What You Need To Know About Data Conversions
A data conversion is when you convert the data from your current system to your new system. For agencies who have been on a system for an extended period of time where they've added a lot of data into it, being able to convert this data to the new system is a high priority, as it should be.
Before we dig deeper into Data Conversions, we're first going to address some things you need to know...
Data Conversions Is Our Biggest Bottleneck
Mapping a systems table structure to CP Managers table structures is a lot of work. It takes 6-8 weeks to map a new system which is the cause of the bottleneck.
The good news is this doesn't affect the operation of your agency or your ability to service your clients because while we're doing the mapping (or you're waiting for us to start the mapping process) you're still using your current system avoiding any interruptions in your work. The only downside to this is you're not able to effectively use CP Manager to start creating a highly productive agency until the data has been converted to it.
Systems We've Completed The Mapping With:
- EZ Lynx's
- Applied Epic
Systems Currently Being Mapped:
Pending Group In Line To Be Mapped Next:
If you need a data conversion and you're on a system not listed above, I would strongly encourage you to purchase CP Manager soon so your system is added to the list. Every system in the Pending group adds 6-8 weeks before we'll be able to start working on your system. How long do you want to wait before you can start using the highly productive CP Manager system?
If you're on a system that's already been mapped then we can have you up and running on CP Manager in as fast as two weeks.
Due to the bottleneck of mapping systems we are intentionally not doing any aggressive marketing so we can manage our growth which also gives us time to continue training our staff and get as many systems mapped as we can before word of mouth and kicking up our marketing sends a lot more agencies our way.
Once we get at least 5 of the main systems mapped we'll then start getting more aggressive in our marketing to promote CP Manager. Until then we're enjoying the nice steady growth we're having.
What's Converted?
We have contracted out to a gentleman who has been doing data conversions for the last 10 years and is really good at them. He's already done data conversions for the majority of systems on the market and as such is already very familiar with the process and table structures of most of the systems.
We chose to contract out specifically because this data conversion expert is so good at data conversions and we know how important a data conversion is to an agency.
When it comes to converting data the following items are high priority items to be converted and is always converted:
- Client records
- Policy Headers: This includes data like Carrier, Issuing Co, Eff/Exp Date, Bill Type, Producer, CSR and Policy Status. What exactly is converted is based upon the table structures of your current system.
- Section Header: LOB, Carrier Plan Code, Premiums
- Notes
- Follow Ups
- Attachments
- Correspondence (Letters, Faxes & Emails) attached to Clients or Carriers
However, there's more info than just this in your system. We also consider and can discuss the following items system by system:
- Drivers
- Vehicles
- Locations/Premises
- AI's
There could be an additional cost for these items to be converted.
Finally, there's policy details which includes the coverages. ACORD form data is not converted as part of a Basic Data Conversion. This is considered a Detail Data Conversion and will be an additional cost. If you want specific ACORD forms converted we would need to have a discussion about this with you.
If this is something you really need what we recommend is just having the "core" information like the coverages or property information converted and not convert the Y/N questions or extra data on the forms. By doing this it will keep your costs down.
Here are the other options for populating the ACORD form information:
- Doing an initial download dump with the carriers you download with who offer this.
- Occurrence loading the data. This is where you populate the coverages and information when an occurrence happens on the policy like an endorsement or at renewal.
- Crash load data. This is where you crash load policy information. Where we recommend doing this is with your high priority accounts which generally is only up to 20% of the agency policies. Then use occurrence loading for the rest.
Moving to a new system is pretty systematic. There are very specific key things which the vendor needs to stay on top of to make sure the process is smooth and allows the agency to continue conducting business without much of an interruption. Following we discuss this further...
The Data Conversion Process
Once the mapping is done we do a two phase conversion...
1) Trial Conversion.
This is where we convert your data and then give you access to our "migration" system to review your data in CP Manager. You will have 3-7 days to dig in and review the conversion. If you find any issues such as data not being mapped properly or data missing you'd present this to us so it can be fixed.
You should also know President Mr. Chesnut is involved in all data conversions and is also reviewing your data. He reviews it first and if it meets his approval it's then made available to you to review.
Once the Trial Conversion process is completed we move to the second phase...
2) Final Conversion.
This right here is what we watch very closely and stay on top of. This is because to do the final conversion we're pulling your data one last time. At this point all policy and client transactions need to be manually documented so you can re-enter these transactions into CP Manager.
The period of time between when we pull your final data and you're up and running in CP Manager with your converted data is referred to as an "automation standstill". We want the automation standstill to be as short of time period as possible. For small agencies we'll handle this in two or less days. As the agency grows in size this time period would increase.
So you know, out of striving to offer our clients a high level of service we pull your data on Friday evenings with the goal of having it in CP Manager for you to start using Sunday evening. With many agencies not working weekends this has proven to be an effective strategy in handling data conversions where the agency has no automation standstill!
Data Conversion Clean Up Service
We do something no other vendor does... Data Conversion Clean Up. Let me explain.
There are two parts to this:
1) Once we pull your data, cleaning it up.
There are many facets to this. There's an old saying, "garbage out, garbage in." We can clean up your data!
Plus, different systems have different table structures. One of the things we're able to do is clean up the data and do a more thorough job of pulling it into CP Manager. Take EZ Lynx, for example. Here we took their mono-line policy design and created package policies when the policies should actually be part of a package.
CP Manager has a very advanced linking ability. This includes attachments, notes, follow ups and more. This creates a more "integrated" solution which we are generally able to with your data.
It's actually pretty amazing what we can do with data conversions to clean up your data to create a really nice data conversion. Or maybe better stated, "the best data conversion possible," because not everything can be fixed or cleaned up depending on the table structures of your current system.
2) After we've converted your data, fixing or cleaning up missed items.
It's not uncommon to forget things, miss things or overlook things. Once you start using CP Manager after the data conversion is when users start seeing problems with their data.
Not a problem with this Data Conversion Clean Up Service. For 30 days after the data conversion you'll just report what you find and then we'll fix it or clean it up.
No other vendor offers ongoing clean up services after the data conversion has taken place. We do because we feel it's just as important as the pre-conversion clean up we're able to do with this service.
We only charge $500 for this service and those who have taken advantage of it say it's the best $500 they've ever spent!
Summary
As you can see the key to data conversions and moving you to CP Manager is coordinating everything. We are very much on top of all conversions, especially these two areas:
- The Automation Standstill making sure it's as short of period of time as possible! And,
- Training to make sure you're being trained based upon the training you purchased prior to the completion of the final conversion so you can move forward with CP Manager to service your clients without skipping much of a beat.
What we haven't discussed here yet is training.
So you know, we generally start training after the Trial Conversion has been completed so when the Final Conversion is completed you're ready to jump into CP Manager and start using it to service your clients. Again, this is a coordinated solution so you're able to effectively move forward once the data has been converted.
If you have any questions about this contact us. Generally you'll talk to our President Mr. Chesnut regarding data conversion questions and the process to move over to CP Manager since he's the one with all of the experience on this subject, 30 years of experience and having helped hundreds of agencies make the move to a new system.