Running an insurance business can be complex, from navigating the various policies you have on offer to managing your team, not to mention winning over customers and selling those policies. Outsourcing is very common in the industry when it comes to helping you lighten the load somewhat, but when should you be considering outsourcing?

Here, we’re going to look at what you can outsource to third-party providers in the insurance industry, and a few tips on how to ensure that you’re doing it effectively.

The kind of processes that insurers tend to outsource

First of all, it can help to look around the industry to see what competitors or other companies in far-off markets are outsourcing to help their own operations. There is a range of processes that your company may be able to outsource. Some of these will be handled by specific types of service providers.

For instance, you can outsource to an accountant to keep up with your finances more effectively, or to an IT team like Birlasoft to manage your digital technology needs, and some will outsource payroll and payment processing to HR or similar experts. Most of the insurance outsourcing is what’s known as back-office outsourcing, i.e. the kind of outsourcing that doesn’t affect how you deal with customers, but rather the behind the scenes of the business.

How you handle your customers

That said, there are companies that you can turn to in order to help you deal with customers, which can allow you to focus more on the other processes that make you money, such as managing policies.

Companies like West Point Insurance Services can offer a range of business process outsourcing services, such as underwriting for your claims, dealing with customer service, billing, even to the point of handling the claims process for you.

You need to consider what processes you are going to handle entirely internally and which you wish to share with a third-party provider.

Some companies prefer to handle everything surrounding claims, which they see as their core business while outsourcing the rest, while others might prefer to be in charge of marketing and onboarding new customers while outsourcing claims.

Know what you’re not willing to outsource

As you might be able to gather by reading the points above, there’s a lot that you can outsource. So, it’s important to decide what you’re not willing to outsource, as well as what you will outsource. This can include work that you would simply prefer to handle in-house, but you might also want to consider what you should maintain control of, for the safety of your business.

For instance, you can keep control of your own systems and security, working with providers who keep all of the data they work with on your own system, using your own security controls to allow them temporary access as long as they are working with you.

Outsource as part of a growth strategy

There are a lot of business owners who will look at outsourcing as a way to save labor costs, moving some of their work towards an outsourced partner. However, this is not the only way outsourcing can be used.

Outsourcing can also be used as quick access to specialized labor that instead allows you to focus on growth strategies, moving your team and labor towards efforts that expand your offerings and scope. As such, you should consider outsourcing as a way to enable you to grow your business, rather than a way to scale back what you’re doing.

Otherwise, know what you’re outsourcing

You don’t necessarily have to outsource as part of a growth strategy, however. There are plenty of benefits to outsourcing, but the benefits that you’re reaping should match your outsourcing strategy, as well.

For instance, if you’re looking to reduce your workloads and operating costs, then you might want to consider eventually expanding your business to bring those outsourced processes in-house, as outsourcing endlessly can eventually be less cost-effective than sub-contracting, for instance. Similarly, temporary outsourcing can be good for giving youtube space to reduce product time to market, manage your compliance with regulations, and standardize other business processes. Otherwise, taking a more long-term approach to outsourcing can be helpful if you’re trying to make your business more flexible, expanding your core functions, and so on.

Ensure that you’re able to trust your outsourcing service partners

Regardless of what you’re choosing to outsource, you should make sure that you have done your due diligence to make sure that you’re able to trust the provider of those services. When you have narrowed down your options, you should take a little time to make sure you’re finding a reliable partner.

You can look at reviews, as well as the reports on businesses from organizations such as the Better Business Bureau. You should also check the website of your potential outsourcing partner to see if they have any trust badges or membership badges that see them vouched for by a large and more established organization, such as an industry association.