Fairstar Builds a Technology Foundation for Organic Growth

Challenge: Creating consistency while pursuing growth

Fairstar Insurance President Peter Mathai stepped into his role at the brokerage with the goal of organic growth. That involved hiring experienced brokers and giving them the tools they needed to build their book of business while continuing to provide high-value service to clients.

“We want our brokers to be able to sell more. We want them to be more client-driven,” Mathai says. “And we wanted to develop good workflows for brokers where they can spend more time with their clients.”

Previously, much of Fairstar’s work relied on back-and-forth communication over email. As the brokerage looked to grow with new branches, that approach would make it harder to keep staff efficient and maintain consistency across the organization. Employees needed a reliable way to know what requires their attention, prioritize their work, and keep policy-related activities moving forward.

Without standardized processes, important activities depended on individual employees remembering the next step or leaders being directly involved in the work. Using technology to guide that work would help reduce the opportunity for errors and omissions as the business grew.

Fairstar needed a system that could support the expansion and provide consistency across the brokerage with standardized workflows.

Solution: Building standardized workflows with SIG

Fairstar uses SIG, Vertafore’s foundational brokerage management system, as the technology backbone for a more consistent way of working across the brokerage.

It provides the ecosystem where brokers can go to see what needs their attention, create workflows that are easy to follow, and move tasks between staff members.

When brokers and CSRs open the system, they have a clear view of the activities that need their attention and can prioritize work based on urgency. Important activities are flagged so employees can respond quickly, and the team has a centralized way to track work as it moves forward.

Fairstar can also segment renewals by classifications like line of business or premium, giving brokers another way to focus their time on the work in front of them.

“SIG gives the opportunity to establish this kind of technology foundation where we could grow our business to the next level,” Mathai says.

Outcomes: More structure for brokers and more visibility for the business

A more consistent way to manage work

For Mathai, consistency in workflows helps keep work on track and reduce opportunities for errors or omissions.

When brokers and CSRs open SIG in the morning, they can see their priorities for the day all in one system. Defined workflows also make it easier to assign work across the team and create accountability for completing tasks.

That structure reduces the need for back-and-forth communication around the office, and with it, the time employees spend searching for information or determining what needs to happen next. Instead of relying on each person to keep work moving, the workflow guides employees through a consistent process.

Better data supports informed decisions

The same system that helps Fairstar manage daily work also gives Mathai greater visibility into the business so he can make smart forward-looking decisions.

Fairstar can analyze production, retention, claims ratios, renewals, and other information, then sort and segment data to answer more specific business questions. Geographic data, for example, can inform marketing efforts in particular postal codes.

“These things help us fine-tune our operation and make more informed decisions based on the data we have,” Mathai says.

That visibility gives Fairstar another tool for pursuing growth purposefully. Leadership can better understand what is happening across the book of business and use the information already in its system to guide where the brokerage focuses its attention.

More time to focus on clients

Fairstar’s approach to technology ultimately comes back to its brokers.

For Mathai, technology should give employees better tools to do their jobs and reduce the administrative work surrounding client service. When staff can find information quickly, see priorities, and follow a defined workflow, they can focus more attention toward helping clients.

The cloud-based system also gives Fairstar’s team the flexibility to access the system securely outside the office. Brokers can connect wherever they have Internet access, and Mathai has accessed SIG while traveling internationally, including from an airport during a recent trip to India.

As Fairstar continues pursuing organic growth, the combination of standardized workflows, accessible information, and business visibility gives the brokerage a foundation designed to grow with it.