Do you have burning questions about how to maximize Applied TAM at your agency or brokerage? In this Applied Net 2021 session recap, we share the answers to some of the key questions users asked the expert panelists — Doug Wertz, director of IT at Clockwork Insurance Services Inc., Lisa Gramling, president of Woodstock Insurance, Inc., Jeff Kaufman, product manager at Applied, and Tim St. John, product instructor III with Applied. Follow along to discover tips for staying organized and features you might not realize are available. . 

Audience: What is something you have changed or implemented over the last year? 

Doug Wertz: The first thing we did was activities. We have started to make sure each [customer services representative’s, or CSR’s,] activities are processed on a daily basis. So, we go in and color-code different activities to know what's been highlighted. If something is missed, it turns to a different color so users know that it is something the team needs to take a look at the following day.

Lisa Gramling: What we have used the most in the last year is the “send and attach to TAM” feature. The ability to automatically attach an email when you are responding to it in Outlook has been incredible because it is one-and-done. You do not have to go back and drag it over and attach it. It has been a huge improvement in the system, and we love it. 

Audience: What is the best way to stay organized when using TAM? 

Jeff Kaufman (JK): In general, I would say strong workflows across an agency or brokerage. Having consistency in the way people do things really helps. It is important to have your servicing roles filled out so that it can default onto activities. Also, having attachment descriptions set up in the system so that CSRs do not have to type their own descriptions makes a difference. Overall, I think that doing things that really drive consistency throughout the day, that’s what is truly going to help teams stay organized.

Audience: How do we prompt TAM to add the tax to appropriate lines of business? 

Tim St. John: The system has no way to know what line of business gets the tax or the fee. That is usually coming from the company. I don’t see a way to automate that. 

Audience: What do you find that agencies and brokerages do not use enough that they should be using in TAM? 

JK: Prefilled applications would be my answer. They save so much time when you are writing the same businesses with the same coverages over and over again. It saves so much time when you have that set up. You can just click, and half of your application is already done before you even start it.

Looking for more TAM tips? Check out all of our Connections content on Applied TAM.