By Laura Biddle-Bruckman laurab@in.net
"Oh, no. Not another four envelopes of ISO pages, and all on the same day! We already have two stacks of those envelopes, mostly unopened and all unfiled. And new workers comp rates. And here are some new pages for the casualty section of the PF&M manual. When am I going to have time to stop what I'm doing to put these all in? It's going to be another long day at the office if I want to get this filing done."
Paper, paper, and even more paper. Seems like we're drowning in it. What's this? More rate pages from our favorite company's BOP program. Well, we have a business to run, no time for this today. Let's just shove the loose pages in the front of the binder so we'll see them if we need them. (And while you're thinking this, and pulling the manual from the shelf, the last two sets of pages fall from the binder to the floor...)
As you awake, you can feel your heart pounding, your brow sweating. Thank goodness, it was only a dream. After all, you are a Silver Plume subscriber and there is very little paper filing in your office. Most of your companies have taken advantage of the offer made by Silver Plume to reproduce their manuals at no charge and now, with Silver Plume's new browser technology, it is easier than ever to find information. Updating consists of putting a compact disc into your computer and voila...instant update. You can cancel your weekly visit to the paper-recycling center.
What is Silver Plume?
Simply put, Silver Plume is a monthly subscription service to an electronic insurance library. The company was formed in 1989 to support, market and develop the first electronic reference library developed exclusively for the property/casualty insurance industry. It all began with the realization that many agencies tend to have piles of important information hiding in sealed envelopes from Insurance Services Offices, Inc. (ISO). ISO does an admirable job of producing timely information, but agencies often find keeping pace with the organization of the updates a daunting task. For agencies that do keep up, a problem remains when more than one user needs access to the manual simultaneously.
Silver Plume offered the solution ... conversion of the ISO manuals into an electronic format. Updates made easy; information available for multiple users. With that problem solved, Silver Plume moved on to offer other publications in electronic format. Does an insurance professional use it to price insurance? Put it on Silver Plume. Does an insurance professional use it to sell insurance? Put it on Silver Plume. Does an insurance professional use it to service insurance customers? You get the idea. If it's information that is of value to the insurance professional, you are likely to find it on Silver Plume.
Silver Plume currently contains over 500,000 pages of insurance information according to G. Barry Klein, CPCU, CLU, vice president of sales. Each subscriber can customize the library to meet his or her own needs. The basic package includes all of the ISO countrywide commercial and personal lines manuals and the countrywide forms portfolio, as well as state exception pages specific to the state in which one writes business. Also included in the basic package at no charge is the U.S. Government SIC Code Manual, U.S. Postal Service Zip Code Directory and the Uniform Printing Service cross-reference guide. Agents subscribing to the electronic library have access to the National Flood Insurance Program's Flood Insurance Manual--Producers' Edition.
What is already
good gets better
Since 1989, Silver Plume has adjusted to the times. In 1989, the process of recreating the ISO manuals involved key entry. Character by character the pages were produced, one letter at a time. Now, material that comes in on papers is scanned, and much of the information comes in electronically. Through the years Silver Plume has adjusted and changed to meet the ever-changing market demand. First, there was Silver Plume for DOS, then Windows (all platforms available), and now Silver Plume Viewer software (SPVIEW) displays the library in Internet (HTML) format.
"Browser technology is extremely popular due to its ease of navigation," says Klein. Available for use on Intel-based servers by users of Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows95 or Windows NT, the content remains the same as what is found on Silver Plume for DOS and Silver Plume for Windows. Documents look and act just like pages from the World Wide Web. The upgrade is free to any customer. The table of contents becomes a hypertext link which simplifies the exploration process for users familiar with the "look and feel" of the Internet. Every work is catalogued. "SPView is a 'fake' browser that displays the information in HTML format for companies or agents whose current plans do not include the installation of an Intranet, " according to Klein. "With this technology, there is no need for a web server or the TCP/IP protocol."
New users most often find searching using SPView user friendly, which translates to fewer hours spent in training. For someone with experience surfing the web, there may be no need for training at all. While SPView cannot be used for Internet or intranet access, it may serve as a valuable training tool when companies eventually make the transition to the Internet or to an intranet because it behaves the same as many popular Internet/intranet browsers.
Giving back
to the industry
"One of the most exciting things Silver Plume is currently doing is offering to reproduce company manuals, free of charge," says Barry. "Silver Plume distributes over 33,000 of Ohio Casualty's documents to ther agents who are Silver Plume customers, and we are making that same offer to any company." The manuals do not become public information; only authorized agencies can access the manuals but they are available at no additional cost to the agent if he/she is a current Silver Plume subscriber. Also, any agent who signs up for Silver Plume to access company manuals will receive a discount off the basic Silver Plume subscription price. The discount applies as well for current subscribers.
"What Ohio Casualty agents have is a virtual manual," notes Klein. "Some rules are pulled directly from ISO; some from Ohio Casualty. The technology developed to do this has been made available to the industry by Ohio Casualty." Other companies taking advantage of the offer to reproduce manuals are CNA, Central Insurance and Alliance. "Companies are excited about this ... everyone benefits," says Klein.
This technology also means that individual companies utilizing Silver Plume no longer need to send material that they wish to include in their library to Silver Plume for publication. Company and agency information can be created locally in HTML format and linked to the Silver Plume library. Information can be kept current with no need to wait for the monthly update. Imagine being able to publish rates, exception pages and forms for instant distribution to the field force ... and for agents, information can be published regarding up-to-the-minute market changes.
Both companies and agents can benefit from having completely current information with no paper ever cluttering a desk. An agent can be sure that the forms that are accessed are the correct editions when a company utilizes the "integrated manual" design that Ohio Casualty developed.
According to Klein, Silver Plume is currently working on technology that will display images of forms. Eventually companies will be able to publish independently filed forms, independently filed programs and agency procedure manuals complete with hyperlinks. The electronic publishing world is always changing and Silver Plume believes in being proactive. *
Insurance Services Office (ISO)--countrywide manuals for personal and commercial lines, forms portfolio, and state exception pages
Massachusetts Auto (AIB)--personal and commercial auto
Idaho Surveying & Rating Bureau--property manuals
Hawaii Insurance Bureau--all property and casualty lines plus workers compensation
Washington Surveying & Rating Bureau--property manuals
Property Insurance Association of Louisiana--property manuals
Texas Department of Insurance--commercial lines, personal lines, auto, and workers compensation manuals
National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)--basic workers compensation manuals plus experience rating plan, retrospective rating plan, forms, statistical plan, classification codes and statistical codes for employers' liability, and Scopes classification manual
New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau--workers compensation manuals
New York Compensation Rating Bureau--workers compensation manuals
NON--BUREAU MATERIAL
ACORD--Forms Instruction Guide and all current forms
A.M. Best--Electronic Underwriting Guide, Loss Control Engineering Manual, and Best's Underwriting Newsletter
Automation Management Group--The Automated Agency Report
Crittenden--Excess & Surplus Insider, Insurance Markets/Commercial Lines, Alternative Markets Report, Environmental Liability News, Medical Malpractice News, Surety Bond News, Workers' Comp Report, Employment Practices Liability News, and Agents Report
Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA)--Underwriting Guide, Catastrophe Guide, and agent bulletins
Insurance Communications--The Risk Retention Reporter and Special Reports on Demand
Insurance Marketing and Management Services (IMMS)--Silver Membership Program and Group 500
International Risk Management Institute (IRMI®)--Commercial Liability, Commercial Property, Commercial Auto, Professional Liability, Workers Comp--Coverage, Laws & Cost Containment, Contractual Risk Transfer, The Risk Report, Risk Financing, Glossary of Insurance and Risk Management Terms, and Classification Cross--Reference Guide
Kurdziel & Associates--E&O Risk Management: A Procedural Guide for the Independent Agent
National Flood Insurance Program--Flood Insurance Manual--Producers' Edition
The National Underwriter Company--FC&S Bulletins; Licensing, Countersigning, and Surplus Lines Laws; Cancellation and Non-Renewal Handbook; and Commercial General Liability
ODEN Insurance Services, Inc.--State Rules & Regulations
Premium Audit Advisory Service--Classification Guides
The Rough Notes Company, Inc.--Rough Notes magazine, Coverages Applicable,PF&M, and The Insurance Marketplace
Standard Publishing--The John Liner Letter, The CSR Advisor, Handbook of Insurance Agency Law, and Workers Compensation
Texas Association of Insurance Agents (TAIA)--agency bulletins, TAIA Handbook, and other publications
Underwriters Laboratories--Listed Burglar and Fire Alarm Companies
Uniform Printing Service--Insurance Forms Reference
U.S. Government--SIC Code Manual and U.S. Postal Service Zip Code Directory
MATERIAL AVAILABLE TO COMPANIES
American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS)--Businessowners Program, Inland Marine Guide, Commercial Output Program, Farmowners Program, and Commercial Inland Marine Program
Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB)--Property Insurance Law Review, Question & Answer Reference Service, In-House Educational Series, annotations, and more.
Liability Insurance Research Bureau (LIRB)--Homeowners Annotations and other liability manuals.
For more information, call (800) 416-5905 (companies) (800) 677-4442 (agents and others) or send e-mail to sales@silverplume.iix.com
©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 1998