Smarter Submissions: How REDY Intel Helps Retail Agents Win Faster

Submissions can feel like a scavenger hunt: PDFs in one place, schedules in another, critical details buried in an email thread, and a clock ticking while you try to meet client expectations. We wanted to dig into what actually helps, not another tool that creates more work. So we sat down with Leah Herman, product manager for CRC’s Ready Intel, to talk about how AI-driven insights and automation are reshaping the insurance submission and placement process for retail agents and CRC brokers.

We break down what REDY Intel is at a practical level: an intelligence layer embedded across the CRC REDY platform that powers automated clearance, submission data extraction, Risk Insights, and Market Insights. We also get specific about what “data extraction” really means, including pulling underwriting fields like payroll, gross sales, vehicle schedules, and construction details, helping reduce missed information and the endless back-and-forth that slows quotes and binding.

Then we go beyond speed. Risk Insights turns extracted fields plus context from the submission email into a summarized risk snapshot, giving brokers a head start on understanding exposures and identifying what is missing. Market Insights adds another layer by analyzing placement trends and carrier appetite to recommend better carrier matches, helping you market smarter and set clearer timelines with clients. Throughout, we come back to the same principle: technology should enhance relationships and specialty knowledge, not replace them.

If you want faster clearance, stronger submission quality, and more data-driven placement decisions, listen now. 

Visit REDYIndex.com for critical pricing analysis and a snapshot of the marketplace.

Do you want to take your career to the next level? Join #TeamCRC to get access to best-in-class tools, data, exclusive programs, and more! Send your resume to resumes@crcgroup.com today!

Transcript

Why Faster Placement Matters

Amanda Knight 0:00

Welcome back to Placing You First, the podcast where we help retail agents stay informed, work smarter, and better serve their clients. I'm Amanda Knight.

Scott Gordon 0:09

And I'm Scott Gordon.

Amanda Knight 0:10

Today we're talking about something that's becoming increasingly important in insurance, using technology and AI-driven insights to make the submission and placement process faster, more efficient, and ultimately more successful for agents. Specifically today, we're diving into CRC's Ready Intel, a platform focused on automated clearance, submission data extraction, risk insights, and market insights.

Scott Gordon 0:37

And joining us today is Leah Herman, product manager for Ready Intel.

Amanda Knight 0:41

This is the Placing You First Podcast from CRC Group. This podcast features news and insights from a vast knowledge base of more than 5,500 associates who write more than 30 billion in premium annually. Plus, we give you the latest information on what's happening at CRC.

Scott Gordon 0:58

This is the Placing You First Podcast.

Amanda Knight 1:01

And now the host of the podcast, Amanda Knight and Scott Gordon.

Scott Gordon 1:05

Leah, thanks for being here.

Leah Herman 1:07

Thank you for having me. Really excited to join you guys.

Scott Gordon 1:09

Let's start out at a high level for agents hearing the name Ready Intel for the first time. What is it and what problem is it trying to solve?

Leah Herman 1:19

Yeah, so first of all, Ready Intel isn't just a single screen or a standalone product. It's really the intelligence layer that's embedded across the CRC specialty tools and workflows, specifically

What is REDY Intel?

Leah Herman 1:30

our Ready platform. So Ready Intel is experienced through the features that it powers, such as the automation that's happening in the background, smart insights and recommendations surfaced within the brokerage workflow, and then data enhancements that make downstream steps faster and more consistent. All in all, it's really helping CRC teams and retail agents move faster and make more informed decisions.

Amanda Knight 1:54

All right. So this really starts with sort of improving the submission experience itself, right, Leah?

Leah Herman 2:02

Yeah, that's really just the starting point, though. By automating clearance and extracting submission data from the documents, we're reducing friction, saving time, and surfacing important information earlier. And then there's going to be a lot more automation and data extraction to come throughout those other steps within the workflow, like at quote and at binding, things like that to really help again that efficiency and more informed decision making.

Scott Gordon 2:27

So, Leah, before we dive in further, advise our audience: is this another thing they have to sign up for with another password in their list? Or is it already built into the way that they work with Team CRC?

Leah Herman 2:39

Exactly. This is all built into our ready platform that all of CRC brokers have access to. So retail agents benefit from it just by working with their CRC specialty brokers.

Amanda Knight 2:49

That's awesome because we know that the one thing retail agents constantly battle is time, especially when you have to submit risk to multiple markets. So how does Ready Intel help agents on the front end?

Leah Herman 3:03

Yeah. One example that I can point to

Automated Clearance In Four Minutes

Leah Herman 3:05

is that our new automated clearance capabilities have improved clearance time from somewhere around 30 minutes, now on average to about four minutes. So that's a significant improvement, yeah, to our speed. And obviously, it's enabling our CRC brokers to get retail agent submissions to market faster. That's a big difference. That's a lot of time. Yeah, yeah. It's huge. It's huge.

Scott Gordon 3:28

Yeah, multiply that times, well, whatever, right?

Leah Herman 3:32

Hundreds, hundreds, thousands of submissions each day. Absolutely. It's making a really big impact.

Scott Gordon 3:36

It's yeah, it's it's a tangible thing, too, for real. Um, so one of the things that really shocked me was the sheer amount of information that Ready Intel can extract from submissions. Talk talk a little bit about that.

Leah Herman 3:50

Yeah, it's it's quite vast and it can do quite a lot. So, for example, there's over 200 possible data fields for just casualty alone that could be extracted automatically from those um documents that are submitted at submission. Examples like payroll, gross sales, vehicle schedules, construction details, things like that. Um, and obviously the the purpose of us being able to extract that data is helping us miss critical underwriting information and getting that early and often and being able to surface that to our brokers right basically as they're cleared, helping them move along the submission a lot faster.

Amanda Knight 4:27

So instead of you know chasing paperwork, repeating information, the system itself is helping organize and surface that information proactively itself.

Leah Herman 4:38

Exactly. I um have a vision

AI Data Extraction From Submissions

Leah Herman 4:40

of brokers in my head scouring through documents, having multiple tabs open and uh different platforms, and this is eliminating that. You know, this is putting that um very specific detail about the risk they're working um right on their screen within Ready. Um so very excited about the the um efficiency and the outcomes downstream that you know these initiatives within Ready Intel are are bringing to them.

Scott Gordon 5:05

Yeah, and we've been, I mean, a lot of people may be just hearing about it for the first time, but CRC has been really proud of Ready for a while. It's been we've been one of the first, you know, ones to collect the data, and now we're turning it into well, real time-saving results. So let's talk about the next piece though, uh, Ready Intel Risk Insights. Because this feels pretty valuable for agents trying to position accounts effectively, right?

Leah Herman 5:33

Yeah, exactly. So Risk Insights is exactly the feature that this data extraction and the automated clearance flow is being fueled by. Um, what Risk Insights does is it creates a summarized risk snapshot inclusive of the extracted data that we just talked about, as well as any important context or content that was shared within the submission email body from the agent. So it will highlight key exposures and underwriting details. Um, and then all in all, this is again making this submission process easier for brokers to understand, sorry, easier for them to understand what's in the submission and making them faster of getting it out to market.

Amanda Knight 6:11

So it's not just dumping raw data, it's also creating a narrative around each risk.

Leah Herman 6:17

Exactly, with the raw data and with the content from the email. Ready Intel is utilizing AI to kind of create this very comprehensive risk snapshot, is kind of what we're calling it to start, um, to provide them with that um head start really of analyzing the submission. What do they need to do next? Um, and we're just on the cusp of of s of sharing these really great insights with with brokers. So we're excited for um the continued iteration of this of this product and feature.

Scott Gordon 6:44

And I know, you know, especially in today's market, underwriters can be overwhelmed with submissions. So this is pretty important for them, it seems like, and a big time saver, obviously.

Leah Herman 6:54

Yeah, yeah, exactly. It it's it's really gonna, like I said, jumpstart their understanding of what's in the submission, what details are they missing, what do they need to go back to the retail agent to find? And it's just expediting that process significantly.

Amanda Knight 7:08

And it seems like it would support that communication

Risk Insights Builds A Risk Snapshot

Amanda Knight 7:10

right between agents, uh, CRC, and then of course carriers. So that's that's awesome. Um, another big challenge we know that our retail agents face is sort of figuring out where a risk is most likely to land successfully. Um so how does Ready Intel help with that piece?

Leah Herman 7:30

Yeah, so another feature within Ready Intel is uh market insights. This is one that we've just recently released, a revamped version to for our um brokers using CRC Ready. And it analyzes placement trends and carrier appetite and provides our brokers with carrier matches for their specific submissions. So essentially market recommendations, but based on the troves of data that CRC has access to, um, again, dependent on the uh placement and actual carrier appetite. So it's really helping our CRC brokers identify markets with strong binding activity, um, also tied with the performance trends, and overall just a um a smarter marketing strategy with speed. Um, so you can see here what we've talked about so far is all about speed and efficiency and utilizing data to make more informed um decisions.

Amanda Knight 8:22

It just seems so comprehensive, right? Like more information, better aligned with carrier appetite, like it's all it's just we're hitting all the all the spots to sort of along the submission journey.

Scott Gordon 8:36

So this is huge for agents trying to manage time and client expectations, right?

Amanda Knight 8:41

Yeah, sounds like it. So Leah, if you had to sum it up simply, um, how does Ready Intel help retail agents win in today's marketplace?

Leah Herman 8:52

Yeah. Um, first and foremost, this is improving quality, right? The submission quality by by bringing out the details of the submission first and foremost and identifying markets that match a little bit better. So we're always thinking about um, you know, quality and go to market. It's obviously a time saver. We talked about that uh time reduction from 30 minutes to four minutes and just getting cleared, and then being able to bring information to the forefront at their fingertips is obviously saving them time that they're currently manually sifting through documents and surfing through emails for. Um, and that it helps us get risks in front of the right markets faster. You know, of those two things, that's what really sums it up. And um that's the huge benefit to um our agents um working with us here at CRC.

Amanda Knight 9:38

It just seems like a better experience for everybody all along the spectrum.

Leah Herman 9:43

Exactly. It really will hopefully allow our agents to focus more on advising clients and not administrative work.

Scott Gordon 9:49

Right.

Leah Herman 9:50

Right, absolutely.

Scott Gordon 9:51

Yeah, it's just getting the I think of it as all the little ants going

Market Insights Finds Better Fits

Scott Gordon 9:55

out and picking up all the pieces of food and bringing it back to the uh to the house. You know, it's uh you still got to deal with the queen, you still gotta talk to the queen, but you can have other people lift the data for you.

Amanda Knight 10:06

AI. AI is gonna do that part.

Scott Gordon 10:09

Well, and I think it's important to say that this doesn't replace those relationships or market knowledge, it's just meant to enhance them.

Leah Herman 10:15

Absolutely. Our CRC brokers have a very unique skill set and knowledge of the industry and their and their niche practice area, and um we acknowledge and and value that um a hundred percent. Ready Intel is really supporting their decision making and their efficiency. Um, so that's really what the the crux of it is, is we we still, you know, hone in on and and value and honor um all of that expertise that our CRC brokers have. It's just technology to support them at at every touch point along the way.

Amanda Knight 10:45

All right, Leah, we you're through the hard part. Okay. So do you have any final thoughts on Ready Intel before we switch to the the fun part of the episode?

Leah Herman 10:54

No, I think we covered it all. Um what I always love to say is well, I was just gonna say what I love to say is that um we're really just at a starting point. Um our our brokers and our retail agents are gonna continue to see these products evolve and get more mature, and that's when the value to to each of them is is really gonna start um overflowing. So I'm I'm excited to just be at the cusp of it, but more to come as always.

Amanda Knight 11:16

Absolutely. And we'll bring you back to talk with us again as we release new features and and new things we want to make sure that our retail agents are aware of. I would love that. All right, Rulia, before we wrap up, we always like to do what we call rapid fire. It's just a few fun questions so that our listeners get to know our guests a little bit better. We can prove you're not AI because we're gonna ask you questions that we I should not know about you, maybe. Okay, just quick answers, whatever comes to mind first. Number one, if you could outsource one annoying task in your life, what would it be? And it doesn't have to be insurance related. I mean, it it could be, but it doesn't have to be.

Leah Herman 11:55

I'm sure there's many other people that would say this as well, but it would be laundry. I I just loathe the process of doing laundry and folding. You have kids in the house, they're like laundry making machines everywhere. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And I know that I essentially could outsource it, but you know, obviously that's not very economical. Right, exactly. You've got kids to feed.

Scott Gordon 12:18

Yeah.

Leah Herman 12:18

Exactly.

Scott Gordon 12:19

Fitted sheets are the worst. I just wad them up now.

Amanda Knight 12:25

Yeah. No one needs to know. That's right. There's no laundry police. All right. Number two. This is a good one. Name your

Quality Submissions Without Extra Work

Amanda Knight 12:35

top three forms of potato preparation in preference order. And let me tell you, there are a lot of ways to prepare a potato, like fried chips, mashed, hash browns, vodka's made out of potatoes. I mean, you could go a lot of directions here. I've thought about this, but now I want to know, Leah, what are your top three forms of potato? Because I don't know that I've ever met someone that doesn't like potatoes. So if that's you, we can skip it. Okay. Good. Love potatoes.

Leah Herman 13:03

Um, I am. Here's a fun fact about me is that I am from Pittsburgh, so I am a huge Heinz ketchup fan. And I always say my potatoes are just a vessel for me to have ketchup. Um so my my first choice is a no-brainer. It is a French fry. Um I love the shoestring to be specific. Um, that would be my number one. Number two would probably be hash brown, and then three tater tater tot. And again, all three, all three are vessels for ketchup, so that's why they're high on my list.

Amanda Knight 13:35

All right, Leah, you pass. We can be friends. You're good, good, good, good. You've got good taste in potatoes. Thank you.

Scott Gordon 13:42

You didn't throw any all gratins at us or anything, you know. So good, good on you.

Amanda Knight 13:46

All right, last question. What's the best book you've read, movie you've seen, or TV show you've binged recently or ever, if you've got like an all-time favorite.

Leah Herman 13:56

Um, okay, I'll go TV show. Um, I recently watched Bridgerton. Um, I've been following the seasons, and the last season I really enjoyed too. And I I learned that it's actually a book series. I didn't know that. I was watching the TV series, and so now I might have to follow up on the books, but I really enjoyed Bridgerton. Just the music and um flashing, flashing back to yesteryear um is is an interesting uh storyline to follow.

Scott Gordon 14:23

I think Amanda and I are both all caught up on Bridget. We're both up to we're caught up.

Leah Herman 14:27

Okay, yeah. Okay, that'll be that'll be maybe our next conversation. We should make a podcast.

Scott Gordon 14:32

We do have our Bridgerton podcast that we do on the side. Yeah.

Amanda Knight 14:35

Our next questions will be who's your favorite Bridgerton character? You know, we'll save that for

Rapid Fire!

Amanda Knight 14:40

the next. Yeah, perfect.

Scott Gordon 14:41

Leah, thanks so much for joining us and giving us a look into how Ready Intel is helping modernize and improve the submission process.

Leah Herman 14:48

Yeah, so happy to join you guys. And again, anytime that I can come back and share more updates and the progress we've made, I'd be happy to share.

Amanda Knight 14:54

And to our listeners, the big takeaway today is this better data, better insights, and smarter workflows ultimately help you move faster, serve clients more effectively, and create stronger placement outcomes for everyone. Thanks for listening to Place Me First. We'll see you next time.