A THREE-LEGGED STOOL

More agents needed in standards-setting process to achieve balance

By Mike Bergstein

Having more agents participate in the standards-setting process might lead to the correction of some of the workflow-related problems faced by agents.

The standards-setting process is like a three-legged stool with its legs made of insurance companies, vendors and agents. The agent leg, however, is shorter than the other two legs because of a lack of agent participation in standards-setting activities.

The ACORD Standards that allow agents to use their agency management system to communicate with their companies came into being in the 1970s. The goal was for agent systems to "talk" to the company system, eliminating paper, errors, and duplication, while speeding up the process and reducing costs of delivering products to clients. While this system works, it is not working as well as intended--with acceptance by all.

Though there are a number of reasons why it doesn't work as planned, I would like to address the agent's participation in the process, or, should I say lack of participation.

How the standards begin

For years, new standards have been created and others modified by insurance company representatives, vendors, and a handful of agents. Twice a year there are meetings to discuss the changes and the need for these changes.

One of the glitches in this process is that companies and vendors do not always recognize the needs and problems faced by agents--understandable since they cannot be in our offices on a day-to-day basis, talking to our clients and seeing our workflow processes.

Having more agents participate in the standards-setting process might lead to the correction of some of the workflow-related problems faced by agents. So far, however, there simply has not been enough participation by agents. As a result, the Agents Advisory Committee was formed with the hope of getting more agents involved. This committee has been meeting as a group, and is now also meeting with an ad hoc committee of companies with the same goal.

This joint group has decided to speak at various industry functions to educate agents about the standards process. These representatives also plan to stress the need for agents to be current on their systems by requesting that their vendors give them access to all of the latest ACORD forms as well as access to the company systems via interface.

So far, committee members have spoken at the national Delphi and Applied user group meetings, and NEITUS (New England Information Technology Users). This is not enough, however. We still need help and input from all of you.

Here are some things you can do:

* Talk to your vendors through your user group and let your needs and feelings be known.

* Talk to your companies so that they understand your needs and problems.

* Become current on your system, making sure that you are on the latest release.

* Become involved in your user group.

* Attend the Agents Advisory Committee meeting. Let us know that you are interested and we will make sure that you receive the necessary information. *

For information about the standards process, contact Cal Durland at (800) 444-3341, ext. 411, or via e-mail at cdurland@acord.org.

The author Mike Bergstein, AIM, CPIA, CLU, chairs the Agents Advisory Committee; is an ACORD Board member and is vice president, Insurance Resource Brokerage Group, LLC.