Quote By Text provides comparative rates via text messages, an efficient paper-free method. It sends predetermined messages to gather information to complete the quote process, then saves the information in EZLynx on your behalf.

• Efficient & Customer Friendly - This feature addresses the issue of time-intensive quote generation and delivery, making the process more efficient and customer-friendly.
• Maximize Productivity - With streamlined operations and accelerated services, Quote by Text enables you to multitask effortlessly, maximizing productivity and focusing on other key tasks simultaneously.

The product integrates with Connect Auto Prefill integrations, significantly reducing the amount of back-and-forth communication and fetching insurance rates faster. There is an option to use Quote by Text for lead capture only. This option does not require a Pre-Fill integration to use. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Prerequisites
• How to setup/access
  • General Settings
    • Status 
    • Action 
    • Call-back Number
    • Keywords 
    • Select Quote Template
    • Producer Assignee 
    • Email Notifications 
  • Greeting
• How it works  
  • Collecting Information
  • Send Quote 
• Notifications 
  • Lead Capture Notifications
  • Existing Customers
  • Inactivity 

Check out our video if you'd rather watch and follow along!

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Prerequisites

Before we get to the Quote by Text Settings and Setup, please make sure you have completed the following prerequisite tasks: 

• Agency must have the correct package or add on. 
  • Management System Users: Quote by Text is available for our Advanced Package.
  • Rating Only Users: Quote by Text is available in our Texting - Enhanced Rating add on. 
  • If you are interested in Quote by Text, reach out to your Sales Rep to discuss the best option for you.

• Agency Admin must Register their Text Messaging Number. Check out this article to learn how!
  • Reason: If you do not register your Text Messaging number for EIN Requirements, your Text Messaging product will be disabled which will also disable Quote by Text (QBT).

• Agency Admin must setup an account with Fenris if they will be using Quote by Text as more than a lead generator. Check out this article to learn how!
  • Reason: Currently, Fenris is the only Connect Auto Pre-fill integration that works with the full Quote by Text functionality. If you do not have or do not want to use Fenris, you can still use Quote by Text as a lead generator.

• Agency Admin must configure a New Auto Template in QAS. Check out this article to learn how!
  • Reason: The system requires a Quoting Automation Services (QAS) rating template to be completely filled out and assigned in the Quote by Text (QBT) settings in order to work.

How to setup/access

To setup and access the Quote by Text product, you need to be a Text Messaging Admin. Hover over the Communication Center icon, and choose Settings under the Quote by Text section. This will redirect you to the Quote by Text Settings page. If you do not see this icon/option, you are not a Text Messaging Admin. Please work with your Agency Admin to setup Quote by Text.

On the Quote by Text Settings page, you will see a card for Auto Conversation. This is where you can confirm the number your insureds and prospects will be texting the provide keywords to initiate the process. Select the card to get into the Auto Conversation Configuration page.

General Settings

The General Settings step allows you to see the following items:

Status 

Selecting ‘Enable’ will allow the text messages to come in and will recognize the Keywords provided on this page. Alternatively, selecting ‘Disable’ will mean that a message to the keyword will not initiate the process.  

Action 

Quote Generation will require an enabled Connect Auto Prefill Integration so that the driver and vehicle information are provided from the questions asked of the applicant. If you do not have a Connect Auto Prefill Integration, we have provided the option to use this product as a lead capturing service. This way, you can gather information and follow up on these leads. 

Attention! - Fenris is the only Connect Auto Prefill Integration that is currently supported for Quote by Text. If you do not have or do not want Fenris, you can still use Quote by Text as a Lead Generator.

Call-back Number

In this section you can decide which number you would like your customers to use for a call-back number. The default is to use your Twilio number which will display under the Twilio Number option. If you would rather use a custom number, you can toggle the Custom Number option and input the number you want your customer's to use. That custom number will appear for the following which you'll see later in this article:

• Greeting Text (default message only)
• Any Error Texts
• Quote Message

Keywords 

Choosing a keyword to utilize can sometimes be difficult to decide on, so we have made this easier for you by providing words you can use on your marketing materials. Any of these keywords will begin the process and will not trigger any other workflow in the system. 

Select Quote Template

Quote by Text uses our Quoting Automatic Services (QAS) Templates to generate the quotes. For the Quote Template selection, you will need to have a QAS Template created. To learn how to create a QAS Template, check out our How to Setup a QAS Template training article. 

For best results, you will want to create a template for Quote By Text use only. The template can contain as many carriers as you would like, but only three of the quotes will be returned to the customer. The three quotes that have been generated and sent will be the lowest rate of the quotes that are returned. 

Producer Assignee 

Like in other areas of the system, you can assign a producer of your choice to the new accounts that come in through Quote By Text. This individual will receive notifications in Workspace for Quote By Text accounts as well as email notifications for certain events.  

Email Notifications 

This will allow you to specify multiple individuals to receive an email notification even if they are not the Producer Assignee.  

When you are done setting up the General Settings, select the Continue button on the bottom-right to move to the next step - Greeting.

Greeting

On the Greeting step, you will find we have supplied a generic greeting on your behalf. If you would like to make the greeting more casual or add your own personal touch, simply type what you would like the message to be. We’ve added this so you have the flexibility to present your brand to customers. If you change your mind on your custom greeting and would like to start over, you can restore to the system default by selecting the Restore Default Message button.

Now that you have finished setting up your Quote by Text Auto Quote configuration, let's take a look at how it will flow. Select the Continue button to move to the Collection Information step.

How it works  

In this section of the article, we will take a look at the Collecting Information step which provides examples of the flow of conversation the AI will have with your customer and what happens when there is an invalid response. We will also cover the Send Quote step which provides examples of the flow of conversation that are sent for quotes along with any follow up messages that may be sent.

Collecting Information

The Collecting Information step does not allow for customization. Instead, it shows you the flow of the text conversation, the information being gathered, and any corresponding error messages should there be an invalid response. 

Below are the different areas of information gathering. Please take note of the messages that are indicated to be for Quote By Text only. This means they are not included when using Quote By Text for a Lead Capture Service. 

Name

Age 

Attention! - We refrain from asking for the actual date of birth to safeguard Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and to comply with data privacy regulations.

Address 

Gender 

Marital Status 

Email Address 

Credit Check and Pre-Fill Authorization 

This message will only be sent when a Prefill Integration is enabled.

Confirm Drivers 

This message will only be sent when a Prefill Integration is enabled.

Confirm Vehicles

This message will only be sent when a Prefill Integration is enabled.

Once you have had a chance to familiarize yourself with the Collecting Information messages, you can Save and Continue to the final Send Quote step by scrolling to the bottom of the page and selecting the Continue button or at the top of the page selecting Send Quote.

Send Quote 

The last step in the setup and settings of Quote By Text is Send Quote which will enable you to view additional messages that are sent for the Quotes as well as any follow up messages that may be sent. 

When sending the quote, the system will choose the three lowest quotes that come back from the carriers listed on your Quote Template and relay those back to the customer in ascending order. If there are carriers that do not supply quotes, they will not be considered for the message. For example, a rate that comes back from Travelers would be received as “$943.29 with Travelers” within the message. Please note that this will only be sent when a Prefill integration is enabled, and the settings are set to Quote By Text.

Send Quote Message Text

This message will only be sent when a Prefill Integration is enabled.

Finally, there are 2 follow-up messages that are sent if their specific scenario is triggered:

• No Response after 10 minutes.
• Can't provide a quote

No Response after 10 minutes

This message will only be sent when a Prefill Integration is enabled.

Can't provide quote

To complete the setup process, select the Finish & Exit button at the bottom of the page. Once you have completed the setup process, you can distribute the Keywords along with your Twilio number to your customers for them to receive quotes.

Notifications 

We have created ways for you to be notified regarding your customers. The following events will produce a notification within the Workspace as well as send the Assigned Producer an email.

Lead Capture Notifications

Lead capture notifications will come to you via email and Workspace. The email notification will provide you with the Prospect Name, Number they texted from, Email Address they provided and a link to their Applicant Overview in the system. 

Lead Capture Email Notification

Only sent to the Assigned Producer

Lead Capture Workspace Notification 

Existing Customers

For customers that have already provided their Driver and Vehicle information in the past, they will be directed to the Confirm Drivers and Confirm Vehicle steps. Once they confirm the information that you have for them in their Account Details, they will be able to proceed with the Quoting process. In the event there is an error in the process for them, we let you know. This way you can keep that conversation going with your existing customers. 

Existing Customer Email Notification 

Existing Customer Workspace Notification 

Inactivity 

When there has not been any activity from the customer after 10 minutes, you will receive a notification via email and Workspace. These notifications will contain just the phone number when a customer has only sent the keyword text and will contain the customer name any moment after the consumer has provided their name.  

Inactivity Email Notification

Inactivity Workspace Notification 

We hope this article was helpful in learning how to setup and use Quote by Text for your agency. Please let us know if this article was helpful by answering the question below. Check out our related training articles on the right side to learn more about EZLynx!