Start with one real workflow
Choose a workflow your agency already understands. Bring a realistic example, identify the source system, and write down what a successful outcome would look like. Ask the vendor to distinguish an illustration from a connected demonstration.
Avoid treating a broad list of integrations as proof that your exact workflow is supported. Reading an account, preparing a draft, writing a record, and verifying the result are different capabilities. Ask which ones are available for your deployment.
Ask what grants authority
Who may connect systems? Who may approve outreach? Which changes require a licensed person? Ask how authority is scoped to the agency, the user, and the requested action, and what happens when that authority is revoked.
A reliable demonstration includes a refusal: incomplete data, an unavailable provider, or an action that exceeds the user’s permission. The product should explain the missing condition without pretending the work completed.
Request evidence you can inspect
Ask to see a completed work record with its source references, approvals, provider response, and final status. Where a provider returns only an acceptance receipt, ask how the system distinguishes acceptance from the eventual delivery or completed effect.
For security procurement, request the current documents and the scope they cover. A security feature is not an independent certification. A vendor should be able to state what has been assessed and what remains unverified.
- Confirm the actual integration operation and environment.
- Inspect permission and approval boundaries.
- Review retries, duplicate prevention, and recovery.
- Request current privacy, DPA, and vendor information.
Set an acceptance plan before expansion
Agree on the pilot audience, escalation owner, stop conditions, and evidence required for acceptance. Define the data that may be processed and the process for returning or deleting it.
Measure the workflow that the agency actually wants to improve. Prepared drafts, reduced searching, and confirmed outcomes can all matter, but they should be reported separately. Expand authority only after the observed behavior supports it.
About the author
Abraham Cannon · Founder of PANDA OS
Abraham Cannon is the founder of PANDA OS. His focus is helping insurance agencies turn everyday sales, service, and renewal work into connected, accountable operations.