LegacyShield launches new platform as part of pivot amid Covid-19 pandemic

August 20, 2020 (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal)

Jacksonville-based LegacyShield Solutions Inc., has launched a new platform to help life insurance advisors stay connected to their clients without in-person meetings.

Called Link, the platform that provides tools for advisors to communicate with their clients, provides insights on sales and collaborate with stakeholders.

The virtual workspace is a part of the companies pivot from a consumer-centric strategy to one more focused on business-to-business tactics. While the company has been engaging in a soft launch of the product, the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of virtual capabilities for an industry that is still largely rooted in face-to-fact contact and paper copies.

“We were working on this pre-Covid, but Covid has kind of raised everybody’s awareness that this may be something I need to take a look at,” LegacyShield CEO Chris Haley told the Business Journal.

Haley said that the response has been overwhelmingly positive so far. They are trying to work slowly because they don’t want to take on too much, but Haley says they expect it to spike in a few months.with significant adoption expected by the end of the year.

While attempting to launch a new product during a global pandemic can throw a wrench in plans, Haley said that Covid-19 not only highlighted the potential of the new product but also had little impact on marketing and sales.

There are some benefits to marketing during a pandemic — some people have more time on their hands without the opportunity to get out and about. It poses challenges as well, including missing out on the exposure that comes with attending conferences and getting face time with prospects.

“So, I’d say it’s probably net neutral. It’s probably about the same,” Haley said. “If there’s a positive, it’s that the message that we’re presenting to people now, people are probably more ready to accept it and listen to it because on what’s going on in the broader world.”While marketing and sales may have not experienced upheaval, the company has had to shift its operations dramatically in response to the pandemic. LegacyShield opted for remote operations in Mid-March like many companies.

The struggle for LegacyShield has really come in, Haley said, in striking a work-life balance and ensuring that employees aren’t taking on too much.

“The biggest challenge I have right now is just making sure that my team is taking care of themselves, people are struggling,” Haley said.

As Haley works to navigate the pandemic internally, the company is still focused on closing the technological gap that exists in the life insurance industry and helping their customers use technology to maintain their businesses during this time, as well.

“We’re really excited about where we’re going with this product, I think life insurance advisors being connected to their policyholders is a gap in the technology ecosystems,” Haley said. “We’re really excited about being able to close that gap.”