In this guide 6 sections
The usual mistakes are entering policies without families, importing rows nobody checks, carrying stale nominee details across, and sending reminders nobody reads. Each turns a cleaner system into a quicker way to miss a lapse. GullySystem’s Life Insurance Agency Management Software holds families, policies and due dates together, but these checks apply to any tool.
Entering policies instead of families
The diary lists policies. Clients think in family members.
If the system copies the diary line by line, it repeats the diary’s blind spot, and you cannot see that a daughter has started work without cover.
Link every policy to a family and a member first. Endowment, term, money-back and pension plans then sit together, whichever insurer issued them.
Trusting the import without checking it
A book built over decades has gaps. Modes change, policies are revived, and some due dates were never written down.
Import from the diary or sheets, then have the desk check each row against the bond or the insurer’s report. A wrong due date is worse than a missing one, because it looks right.
Do not expect fields to be read from a policy PDF or a photo. Type them in, then store the bond against the record.
- Premium mode and due month
- Premium paying term and policy term
- Riders and sum assured
- Maturity and survival benefit years
- Nominee name and relationship
Carrying old nominee details across
A nominee named twenty years ago is rarely reviewed. Moving the book is a natural moment to ask.
Flag policies with missing or ageing nominee details. Call those families first, especially after a marriage or a birth.
How a nominee is changed is the insurer’s process. Your system only keeps your record of it.
Sending reminders nobody reads
A reminder that reads like a bank alert is ignored. One with the client’s name, policy number, amount and date is more likely to be read.
Agree the wording for due, grace and maturity messages with your desk, and write them in the language your clients actually read, such as Hindi or Kannada.
Check the portal before calling. Calling a client who paid online last night costs goodwill.
Forgetting the dates years away
Software is often set up for this month’s dues and little else. Maturities and money-back instalments fall years after the sale.
Enter every benefit date at import. List payouts months ahead, so you meet the family before the money arrives.
Record policy loans and surrender requests as well. A client who needs money should hear every option.
- Maturity dates in the coming year
- Survival benefit instalments due
- Policy loans with interest standing
- Paid-up or surrender requests still open
Policy book import check sheet
A sheet holding a row for each family, with a column per field listed above. The desk ticks each field after checking it against the bond. Rows with an unticked due date stay off the reminder list.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Will the software show my persistency figure?
Not as a figure. It lists dues, policies in grace, lapses and revivals, which sit behind persistency. How long grace runs comes from the insurer’s policy terms.
Can it read data from the insurer’s agent portal?
Only where the insurer gives a downloadable report or a feed you may use. Otherwise your staff upload the premium-paid reports each month.
Should motor and health policies go in the same system?
Not in the life product. Health, motor and fire cover belong in the general insurance product, which is separate. An advisor with a mixed book runs both.
Is software needed for a small book of policies?
Probably not yet. With a few dozen policies, a diary and the insurer’s portal will do.