More than half of insurance agency management computer systemusers tap a real-time tool to start an inquiry or servicetransaction, according to a survey conducted by the RealTime/Download Campaign--a coalition of agents, brokers, carriers,technology providers, user groups and agent and industryassociations.

"Increasing numbers of agents and brokers are leveragingreal-time technology tools to handle policy rating and sales,manage customer inquiries, and deliver service," the groupnoted.

According to the poll--which queried some 3,200 agency staffmembers--54 percent used real-time for inquiries and 55 percent forpersonal lines endorsements. In addition, 43 percent of agents arerating personal lines in real-time through their agency managementsystem or comparative rater.

Agents adopting real-time have started with the inquiryfunction, followed by personal lines, according to Jeff Yates,executive director of the Agents Council for Technology."Commercial lines rating is less--only 18 percent--but I think youwill see a big increase as more carriers come on board," he said."It's happening, but it's also more complicated, so is still indevelopment."

Meanwhile, he added, "some carriers say that over half of theirtransactions are coming through comparative raters."

Real-time, the group explained, is the ability to click on abutton from a client file in the agency management system orcomparative rater for immediate access to carrier information onthat client. This approach provides a single workflow for servicingor quoting.

Asked about agents' decades-long battle to achieve SEMCI(single-entry, multiple-company interface), which would allowagents to enter one set of data for use by all insurers, Mr. Yatesexpressed optimism. "That's what personal lines rating andcommercial lines is," he said. "Real-time is the 21st centuryincarnation of SEMCI. We will see that vision realized throughreal-time."

The Real Time/Download Campaign said survey responses came fromevery state in the country. Slightly more than 90 percent ofrespondents said they use an agency management system in theiroffice.

"As real-time continues to gain momentum, it's important tounderstand what's been achieved," said campaign co-chair CyndySmith, vice president and director of technology at Haylor, Freyer& Coon Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y., and Industry Affairs Committeechair of The AMS Users' Group. "By benchmarking where we are, we'rebetter able to track future progress in implementation and adoptionof this important workflow enhancement."

Use of real-time tools is saving agents and brokers asignificant amount of time each day, the group said.

"Nearly half of those using real-time (47 percent) find timesavings of as much as 30 minutes per employee, per day (45 percentin personal lines and 50 percent in commercial). An additional 28percent (35 percent in personal lines and 19 percent in commercial)peg the savings at 31 minutes to an hour per employee each day,"the organization said.

"We've worked hard to educate people on the value of real-timeand download," said Ms. Smith. "Agents need to understand thatreal-time functionality already exists in most management systems.It's a matter of turning it on and making sure employees understandits value. [These] workflows help agencies deliver better customerservice and retain business without adding more staff."

The survey also found that agents have increasing numbers ofcarriers offering real-time functionality. "About 60 percent ofagencies doing personal lines real-time inquiries or servicetransactions say they have it available with four or more of theircarriers," the group said.

"The good news is that over 100 carriers and groups of carriersare offering real-time via AMS and Applied, and that's asignificant part of the market," said Mr. Yates. Asked about howmany companies are not offering the capability, however, he wasunable to provide a number.

"The bad news," he added, "is that agent implementation ofreal-time needs to move faster. We also need more activity by someof the smaller carriers, both regional and domestic. Getting themon board is really important."

Mr. Yates noted that ACT is conducting monthly real-timewebinars that draw between 400 and 450 agency listeners. "We'redoing programs in over 30 states, and we're getting the stateassociations more involved on the technology issues," he said.

He also noted that smaller agencies are more likely to haveproblems with the cost of technology, making them less likely toadopt real-time.

Another challenge being addressed by ACT is trying to bringreal-time technology to the excess and surplus lines market, headded. "There's a lot of work to do," he noted. "It's morecomplicated, because you have [managing general agencies]involved."