It has become a foregone conclusion that agents and brokers need to manage text messaging as part of their communication mix. We have known for a while this was coming. However, the actual implementation of adding text messaging into the organization’s workflow has been a bit more complicated.

I have written several times about text messaging with suggestions on how to adopt this communication channel within your organization. You can review those articles here, here, and here.

I’ve also talked about texting in two episodes of The Digital Broker Podcast. In episode 11 we talked about The Rules of Engagement, and in episode 12 we talked about How to Implement. You might want to listen to each of these for more detailed information.

Several texting options are available, including management system platforms that have added integrated text messaging as a communication option. These options may be the best for your organization to implement.

Today, I’d like to share with you a new inexpensive text option created by my podcast co-host Ryan Deeds. Ryan saw the problem with managing and documenting text messages within an insurance organization and started thinking about how to create a simple, affordable platform that any size organization could easily implement.

The result is SimplTxt.

Content is still king.

Developing engaging, helpful, and useful content is still one of the best ways to attract the attention of potential prospects — whether personal or commercial consumers. Producing good content continues to be hard. Once created, you want to repurpose that content in as many different formats and media as possible to gain the maximum benefit out of what you’ve created.

One of the ways I’ve been able to repurpose articles I’ve written for TechTips over the last few years is to create ebooks of a single article, or combining separate articles together. It is the same content, but when presented in a different format, it catches a different set of people’s eyes. An ebook also works well as a “lead magnet.” I provide various ebooks as a free downloadable PDF document in exchange for a person’s name and email address.

I use the Designrr platform to quickly and easily create multiple ebooks. Building a new project is fast. You just import your content, add a cover from a template, add some images if needed, and convert the project to a PDF that can be downloaded and shared.

There is a fundamental shift happening in the insurance industry moving from restoration (returning the policyholder to the same financial position they were in before the loss) to prevention (preventing the damage from happening in the first place). Technology has been developed, and is still being developed, that will help policyholders prevent losses from ever happening in the first place.

Agents and brokers need to be adding services for their clients that will help them prevent losses.

Munich Reinsurance America has unveiled its Smart Mobility Program offering a toolbox of solutions to address the complex issues surrounding commercial auto losses and to help reduce or avoid the risk of collision for commercial fleets. The Smart Mobility program includes LossDetect™ (patent pending), an automated text-mining tool that analyzes automotive claims data and recommends potential solutions.

Through my involvement with Matteo Carbone and the North American Connected Insurance Observatory, I’ve had the opportunity to meet Michael Scrudato, Senior Vice President, New Strategic Markets and Bruce Weisgerber, Mobility Solutions Center Leader, New Strategic Markets and get an early look at their LossDetect platform.