Agent and brokers' 165 percent increase in claims download technology use in the past year underscores their desire for such solutions, a technology provider said.

The Stamford, Conn.-based insurance industry-owned interface solutions company IVANS Inc. said carriers are sending 41,000 claims download transactions per month utilizing IVANS' system that also reflects an 80 percent growth rate in the number of carriers implementing claims download.

Clare DeNicola, president and chief executive officer of IVANS, said in terms of raw numbers, the amount of agencies utilizing this technology has grown from 522 last year to 1,384 today among the 20 carriers implementing claims download technology. That carrier number, she noted, represents only 10 percent of underwriters who incorporate IVANS solutions in their agency distribution process, but she expects the number of carriers using claims download technology to grow in the future.

While less than 1,400 agencies using claims download represents a small percentage of the 30,000 property and casualty agencies processing transactions through IVANS technology today, it does point to the growing demand among agencies for technology solutions, DeNicola noted.

Claims download technology improves customer service and operational efficiency, IVANS said, because agents have current access to customer claims data, alerting them when a claim is made or permitting access to relevant data that can be relayed quickly to customers making an inquiry. IVANS said the technology increases efficiency by allowing service representatives and agents to spend less time servicing an account and more time selling. Access to the data may differ from real-time transactions to daily batch files, DeNicola noted, but all processes are designed to alert agencies of a claim at first notice of loss and allow for tracking throughout the entire claims process, which beats the current paper-based system, she added.

While those companies incorporating claims download technology may not necessarily be cutting-edge on the technology front, DeNicola did describe them as being on the leading edge when it comes to agency distribution development. For those insurers reluctant to make future investment in technology until they see a credible desire among agents to use the product, the growth in claims download technology underscores the fact that the demand for technology solutions is strong, DeNicola said.

However, there may be a company failure to make agents aware of the technology or a technology solution itself, she said. DeNicola also noted that there is reporting available to carriers to let them know how often their systems are utilized compared to their peers. "Not making the technology available should be overcome by carriers and in most cases they will find that it is not an agency reluctance to use technology, but it might be something else in terms of workflow or the way the technology is structured," she noted. "But agents are definitely jumping on the bandwagon and growing along with these technologies."

As originally published 11/23/09 in National Underwriter P&C.

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