Putting the Top Life Insurance Quoting Engines to the Test
In this roundup, we tested some of the most popular life insurance quoting software on the market today. The quoting engines include Compulife, iPipeline, IXN, NinjaQuoter, Quote & Apply, and Winflex Web. All have their strengths and weaknesses.
Compulife
Pros: Extremely fast at returning quotes. Can be embedded within your website and has built in forms for lead capture. One of the longest standing life insurance quoting engines that’s used by a significant amount of agents. Compulife offers a server edition (aka Internet Engine) if you want more customizations and has one of the largest sets of carrier rates of all quoting engines.
Cons: No built in eApplication so you’ll have to manually complete a paper or eApplication. Limited to term, return of premium, and guaranteed universal life. There’s limited analytics data provided on your website’s usage.
Pricing: Starts at $96 per year, and first time users can get 4 months for free!
Bottom Line: A very affordable and comprehensive quoting engine with a desktop application for agents and a quoting widget for your website.
iPipeline
Pros: Integrated with the most commonly used eApplication for life insurance: iGo e-app. Includes an advanced health profile (XRAE) to find the best offer after factoring in conditions such as build, smoking status, driving history, and family history. Supports quotes for table ratings, flat extras, and some riders.
Cons: Cannot be used direct to consumer and requires the agent to log in to run quotes. Limited to term, return of premium term, and guaranteed universal life products. Agents can’t see the quotes and pending eApplications of their downline agents and it’s missing a connected CRM so reporting and analytics are limited. No ability to schedule the physical exam during the eApplication.
Pricing: Pricing is negotiated per customer and requires calling a sales rep to learn about pricing. Plan on spending $515+/month for their package of quoting, iGo e-app, and forms. No free trial.
Bottom Line: iPipeline is the most used quoting engine in the industry and they created one of the first eApplications for life insurance.
IXN
Pros: Well designed interface. Integrates with carrier drop ticket applications. API for quoting. Great for lead generation.
Cons: Doesn’t support the carriers’ full application or ability to schedule the insurance exam. Limited to term, return of premium, and guaranteed universal life products.
Pricing: You must call in for pricing. Expect it to be more expensive than NinjaQuoter, Quote & Apply, and Winflex Web but less expensive than iPipeline
Bottom Line: Another great quoting and lead generation solution for websites.
NinjaQuoter
Pros: Great analytics on usage. Flexible designs for websites. Simple to implement assuming you have basic HTML skills.
Cons: Missing an eApplication which means you’ll have to manually fill out a paper or eApplication. No underwriting logic to determine the best carrier. Products are limited to term, return of premium term, and guaranteed universal life. Standard is the lowest supported rating.
Pricing: $19, $39, or $69 per month based on the the features you need. 30 day free trial.
Bottom Line: NinjaQuoter is an excellent low cost quoting engine and lead capture.
Quote & Apply
Pros: The only multi-carrier eApplication which can be use direct to consumer or by the agent. Only quoting engine with indexed universal life and universal life with long term care illustrations for your website. There’s an integration with BackNine’s BOSS agency management system where you can track your website activity, quotes, leads, and applications. Ability to schedule the insurance exam before eSiging. An API is available for more advanced features such as pre-filling the application.
Cons: Illustrations aren’t as customizable as Winflex Web’s. Standard is the lowest supported rate class. Not quite as many carriers as other quoting engines.
Pricing: Free if you use BackNine as the general agency. $25/application if you use your own general agency.
Bottom Line: The simplest solution to go from quote to eSigned application.
Ebix’s Winflex Web
Pros: Full illustrations from a majority of carriers. Ability to customize illustrations.
Cons: Requires an agent to log in to run quotes and hence is for agent use only. Steep learning curve to know the myriad of carriers, product, riders, and intricacies. Must be given access through a carrier or general agency.
Pricing: Free! Carriers pay Ebix when agents utilize the software.
Bottom Line: Winflex is one of the most advanced quoting engines and is the industry’s go-to for multi-carrier illustrations. It won’t be the quoting engine you use on your website, but it’s an essential tool to run advanced illustrations from a single interface. Also, did we mention it’s free?
What are your thoughts on life insurance quoting engines?