For most mid-market insurance agencies, commercial lines sit at the centre of their growth strategy. They drive margin, producer ambition and even long-term enterprise value. And yet, despite their importance, commercial books are still largely managed through reactive processes and disconnected spreadsheets. According to Anupam Gupta, Chief Product Officer at Applied Systems, the reason lies in where commercial insurance fits - and how hard it is to manage well.
“Commercial lines is typically the biggest part of the book. It's where agencies want to grow - it drives the most margin, at least for most mid-market agencies who are not heavily focused on personal lines,” he told IB.
But that same segment is also where operational strain shows up most clearly. Right now, Gupta says the problem is that commercial is one of the more complex areas for an agency to handle, with agencies consistently reporting that even sending a single submission can take hours.
“Sometimes it might be a few hours just to send submissions out,” Gupta explained. “Then there’s the back and forth with the underwriters after you send it out because there's some missing information – it causes so much pain. [What’s more], it's across the same teams, it's the CSRs and the account teams, who’re doing all this. For every renewal and for every new business.”
The result is predictable but dangerous - work gets triaged, not optimized.
“Because of the time it takes to do all that, a lot of the submissions are never touched, they're not paid attention to in the way they should be,” added Gupta.
While frontline teams are overwhelmed, agency owners are pushing in the opposite direction - toward growth. Gupta told IB that when Applied Systems talks to principals and executives, the same theme comes up repeatedly.
“When we talk to business owners we always discuss that they're looking for growth. Then we say, ‘well, what tools are you actually using to do this?’ And the reality is that today, it's a little ad hoc in terms of how book management happens.”
An overriding reliance on spreadsheets and manual reviews isn’t just inefficient, it creates massive blind spots.
“Our research found that 43% of accounts have at least one missing coverage and a big chunk of those accounts have multiple missing coverages,” revealed Gupta. “But how exactly would they identify that? They would have to research the accounts again to figure out if something has changed. They would have to go to Google, do all kinds of searches, and spend time they don’t have. It’s a very manual task, so naturally they're stressed out. With agency owners asking for more growth, we simply don't believe they have the right tools.That's just the reality they live in today.”
This is why, despite industry conversations about growth, many agencies still default to net new business. But Gupta argues that sustainable growth is often hiding inside the existing book - if agencies can see it clearly.
“At the time of renewal, ideally, agents want to make sure that the account is covered in the right way,” he told IB. “That requires context. Has anything changed in the last year? They also want to know if the clients are at risk of leaving. They want to do all of this but they just don't have the time.”
Beyond individual accounts, Gupta believes agencies need to think in patterns because that perspective unlocks deeper insights not just into coverage gaps but performance issues too.
“Differences in performance by account manager or the producer can play a role in renewals as well,” Gupta added. “Maybe some are more educated, and experts in a particular industry. Others are not doing as good of a job, so it becomes about how do we train them to come up to the same level.”
It’s this philosophy that led Applied Systems to design Applied Book Builder around real agency workflows rather than abstract theory. With this, Gupta explained to IB how technology can transform renewals from reactive events into proactive moments.
“Let's say the agency has a list of all the renewals that’re coming up in the next 60 to 120 days. Magically, all the analysis is done for you. The platforms has looked at these renewals, figured out what the risk needs are and if anything has changed. It’s showing you an updated profile of that client, and then making suggestions of what should be changed. The client needs this new coverage, and this is the current policy. Therefore, here are the recommendations.”
Instead of scrambling, account managers are actually empowered. They have all this data right in front of them at the point of renewal which, as Gupta explained, is the part in the workflow where it matters to them. And the same logic applies to prospecting.
“Say for example, a new producer is going after a set of leads. Before you have the conversation with the lead, you’re already educated. You have a full profile of the business, you know exactly what they need, you walk in there like an expert and the conversation is completely different.”
For agency leaders, this shift goes beyond efficiency. As Gupta told IB, it's reinforcing what the core promises of insurance agents is - to be the experts. That means fewer gaps, stronger relationships and smarter growth.
“Every one of these moments becomes a conversation that eventually leads to growth,” he added. “You're addressing the client needs but also your own goals. It's not just a transaction where we process the renewal the way it was last year. You’re looking at it a little bit deeper looking out for both the client and the agency's growth opportunity.
“Look at the fact that 35% of submissions are never touched. If you could touch them in a way that doesn't take time, that doesn't add to your burden, but you can make it a growth conversation and look out for the client at the same time.”
Ultimately, Applied Book Builder fits into a broader philosophy at Applied Systems.
“The whole goal for us is to take out all the tedious work that happens in the insurance life cycle and help agencies do more hero work. Hero work to agency owners is when you deepen client relationships, when you reduce the E&O risk, when you contribute to driving growth. By contrast filling out forms, filling out spreadsheets, taking hours - that's just what gets in the way.”
This article was created in partnership with Applied Systems.
