IF YOUR agency management system has ever crashed, you know thechallenges that accompany such an event. Over the years, we'veexperienced several system failures and have developed someloss-prevention techniques as a result. I'll share them with you inthis month's column. We'll also look at some of the serious, oftenunanticipated consequences of a system failure.

Failures and upgrades: If you are installing a majorupgrade to your agency management system, be sure to have at leasttwo good backups. First, you should have a backup that wascompleted after the previous day's work. (Typically, agencymanagement systems automatically create such a backup eachevening.) You also must ensure you have whatever you need toduplicate all transactions made on the day of the installationitself. That means all transactions made before, during and afterinstallation.

If you take these precautions, you'll be protected if yoursystem crashes during the upgrade. You'll also be protected if yourupgrade only appears to be successful. If, hours later, youdiscover a defect that requires you to reinstall the upgrade andrestore all transactions completed after the initial installation,you'll be able to do so.

Some agency management systems are set to back themselves upautomatically late at night. Such backups in the wee hours havebecome common in agencies whose employees sometimes use laptops andthe Internet to work off premises and into the night. If a systemupgrade is installed in such an agency immediately after it closesfor the day, the agency could lose the entire day's work if thesystem crashes during installation.

Failures and “patches”: Between major upgrades, agencymanagement system vendors often send their clients small software“patches” to take care of specific problems. Sometimes agencieswait until they get several patches, then install them all at once.That can create more work, not less. If the last patchmalfunctions, you'll have to restore the system, using your latestbackup, then re-install all of the patches. Agency managementsystem vendors have gotten much better at creating patches thatinstall right the first time, but installing multiple patches stillcan be risky. If you're risk averse, stick to installing them oneat a time.

An agency that retains paper is on solid ground when it comes torestoring work that was processed, then lost, on the day ofinstallation, assuming the proper paperwork can be identified insomething like a transactional-date file. If you give clientswritten confirmation of policy transactions, you can use thosedocuments to reconstruct telephone requests for changes that werelost in a software installation.

If you are paper-based, you might be able to run a transactionalfile report to assist in your recovery, assuming the malfunctionwas not in the report function of your agency management system. Ina “paperless” agency, in which documents are scanned then shredded,recovery can be more challenging. One solution is to wait 24 to 48hours before shredding or discarding scanned paper. (This assumesthat the latest regular system backup will be no older than 24hours.)

There is no escaping the fact that a software installationfailure is frustrating for everyone in an agency and drains off alot of time that could be used for more productive purposes. Toretain some perspective, remind yourself of all the productivityyou've gained from your agency management system. On the whole,you're still far ahead.

Other technology failures: A software-installationfailure is a fairly straightforward event, and one from whichrecovery, though aggravating, can be relatively routine. Othersorts of technology failures, however, can dramatically affect anagency, leading to the loss of an account or even an E&Oclaim.

If a failure in an electronic fax program–one that receivesfaxes and sends back confirmation messages–causes the agency tolose the incoming data, it could leave the agency in a positionwhere it has provided the sender written confirmation of receipt ofmaterial that it doesn't actually have. It may not even know whofaxed the information to it. When such a failure occurs, an agencymust quickly find a trustworthy alternative to the fax program andnot put it back on line until it is confident it will workreliably.

Reliability also must be maintained when it comes to othertechnology. We recently installed a voice over Internet protocol(VoIP) phone system linking two offices. Such a system requires avirtual private network (VPN) for carrying the voice traffic overthe Internet connection. Our existing VPN was adequate anddependable for data transmission. It was not, however, for voicetraffic. That became evident on the first day we used the VoIPsystem, when we lost voice-mail messages clients left on it.

Like most agencies, we had a recorded message on our voice-mailsystem, informing callers that coverage could not be bound norclaims reported without talking to an actual person. Still, weimmediately discontinued the use of our voice-mail system and didnot restore it until we installed a completely new VPN (athree-week process) and tested it internally and externally for twofull days.

Since agencies strive to maintain continuous operations, any ofthe failures I've discussed can cause one to reassess the risks andrewards of using technology. If you've experienced any of thesefailures, I'm sure the anxiety and aggravation are still vivid inyour memory. They may make you reluctant to embrace newtechnologies–or even question the worth of what you alreadyhave.

If you find yourself in such a frame of mind, remember that thecost of not going forward is far greater than whatever you save intime, expense and aggravation by standing pat. The next time youfind yourself right in the middle of that proverbial swamp,remember how on those previous occasions you actually drained itfaster than you thought you would and, with the problem recognizedand corrected, wound up on more solid footing than before.

Edgar J. Higgins Jr., CPCU, is the owner of ProgressiveManagement Consulting and the Thousand Islands Agency in Clayton,N.Y. Readers may contact him at[email protected].