Top Ten Reasons to Take a Closer Look at Epic

Whether you're currently on another system from Applied Systems or a competitor's system, here are ten great reasons to make Epic your next brokerage management system.

1. Faster access to information. The locate capability lets you quickly find anything – clients, policies, attachments, notes or activities. Let's say a commercial customer has policies under multiple, but similar business names. Epic shows you all the matches so you can zero-in on the one you want. If there's a question about an item of scheduled property, search across all notes to find each instance where that property was discussed. With Epic you'll spend less awkward, unproductive time while your customer waits for you to the find the information you need; instead you'll service your customer quickly and make more time for your next call.

2. Highly automated and configurable workflows. Epic reads your mind! When you start a new workflow, whether to add a policy, process an attachment or record a claim, Epic can automatically generate the activities required and populate the screen with the tools you'll need to complete the task. Your brokerage can customize the activities that are automatically generated, so Epic automates the workflow to work best for your operation.

3. Customized invoices and statements. If you do business under multiple names, Epic outputs invoices and statements with different logos and layouts, so each business unit maintains its separate brand identity. Even if you treat your entire operation as one book of business, you can still communicate and preserve each unit's local identity. A key feature if you're growing by acquisition, or intend to.

4. Customer contact, ideal for each customer. The Distribution Manager centralizes all your outgoing communication with a customer through a single interface, whether you send by postal mail, email or fax. It keeps track and defaults to the customer's preferred method, and lets you override it on a case-by-case basis. Example: A customer may want a proof of insurance mailed by default, but needs a one-time rush, copy emailed as a .pdf. The Distribution Manager handles and tracks it all with ease.

5. One-touch install, zero-touch updates. Once Epic is on a desktop with a lightweight install, the rest is automatic. The client pulls in other modules as needed, based on the user's functional needs and privileges. Software updates happen automatically, with no IT or user intervention required. This keeps the footprint light, and lightens the load on system administrators.

6. Customizable reporting. Customize reports that show exactly the criteria you need… and nothing else. Start with a preconfigured report and you can take it from there: Add new criteria, plug in a column, change the sort order, alter the layout. All to give yourself the clearest possible picture of your business.

7. Policy summary comparison tool. See the difference between policies from different carriers at a glance – with a side-by-side view that reveals where they vary in coverages and limits. Selectively filter the stretch extensions so you can clearly see how the policy is structured, and how it matches or differs from what you requested. It's not just a time-saving feature, but also another way Epic controls your E&O exposure.

8. Comprehensive, automated auditing. Control your risk through an auditing system that tracks the complete history of activity within the system. Call up the history in multiple ways, by employee or by major pieces of the account record, to focus on the item of interest. See the fields before and after specific changes were made, and know who entered it, when it was entered, who last edited it, and when. Additional controls protect the integrity of the history, such as saving distributed items as .pdfs so they can't be edited after they've gone to the customer.

9. Tight security for sensitive data. Guard against unauthorized access through content-specific security that restricts access to privileged data. Protect public figures against accidental or intentional compromise of information about their covered assets, and your business against liability for the breeches. If you handle medical information of any kind, ensure that you're in compliance with federal HIPAA mandates.

10. Data management for tighter risk control. Gain the operational advantages of a system that doesn't simply store your data, but interprets and actively manages it for the overall benefit of your business. Manage the life of each policy, reduce your risk of inadvertent operator errors, and insulate yourself against errors that move through the entire system.