Agents Provide Input on New MSB Products

By Carolyn J Dawson
TMCnet Contributor

MSB is a worldwide provider of building cost data and estimating technology to the property insurance industry. The company held its first Agency Strategy Council meeting recently in Tampa, Fla. This event is part of an ongoing MSB initiative to increase direct communication with insurance agents nationwide.

Jerry Fox, vice president of agency operations for MSB said that to make their customers, the insurance carriers, happy, they have to make their customers happy.

Council attendees included leadership from the Vertafore Users' Group, the Applied Users' Group, representatives from ACORD and Agents Council for Technology (ACT).  Fox said that they went to the executives of each group, explained what they were trying to do and asked for participant recommendations.  Fox added that they had the current and incoming president or chairman of both users' groups in attendance, each research and product development committee head.

During the event, MSB representatives discussed future enhancements and previewed two products; InterChange (IC) and Grand Central Express (GCX). These products will be launched 2010 and are designed to save agents time and reduce errors by eliminating redundant keying.  InterChange is a database with a broad array of independently researched and verified property information whereas GCX is a web-hosted network that completes valuations for leads across multiple MSB RCT Express web hosting sites simultaneously.

InterChange pre-fills input data required for the agents' desktop tools for calculating MSB replacement cost estimates automatically.  GCX enables agents to access their carriers' RCT Express web sites, streamlining the convergence from leads to real business opportunities for participating carriers. Fox explained that without GCX, agents have to retype this information three, maybe four times, with a margin of error.

MSB will set up a tactical agent advisory group that will focus on actual development projects.  Fox and other members of MSB leadership will also increase involvement with users' groups and other agent-facing organizations.

MSB, also known as Marshall & Swift (News - Alert) / Boeckh, is an MDA company and the supplier of local building cost information, residential and commercial property valuation technology and services for the property and casualty insurance sector of the United States and Canada.

MDA (News - Alert) provides advanced information solutions that capture and process vast amounts of data, product essential information, and improve the decision making and operational performance of business and government organizations worldwide.