Earlier this week, Ivans, a division of Applied Systems®, announced that Nationwide has joined the Ivans Distribution Platform. The platform will allow Nationwide to connect with independent agents directly within their preferred quoting system to search for appetite and submit quotes.

The Ivans platform enables agents to assess appetite via Ask Kodiak, which it acquired last year, to increase submission volume and potentially lower declination rates. The platform also allows agents to submit quotes directly to carriers that participate.

“Our mission when creating the Ivans Distribution Platform was to enable simpler interactions between carriers and their agency partners so they could ditch the manual data entry and back-and-forth communications that can be time consuming," said Reid Holzworth, CEO, Ivans. “As a leader in small commercial business, Nationwide joining Ivans Distribution Platform opens up more opportunities to bring agents and carriers closer together to make for more efficient relationships." 

“Our partnership with Ivans will help us reach our agency partners where they are in their daily workflows when they are searching for appetite and submitting for quotes, generating speed, ease, and efficiency in the quote and bind process," said Cathy Allocco, vice president, small commercial sales and distribution, Nationwide. “We are excited to join the Ivans Distribution Platform and continue to foster the digital ecosystem of insurance in support of our independent agents."

Earlier this month, Applied Systems announced that Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) selected Applied Epic and its Digital Agency technologies as its agency management software. The move will enable the national agency to streamline its legacy technology platforms into a single integrated technology strategy.

In other news this week, Vertafore® announced its acquisition of MGA Systems, a leading provider of purpose-built software for managing general agents (MGAs). MGA Systems provides two solutions: IMS, a management system with a suite of customizable policy administration and back-office functionality, and NetRate, a full featured ISO-based rating platform. 

The acquisition of MGA Systems gives Vertafore customers access to policy administration and rating solutions that will be integrated into Vertafore's suite.

"As the MGA market continues to grow, it is more important than ever for MGAs to have integrated technology solutions that strengthen their ability to make informed risk and pricing decisions," said Amy Zupon, CEO of Vertafore. “MGA Systems has been at the forefront of the industry's work in this area. I am very pleased to welcome the MGA Systems team into the Vertafore family, along with the wealth of talent, passion, and expertise they bring."

"On behalf of our customers and employees, I am thrilled that MGA Systems has found a home in Vertafore," said John Bennis, president of MGA Systems. "Our community of MGAs is extremely important to us, and I am proud of the tools that we have been able to deliver on their behalf. Vertafore shares our passion for modern insurance solutions, and this acquisition will allow additional investment in our existing products and further enhance them through integration into the Vertafore ecosystem."

Vertafore's expansion of its MGA solutions comes after the launch of its Commercial Submissions™ platform this spring. The platform prefills information from Vertafore agency management systems and third-party sources to reduce manual data entry and allows the exchange of structured data and real-time quoting between agencies and carriers.

AnneMarie McPherson Spears is IA news editor.