We Compared 4 Best Ebix Alternatives. Find the Right Tool For You.

Table of Contents

• Overview of Ebix
• Jones
• Docutrax
• RealPage
• TrustLayer

Quick Overview of Ebix

Ebix is a full-suite insurance software solution that deploys various insurance and reinsurance exchanges on an on-demand basis.

Plus, it provides software enterprise solutions in Customer Relationship Management, Forex Trading, front-end & back-end systems, and outsourced administrative and risk compliance.

So who is Ebix for?

EbixRCS has a diverse client list in almost every industry, from small to large private organizations to government entities.

It can manage daily transaction processes, solicit insurance coverage from vendors, follow up on insurance renewal dates, and provide accurate management level reporting.

Advantages of Ebix

Ebix is undoubtedly a helpful product with positive reviews from users. Here are some of its advantages.

Smooth Transition
The transition from another COI management tool (or manual system) to Ebix is straightforward. Once installed, it adopts new systems and procedures, so you don’t lose critical data during the process.

Handles a large volume of corporate insurance compliance
Ebix excels in managing chaos such as thousands of documents. The system is designed to take in a large volume of data and single-handedly execute compliant tasks.

Reputable brand
This isn’t necessarily an advantage, but some may find comfort knowing Ebix is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ.

Ebix shortcomings

While having some desirable features, Ebix still has shortcomings that might downgrade its overall quality.

It’s easy to understand why, as Ebix has spread itself very thin by offering multiple tools.

And in most cases, software companies that offer multiple solutions from the same platform often downplay other tools. That’s the kind of situation Ebix finds itself in, as you’ll notice in these disadvantages.

Poor UI/UX
While Ebix is famous for being a bulldozer in handling huge COI compliance management tasks, its user experience falls short.

Old and outdated
You can just know what to expect by seeing how clunky the dashboard is. It slaps you with so much confusing information and leaves you stranded.

Furthermore, there’s a steep learning curve in getting used to their interfaces.

Poor email design
Ebix sends PDF files stating the issues to vendors. As a result, most of these emails land in vendors’ spam folders. Vendors might not want to open a PDF email attachment which then reduces COI collection rates.

Slow COI validation time
Ebix’s ability to take on extensive COI certificate management doesn’t mean it’s quick in turnaround time.

Suppose you own a large commercial building with multiple tenants; getting to know if all of them are compliant using Ebix will be as slow as doing it manually.

This also raises the issue of accuracy if you don’t opt for the more expensive full-service plan that offers on-staff professional review.

Now that we’ve briefly broken it down, let’s look at four of the best Ebix alternatives.

Ebix Alternative #1: Jones

Best compliance management software for real estate and construction companies.

Our first Ebix alternative is Jones, which is us. Don’t worry; we won’t be biased.

We’ve made sure this review is as honest as possible to help you make the right decision based on your needs.

Our goal is to make insurance compliance simple and accurate. We know you have other things to focus on like managing your properties, attracting new tenants, finance report management, etc.

The last thing you want to have in mind is to live in fear with low compliance rates. You don’t want to imagine that the next day you’ll receive a claim asking you to pay millions of dollars.

So how do we do it?

When we onboard new clients, they often find out that their tenant and vendor compliance rates only stands at 2%.

That means property managers who review docs themselves and are not insurance experts are likely to have significant gaps that expose them to potential risks before using Jones.

Our solution is simple – we take the risk and burden off your shoulders by:

1. Collecting and auditing insurance certificates. We audit COIs within 5 hours on average for construction customers to avoid wasting time on urgent projects.
2. Making it easy for tenants and vendors to provide all the required documentation.
3. Tracking and automating tasks like automatically warning you when a vendor’s insurance coverage is about to expire.
4. Providing tenants with pre-approved vendors for their needs.

As a result, admins who use Jones save up to 12 hours weekly and record first-time compliance rates improving by three times. COI tracking is easier with Jones.

Advantages of Jones

There are many good things to say about Jones but we’ll just highlight three of our most popular advantages (Remember, we’re still keeping it honest).

Seamless onboarding
You can quickly integrate Jones into your workflow and get all set up in a very timely manner. Thanks to the Jones Compliance API, you’ll also find it easy to integrate Jones with various integrations like CRM or accounting software.

Easy to use
Jones is powered by a robust AI that does the heavy lifting for you so you can onboard vendors and tenants with the click of a button. Plus, the dashboard is intuitive and user-friendly, meaning it’s not easy to get lost when navigating the product.

Effective communication
Jones personalizes and brands emails sent to vendors. This is critical as it shows that the communication comes from your company, ultimately leading to a higher collection rate.

Here’s an example of a branded email:

Jones does this all without needing to involve property managers in the communication, which is a time saver.

Jones Shortcomings

Below are some frustrations you might experience with Jones.

Getting vendors to produce COIs
This is a challenge that all compliance management tools face. However, data collection is one of our biggest competitive differentiators. We’ve solved the problem by sending branded and personalized emails. Our great technical support team also helps vendors avoid frustrations when asking for COIs.

Limited industries
Jones only serves the Real Estate and Construction Industries (and their insurance brokers). For now, we can’t help you if you’re looking to manage COIs in a different industry.

Quick Recap

As you can see, Jones is ideal for users looking for a quick and straightforward fix on all things regarding COI compliance.

We remove the fear of getting hit with many claims and take the hefty, time-consuming work off your hands.

Ebix Alternative #2: Docutrax

Compliance management software but not focused on any specific industry.

Docutrax is an Ebix alternative focusing on Startups, SMEs, Agencies, and Enterprises looking to facilitate risk transfer from their businesses to third parties.

To stand above the crowd, Docutrax does more than just COI management. They also track important documents like leases, inspection reports, maintenance schedules and more.

Docutrax Advantages

All-in-one insurance tracking platform
As said earlier, Docutrax tracks more than COIs and allows users to upload up to 5GB of various types of files into a “document library”. In the document library, you can send, solicit, track expiration dates, review documents, and report on time-sensitive information.

Good custom emails
Similar to Jones, Docutrax sends branded emails to tenants when inquiring on all aspects of the COI collection process. This improves the collection rates amongst tenants and vendors.

Real-time monitoring
You can log into your dashboard anywhere and at any time, and monitor your certificate validation process in real-time.

Docutrax Shortcomings

Old and Outdated Interface
Docutrax hasn’t improved its interface since the company was launched in 2014. This leaves the dashboard clunky with many confusing features.

They don’t audit all requirements
Companies that have left Docutrax and switched to Jones have told us that Docutrax marked COIs compliant when they indeed were not.

Quick Recap

Docutrax has a good insurance compliance model that tracks and verifies multiple documents. It’s a significant upside for users looking for one platform to manage all their insurance documents.

However, they don’t audit all requirements and can leave your company exposed to risk.

Ebix Alternative #3: RealPage

Compliance management software for vendors.

Like Ebix, RealPage is a suite of solutions cutting across marketing, accounting, leasing, and expense management.

So it might be an excellent fit for organizations searching for a complete bundle from renting to leasing to bookkeeping.

However, its COI tool is created explicitly for vendors, meaning your tenants aren’t involved. They have a reason for this, though. RealPage is clearly meant for multifamily properties and not geared for commercial real estate.

Typically, what it does is help you search for the right vendor, verify their credentials, and match your insurance needs to reduce risk exposure.

Luckily, they already have a list of vendors on the marketplace with good credentials, making your work easy.

Advantages of RealPage

Robust interface
RealPage’s dashboard is modern, eye-catching, and clean, with tons of ways to get all the information you need at a glance. This dashboard presents all the data and buttons in beautiful charts and paragraphs.

Insightful analytics
RealPage sends you occasional reporting and analytics to provide purchasing transparency and accountability, which drives up compliance.

Intensive background checks
Besides reviewing COIs, RealPage dives deep to verify vendors’ criminal records, insurance, and financial status to reduce risk.

RealPage Shortcomings

Unresponsive Customer Support
More users complain that the support team isn’t responsive. Plus, you never work with one person. What’s more frustrating is that the first person may say your documents are good only to be declined by the final decision maker, yet they haven’t read all the provided information.

Occasional System Rundowns
Users complain that RealPage website experiences occasional run downs due to technical maintenance, which is difficult for fast-paced operations.

Quick Recap

RealPage comes in handy if the vetting process is complex and time-consuming for you.

It features vendors who’ve been successfully vetted and are likely to be approved.

Ebix Alternative #4: TrustLayer

Software for insurance brokers.

TrustLayer is another Ebix alternative with quite a different approach to COIs management.

First off, they sell the tool to property managers, real estate companies, and construction companies.

Secondly, they sell the software to brokers who do the actual work of COI management for the parties above.

For example, suppose you’re a construction company; you’ll hire a broker who uses TrustLayer to handle your COI compliance.

This model works well for busy professionals who don’t have time to manage COI tracking but still want to mitigate risk.

Advantages of TrustLayer

Boost productivity
Since much of COI compliance work like requesting, finding, and auditing documents has been taken off your hands, you can have more time to focus on revenue-generating activities.

User-friendly interface
If you’re looking for a tool you can figure out how to use on your own in under an hour, then TrustLayer is for you.

It has a short learning curve with an easy-to-navigate dashboard. Everything is where it needs to be, which makes your work easy.

TrustLayer Shortcomings

They are industry agnostic
TrustLayer tries to sell directly to GCs/developers but is industry agnostic. This means their product is not focused on construction and may have some limitations that don’t resolve industry-specific needs.

Inability to extract insurance requirements
Recently, we heard that they have been working with a company for four months. They signed an agreement but had to cancel the contract during implementation because they couldn’t handle extracting insurance requirements from documents.

Quick Recap

As a property manager in RE/construction industries, you can use TrustLayer yourself to manage COIs.

But you can hire a broker for the job if you don’t have the time.

While that’s a good move, the tool tends to cost more as you’ll have to pay the brokers a service fee, which they’ve likely factored in the TrustLayer’s cost. But it could be fair enough to pay, considering the stress they’re saving you.

Ebix Alternative Final Verdict

There you have it; if you were using Ebix and feel like it’s not giving you the value you want, you should consider the above four options.

Docutrax allows you to do more than insurance compliance. You can manage other documents, such as leases and financials.

RealPage is ideal for real estate companies or property managers looking to hire insured vendors for residential portfolios.

TrustLayer fits users who want to remove compliance tasks from their hands completely. You just need to hire a broker who uses the platform to do the heavy lifting for you.

Use Jones if you’re a Real Estate/Construction company looking to increase your compliance rates and make the life of your property manager easy.

The process is automatic, from collecting the COIs to following up with vendors who haven’t renewed their insurance. The best part? Jones assures you a 99.9% compliance accuracy with liability protection, which is impossible with almost any other company.

Ready to See Jones in Action?

Book a demo today to improve your insurance risk management.