TO THE POINT
Efficiency in e-commerce is available through industry solutions that capitalize on existing technology
By Brian Bartosh
The time is now for all of us to leverage our industry's research and development investment in agency management systems, the public communications of the Internet, Transformation Station, and ACORD XML standards.
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal, titled "Large Air Carriers are Beginning to Discover Benefits of Simplicity," reviews how American, United, Continental and other large airlines are reducing overhead by limiting the variety of planes they fly.
Southwest, the only carrier to post a long-term profit, has one aircraft to maintain, the 737. Even though the aircraft isn't ideal for all its routes, overall, it works extremely well. "In simplicity, there is efficiency," the Journal piece says. "The game has changed and the new rules are plain: The players with the simplest operations win."
Compare the airlines' struggles with complexity with the independent agency system's 30-year effort to deliver efficient technology for transactions between agents, carriers and business partners. In the past, because of technology limitations, our industry used pieces of solutions that worked only partially, or weren't as efficient as today's versions. Now we can return to "simplicity"--solutions that work because new technology makes it possible.
That simple-and-elegant solution for carriers and their agents is the agency management system combined with an industry communications solution called IVANS Transformation Station. IVANS Transformation Station is a data translation service, allowing the different agency management systems to seamlessly communicate with multiple companies using the ACORD standards. The result is that carriers and agents can leverage their agency management systems and legacy systems to create real-time, seamless transactions for the independent agency system.
Transformation Station is a real-time data exchange that combines the neutrality of IVANS, the continuity of the ACORD standards, and real-time interface communication technology. The system allows agents and companies to use their own software products by being a common--and invisible--link for navigating, routing and interpreting messages between each party's automation system. Additionally, while Transformation Station uses the cost-effective public communications of the Internet, individual insurance companies may elect to use either public, or private communications--based upon their own security needs and requirements.
And, since Transformation Station delivers ACORD standard messages to each company, agents and companies don't need to use or understand each other's software system. Agents no longer need to use multiple products or Web sites to sell and service insurance, and companies are assured that their agents are using the most updated information and rules. Additionally, individual companies may select different methods for processing agency messages, including real-time processing, off-line delivery to existing mailboxes, or even bridging data to company Web sites.
More than 20 carriers and several agency management system providers are on board with IVANS Transformation Station--it's out there and working, and it leverages existing industry standards and technology in which carriers and agencies already have invested. And, it is working in both public and private communication modes!
So what gets in the way of the independent agency systems choosing simplicity for e-commerce? From time to time, industry "experts" offer suggestions about the future of e-commerce for independent agents. Suggestions are easy to make. But established industry organizations that provide technology to carriers, agents and brokers need to pursue realistic solutions and maintain their focus. Otherwise, they'll lose direction, lose profit, and lose customers.
The trouble is, these "experts" help perpetuate myths. These myths recur in industry publications authored by industry observers, who I doubt have been responsible for weighing investments in technology, managing customer needs and continued satisfaction, managing staffs, and making responsible research and development choices.
Here are a few of the myths that I hear repeated by carriers: Real-time access is too expensive for me to deliver to my agents; agents love my Web site so that's where I want them to go for business; I'm waiting for a new solution; agents are going away from their management systems; and there are other ways to conduct interface with my agents, like bridging to and from Web sites, so we don't need ACORD standards.
Isn't it a shame that these crazy ideas keep floating around? It's time to put the myths to rest.
According to the survey of 9,000 agents conducted earlier this year by ACORD-User Groups Information Exchange, or AUGIE, agents don't want their carriers to keep reinventing the technology and workflow wheel. Agents can't afford to reinvent themselves either. And clearly, agents don't want to spend time jumping around to various carrier Web sites. They want simplicity.
Also, as carriers look to invest in systems to work with agents, they should realize there is more to interface than quotes, submissions and downloads. Attractive Web sites that deliver speedy quotes may sound like a good solution, but they don't represent the full e-commerce picture. Leveraging carriers' internal systems to complete real-time customer service involves processes such as:
* Accurate rates and policy proposals
* Real-time policy submissions
* Download and policy synchronization
* Real-time policy changes
* Billing inquiry
* Policy inquiry
* Real-time first notice of loss
* Real-time claims status
* Loss run inquiry
The time is now for all of us to leverage our industry's research and development investment in agency management systems, the public communications of the Internet, Transformation Station, and ACORD XML standards. The result will be a more cost-effective industry and a more satisfied consumer.
Take a lesson from the big airlines. Think simplicity. Think industry solutions that leverage existing technology. Forget what the so-called "experts" advocate--complex, disparate, expensive, home-grown solutions like Web sites that create more stress for your employees and more work your sales force, your agents. Remember, "In simplicity, there is efficiency." *
The author
Independent agent Brian Bartosh is president of Top O' Michigan Insurance Agency in Alpena, Michigan; and company liaison on the ASCnet Interface Committee. ASCnet is the user group of Applied Systems agency management technology.