Is Videoconferencing Affordable?

While videoconferencing technology has existed for some time,agent associations who have considered the idea say the high costis a major reason why they havent pursued it.

Independent agent associations in the nations largest states,Alaska and Texas, say that videoconferencing would be an excellentway for the organizations to connect with their far-flungassociates, but when they looked into it they found it was noteconomical.

“We have not ventured into videoconferencing yet,” said AliceFederenko, executive director of the Alaska Independent InsuranceAgents and Brokers in Anchorage, Alaska. “Our primary concern hasbeen the cost of doing so.”

“We have been intrigued with the idea, but held back because wecould not get past the cost,” said Paul Martin, director ofeducation for the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas in Austin,Texas. “We understand it is getting affordable.”

Mr. Martin said another problem is finding the time toexperiment and set up a program that would give both theassociation and its members the ability to find out if it would bea good program to pursue.

“We have to find the right opportunity to test it,” said Mr.Martin. “We dont know if it would be a good result for the members,but I suspect it would be.”

He went on to say that while the association has been approachedby some production companies about looking into videoconferencing,there has not been a groundswell of support from themembership.

Ongoing continuing education programs in Alaska have their ownchallenges, even today. Though a lot of agencies are located inAnchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, there are pockets of smalleragencies throughout the state manned by one or two people, Ms.Federenko pointed out. When it comes to any programs, it is noteasy or convenient for them to leave their offices for a few daysto attend classes in the cities, she said.

The cost of travel within the state can also prove to beexpensive. In some cases, she observed, it has been more economicalfor agents to go to Seattle for classes.

However, the cost may not be as great as some believe–it is aquestion of where one turns to for the answers.

Knowing what to ask for and where an association goes forproduction can have a dramatic impact on the cost of production,said Sara Hill, production manager for the State University of NewYork Network in Albany, N.Y. She helped the Independent InsuranceAgents Association of New York set up its continuing educationclass recently. She pointed out that, in New York, the popularityof videoconferencing is growing.

The major advantage, Ms. Hill pointed out, is thatvideoconferencing allows a consistent message to be distributed toa large group at the same time. When adding the cost of travel tothe fee for instructors, videoconferencing can have tremendous costbenefits, she asserted.

The problem, she explained, is that many people are not aware ofthe different videoconferencing services available and how that canaffect the overall price.

“They may not ask the right questions, and people (inproduction) assume the average person needs more services than theydo,” Ms. Hill noted, adding that many who make inquiries do notknow the options available.

Depending on the production, prices can range from as little as$1,500 to $45,000 and beyond, she said. Shopping around also helps,Ms. Hill advised. For example, production costs in New York Cityare substantially more than in Albany, and if associations lookoutside their major cities, they may discover production facilitiesat substantially reduced costs.

For those looking for advice on where to start, Ms. Hill advisedthat they begin with local government agencies and small businessorganizations who are involved in videoconferencing on a regularbasis. Lots of federal agencies also use the system and would beable to provide information.

“It is really, truly a very viable option, and it is up to theproduction house to meet whatever the needs are of the client,” Ms.Hill declared.

More information about videoconferencing can be obtained bycontacting Ms. Hill at [email protected].

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, September 23,2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in theserial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this articleas an independent work may be held by the author.