GETTING CONNECTED WHAT'S NEXT FOR AGENCY AUTOMATION?

"The APT webSAM, which makes the Stand Alone Module available on a Web browser, is consistent with Royal's corporate direction..."

In early spring of this year, Royal Insurance announced that our personal lines agents were able to "get connected" with SEMCI. After a year-and-a-half of hard work, we finally were able to roll out a data entry system built around those our agents already had in place--all in the name of making it easier to do business with Royal.

A 1995 survey of the agents who sell our products indicated that:

* 98% had office computers

* 84% had some type of agency management system

* 89% identified SEMCI capabilities as a critical need

As a result of these findings, we got busy. Approximately 250 independent agents are downloading and 45 are using SEMCI facilities to upload new automobile and home business. Over one-third of our agents are interfacing with our proprietary system. We fully expect these numbers to increase significantly by year end.

Our development team is working hard to develop the capabilities to process endorsements and renewals, as well as umbrella and dwelling fire policies. We also are working on a personal lines package and specialty business. For SEMCI upload we are using both Alliance for Productive Technology, Inc. (APT), and Applied Systems, Inc.

Another unique and exciting facet of our SEMCI package is our marketing plan. Instead of just sending out brochures telling agents about the system (although our brochures are very eye-catching), we have created "Royal's SEMCI Technology Showcase." The showcases are designed to give agents "hands-on" experience with SEMCI technology. The showcases have been successful in bringing SEMCI education to the agents, in their own cities. The real hit of the show is a SEMCI demonstration, where we actually show agents how easy and time-saving SEMCI can be.

SEMCI's benefits are far-reaching

While developing our SEMCI capabilities, Royal also has been able to upgrade our electronic mail system. All of our staff now have access to Internet e-mail, which makes getting in touch with us much easier and faster.

The APT webSAM™, which makes the Stand Alone Module™ available on a Web browser, is consistent with Royal's corporate direction, which favors increased Internet communication. We are pleased that APT has added an Internet facility to its product set, and Royal will pay close attention to the development of webSAM through the expected release date in early 1998.

Royal is finding that SEMCI facilities can provide benefits in a number of areas that do not specifically involve daily upload or download. For example, once we decide to acquire an agent's book of business, SEMCI could be used to access pertinent data already in that agent's computer system. This is a vast improvement over current manual procedures, in which teams of people physically searched through the agency's files, and manually rekeyed data into our underwriting system. The result is that underwriters will be able to get necessary information much more quickly than they do now, and that the information already will be entered in our system, easing the conversion process if we acquire the business.

We at Royal are proud to be using SEMCI tools in new and exciting ways, to get new and exciting results. And we are eager to see SEMCI on the Internet. We will be connected. Will you? *