LAS VEGAS--Insurance agents to stay relevant with anincreasingly tech-savvy consumer base must update Web sites tooffer the type of electronic services these consumers demand,professionals at an industry conference here advised.

Speaking at the ACORD/LOMA conference, Richard Roy, presidentand managing partner of Artizan Internet Services, said agenciesmust adopt technology solutions via their Web sites in order toincrease sales and keep pace with other agencies and increasingconsumer demands.

Today's consumer, he said, is asking for greater and easierelectronic access to policy information, and tomorrow, the consumerwill likely be asking for even more services.

Agents have to position themselves to be able to offer theseservices, or else they risk being "lapped" by the consumer from atechnology standpoint. Mr. Roy described this as consumerexpectations exceeding the technological capabilities that agencieshave built.

Cyndy Smith, vice president and director of technology forHaylor Freyer & Coon Insurance, an agency based in Syracuse,N.Y., noted that agencies could face some difficult decisions whendeciding what solutions to adopt.

She said market realities sometimes help to force the agent'shand. For example, Ms. Smith related that her agency had to wrestlewith the question of whether it wanted its customers to have theability to issue their own certificates though the agency's Website.

Ms. Smith said errors and omissions concerns were one argumentagainst this solution. However, she noted that her agencyimplemented it once a prospective customer threatened to go to acompeting agency that offered this service. Now, Ms. Smith said,customers that are taking advantage of the service have indicatedthat they are finding great value in it.

Ed Higgins, principal of Thousand Islands Agency in Clayton,N.Y., and winner of National Underwriter's Agency Technology Award,said that some of the solutions he has implemented in his twoagency locations have exceeded present consumer interest, such as alive chat option with a customer service representative through theagency's Web site.

However, Mr. Higgins stressed that it is important to have suchfacilities in place so the agency is well positioned to "move withthe momentum when it starts."

He also stated that functionality on a Web site is importantbecause customers "start to see your Web site as an extension ofwho you are." What is on an agency's Web site, Mr. Higgins said,can leave an impression one way or the other on a new customer whois being exposed to that agency for the first time.