to track all correspondence with our clients in case of client queries and also so we have accurate records if any of our advisors move on. Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows for this and also has a great reporting system that can track all contacts, as well as identify cross-sell opportunities and enable us to get a detailed overview of the business.”

It’s all in the detail
The benefits to the company of the new system were immediately apparent. Absolute now has a system that:

• Provides a real-time view of all appointments
• Integrates well with existing systems
• Enables high-level, detailed reporting
• Aids identification of leads and cross-sell opportunities
• Allows authorised access to client information
• Covers all loop-holes
• Improves team efficiency
• Offers cost-savings with less overhead (no offices and no paper)
• Provides a flexible platform that can evolve with the business
• Gives the team to have a single 360-degree view of the customer
• Delivers a much better service to customers

“Our clients also benefit from this system. By having all the information in one system, client questions can be answered quickly at the click of a button. We can also constantly audit our information and if we find a problem or something missing we can fix it quickly,” says Hudgell.

Cost savings
Hudgell believes Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a good system for small- to medium-sized businesses as it saves them money by allowing them to run a paperless office, with efficient processes and good practices, so enabling them to concentrate on their core business.

> Microsoft New Zealand
P: + 64 9 362 5865
E: askdynnz@microsoft.com






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