AMS360 Reviews

“What a powerhouse!”

Pros

Back when I worked as an insurance agent, this program covered everything I needed while talking with clients. I was able to pull up past notes, scan paperwork directly into their file and keep everything in one place. The suspense feature was especially useful because it helped me stay on top of important follow up tasks I needed to handle later with clients. It worked a lot like an Outlook calendar and I really appreciated that part of it.

Cons

I can't think of anything I disliked about it. It was very dependable, never seemed to go down and any updates were done overnight or on weekends so they never got in the way.

“Pros and Cons”

Pros

The system itself worked really well and the functionality was excellent! The trouble started after the ownership change, when Vertafore refused to let us out of the contract.

Cons

After my agency was acquired, I reached out to Vertafore to explain that the new ownership wanted to move to a different software package. I also made it clear that I personally wanted to stay and was trying to keep them in a positive position so they might have a chance to return when the next contract cycle came up. I spoke with multiple people, explained the circumstances in detail and kept getting the same response: sorry but you signed a contract. I understand the importance of contracts but I also believe good faith matters and says a lot about how a company actually operates in the real world. When a vendor is completely rigid and unwilling to consider practical solutions, it starts to feel impersonal and shortsighted. Unsurprisingly, this has gone over very badly with my new ownership group. It is costing our agency more than $1000 per month for the rest of the contract which adds up to over $8000 total. I was genuinely trying to help them preserve a future opportunity with our agency but they seemed far more focused on short-term revenue than long term partnership potential. Very disappointing and honestly not the kind of company I want to do business with if this is how they treat their agency partners.

“solid backbone, dated system”

Pros

At the center of our operation, this software keeps the business running because it tracks just about everything we need. Whenever help is needed, the customer support team is consistently willing to step in and assist.

Cons

That said it feels very old at its core and it definitely shows in daily use. There is not much room for customization and at times it can be painfully slow.

“Decent but not the best”

Pros

Something I really appreciated was the integration with IVANs and having a quoter built in was also a nice plus.

Cons

At the same time, it wasn't very accessible to work through. Without extensive training, it could take quite a while to really learn how to use it.

“active user community”

Pros

One of the best parts is how active and well informed the user group is and their conferences are outstanding. It also supported that community at least in part and actually listened to suggestions coming from the user group's R&D committee.

Cons

Somethings were frustrating though. There was no text messaging option, the accounting side wasn't very accessible and the pricing was expensive and seemed to increase quite a bit every year. On top of that, it required specific PCs and software to run the system which added even more to the overall cost.

“Love it!”

Pros

Being able to take a new quote and transfer all the information into our CRMS with a single click is something I absolutely love.

Cons

A few reports don't always finalize but it's not a major issue since that part gets completed on the carrier site after bridging over.

“real-time updates”

Pros

Using this software has been very easy and updates happen in real time which makes daily work much more efficient.

Cons

The accounting side could definitely be clearer especially for users who don't have much familiarity with accounting terms or processes.

“Overpriced with poor service”

Pros

Pretty easy to use the product has solid capabilities and being online is definitely convenient.

Cons

The cost is completely out of line. This company is clearly making a fortune while delivering terrible service.

“glitchy and too expensive”

Pros

Stay away from this software. It's glitchy and far too expensive for what it delivers.

Cons

Do not buy this product. It's an overpriced, glitch-filled system and getting support when something goes wrong is just as bad. I've been stuck on hold for over two hours again today with no help at all. Meanwhile, the sales team answers immediately but they can't actually provide any support.

“Outdated interface”

Pros

Whenever I ran into login problems or trouble completing certain tasks, customer support was consistently helpful and responsive.

Cons

The software feels very oudated overall. It looks outdated, isn't very user friendly and even emails open in a single-line text format that makes them frustrating to read.

“strong accounting, disappointing forms”

Pros

It works really well as an accounting system especially when it comes to pulling accounting reports. It's also a very solid source for information on insurance-related topics.

Cons

When it comes to completing ACORD applications and certificates though, it could be much more interactive and user friendly.

“Not that good”

Pros

It does let agencies customize activity, attachment and suspense categories to match their internal workflows and culture which is one of the few flexible parts of the system.

Cons

The pricing is hard to justify, it charges premium per-user rates for a platform whose core engine dates back to 1989-92, well before the internet era. The DB2 indexing feels oudated and takes up an excessive amount of space. There's no option to create nested folders for organizing activities and assigning groups means running several reports and exporting to Excel just to get usable results. Integrated app support is also limited especially for newer coverage areas like cyber, EPLI and pollution. E-forms are frustrating because non-integrated certificates and applications can't have their display order rearranged. Claims capture is fairly restricted and doesn't properly populate loss notices. The accounting side still relies on an outdated dual entry general ledger setup. Certificate and application views in e-forms are awkward as well since the tree layout can't be reorganized which ends up forcing the creation of an integrated form paired with a non-integrated attachment. On top of that, the marketing/submission module is limited and doesn't work well with suspense. Overall, it feels like a fossil that should have been retired long ago.

“User friendly platform”

Pros

Getting started with this software has been a really positive experience! I'm still fairly new to it but from what I've heard, it's much simpler to work with than a lot of the other systems agencies use.

Cons

Every now and then it crashes and there are times when it noticeably slows down our computers but usually a quick restart fixes the issue.

“All in one!”

Pros

Having one system where we can enter all kinds of information has been incredibly helpful. It really works as a one-stop shop for our team and saves us a lot of time.

Cons

Starting out took a little while because there was a lot to learn at first. Our admins did an excellent job guiding us through it but the system still felt pretty overwhelming in the beginning.

“strong features for agency management”

Pros

It covers a broad range of functions that work well together for both our management needs and accounting.

Cons

The cost is higher than it should be and it does not compensate for lost uptime. A lot of the workflows also feel overly monotonous especially when trying to run reports that are actually useful. The system depends too heavily on entering exactly the right data in the right way to get accurate reporting out of it.

“Could be better”

Pros

Having one platform that my entire agency group can use was the biggest reason we switched. It helps a lot having everyone working in the same system.

Cons

Biggest downsides are the limited training available for using the system and the extra costs that come with it.

“Helps stay organized”

Pros

Keeping everything organized is much simpler! It covers the key pieces you need in a data management system and also helps you take care of customers efficiently and on time. It has made a noticeable difference in how well I stay organized.

Cons

A setback is that it does not work with every insurance carrier. I used this software at other agencies over the past several years but after moving to a new state, the company I joined has been rolling it out and we have run into download problems. We submitted work orders as well, only to be told the issue was not a priority for them so we should not expect a response for at least two weeks. That did not feel appropriate at all lol.

“not my first choice”

Pros

It gives me the tools I need to get my work done and that has kept me using the system for several years. Even with that long-term use though, it still sits in second place in my book.

Cons

Navigating the attachments area could be much more accessible and the billing sections need the same kind of improvement. Honestly the whole interface feels overdue for an update to make processing more efficient. The suspense features also need to be more effective and it would really help to have an attachment drill-down directly from suspenses instead of having to hunt for each document in an attachments section that is already hard to use. The attachments area feels like it was designed too narrowly and too specifically which really takes away from how useful it could be. There are also far too many action codes to sort through.

“Simple navigation”

Pros

Everything feels very user friendly and getting around the system is simple and accessible. The layout makes sense so it's easy to find what you need and work through tasks without confusion.

Cons

An issue was that when we transitioned to a paperless setup, this tool wasn't quite ready to fully support that change yet.

“reliable on desktops”

Pros

Our users have been happy with this product overall and it does what we need it to do. It also performs well when running on standalone desktop machines.

Cons

From what we've seen, it runs into quite a few problems in terminal server environments. We also have to clear the cache constantly. There's definitely a learning curve for users too although that's fairly common with most products.