TechKnowFile By Joe Esser INSURANCE AGENCY SECURITY Now more than ever, it’s everyone’s responsibility Insurance agencies are hubs of sensitive policyholder data, and that data must be shared with carriers. Recent lockdowns across many U.S. states due to the COVID-19 pandemic have presented challenges for agencies, who continued to operate based on insurance’s status as an essential business. At the same time, cybercriminals saw new opportunities to penetrate businesses, with
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Technology REMOVING FRICTION Company takes API-first approach to helping E&S and specialty providers update products, get new ones to market, and bolster distribution By Dave Willis, CPIA In some people’s minds, the insurance business is perceived to lag other industries in adopting technology to improve efficiency. That may not be entirely true. In the early 1950s, my dad helped pay his way through college by working in the data processing
CYBERSECURITY: HOME EDITION Agents Council for Technology virtual meeting shares tips for cybersecurity at home By Christopher W. Cook The COVID-19 outbreak made this past springtime odd for the Rough Notes editorial team. What is typically a busy time of traveling for conferences and networking events was a period of state-mandated staying at home. My trip to the mailbox (when I found the energy to make it) was predominantly my
Leadership REMOTE WORK: EXTREME EDITION WSIA webinar shares tips for leading a remote team as more employees are required to work from home By Christopher W. Cook In 2017, a video of Robert Kelly, an associate professor of political science at Pusan National University in Busan, South Korea, went viral. The professor was giving a live Skype interview for BBC News when his two toddlers burst into his home office.
Technology API INTEGRATIONS Finding the point where agency tech success comes together By Todd Sorrel Application programming interface integration. It sounds like something an IT wizard would dream up, doesn’t it? But in reality, and for the benefit of the independent insurance agency system, the emphasis isn’t on programming. It’s on application and communication. Application programming interface (API) integrations lead to some pretty amazing combinations. In fact, they allow for
