Are you considering outsourcing your policyholder document output? It’s a significant decision and one that should be analyzed carefully. With more than 22 years of experience providing document output solutions and products to the Property & Casualty industry, and partnerships with more than 45 P&C insurance carriers, we’re in a unique position to offer guidance on what to consider as you’re evaluating vendors.

Here are the key considerations we recommend thinking about:

A Partnership versus a Vendor

It’s important to remember that policyholder document output is more than print and mail. That fact comes into play in numerous areas when considering outsourcing, the first being working with a partner versus working with a vendor. A business partner, with insurance knowledge, understands that policy document output (mail or digital) is a critical component of insurance operations and the partner becomes an extension of the Carrier’s operations team.

Partners are consistently finding ways to help you improve your business, while vendors simply fulfill a contract.

At MassPrinting we always think of ourselves as partners to our clients.

Our extensive print vendor base allows flexibility, scalability, and the right solutions to meet each Carrier’s individual needs.

We’re continually investing in new products, services, and technologies to ensure we provide the best solutions. Here are just a few examples of things we’re working on (or have already completed) to help clients improve their operations:

Automation and Standardization - automation of current manual workflows and standardization of materials (envelopes, paper) creates highly efficient, reliable end-end processing.
PolicyHolder Portal - Helping agent-based carriers drive policyholder paperless adoption. We are doing this through technology partnerships with other providers in the P&C industry.
USPS IMB - We’ve developed a technology-based automated solution utilizing USPS IMB (Intelligent Mail Barcode) to eliminate the current, manual USPS POM (proof of mail stamping). Several states have approved this and MassPrinting already has implemented our solutions with several carriers.
Analytics & Cost Management - We review our clients’ analytics and cost management data in regular operational review meetings.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC & DR)

Print and mail vendors only focus on print and mail. A policyholder document output partner is thinking about minimizing instances where your output could be negatively impacted. A great example of this is BC and DR.

Many state insurance regulators are now requiring carriers to have a full BC/DR plan in place for print and mail operations. We have a plan in place for our clients that’s tested regularly and clearly documented in our contract.

Aside from any regulatory requirement, BC and DR is the #1 business driver these days of carriers outsourcing Print/Mail Operations (and COVID drove this home!).

To accomplish this effectively though, there must be technology enabled, standardized workflows, and standardized materials being utilized in the operations. Manual operations (such as inserting) and custom materials/envelopes are high risk when used in primary operations. Manual BC/DR does not work in those instances. This is the single biggest risk factor that should be addressed as you move print and mail operations to a new provider - and that provider must understand the intricacies of BC/DR and how it needs to be handled for policyholder document output.

Service Level Agreements

SLAs are often discussed and agreed upon during the contractual process, but not validated until the carrier goes live. As with BC/DR, technology, standardization of workflow/process (zero or limited manual work) and subject matter expertise are the keys to successful SLA performance. When evaluating a provider, their existing P&C client references can easily validate historical SLA performance.

Pricing

Look for competitive pricing, but don’t go seeking a bargain. Pricing is always a direct reflection of the strength of a partner’s solutions, technology, and experience.

There are many vendors and partners that can offer outsourced print and mail to you, but make sure when you’re evaluating these companies you’re thinking about overall policyholder document output - subject matter expertise, technology abilities, and a partnership-focused approach.