By Tim Owen, Vice President of Product Management, and Patrick Masi, Product Manager, Sircon

Our challenge often is not just finding the right data but finding consistent data. Especially in matters relating to producer compliance, data flows in many different directions, forms and degrees of accuracy.

A producer enters his or her own changes in address, name, phone numbers and other required information directly with state regulators. Education providers key in data about the same producer, perhaps inadvertently reversing an "ie" to become an "ei" or swapping digits in a phone number. Carriers list their producers in their own databases created by yet another staff of data-entry personnel, who may be prone to their own errors. When the time for license renewal or appointment arrives, trying to gather this data from disparate sources and reconcile it with one set of accurate information can swamp administrators with paper notes and uncertainties. This manual process can become a significant hindrance to compliance.

The industry needs trusted (and trustworthy) sources of producer data containing accurate information that can be requested at a moment's notice. We can benefit greatly from these types of trusted data sources instead of attempting to manage reams of paper and corresponding database entries. In short, we need a place where we can retrieve data "just in time," with higher certainty that it is accurate. If we follow the pattern of other industries that rely on just-in-time delivery of key material, it is clear that this trusted data source should be electronic, automated and standardized across the insurance industry.

Exactly this type of data center is now emerging, and it is attracting relieved supporters among major national brokers and carriers. GEICO, for example, is an early adopter of this new technology. GEICO sales agents are located at 12 regional office locations, and since the agents are salaried company employees, GEICO covers the cost of compliance with state insurance regulations. These regulations include processing transactions for pre-licensing education, exams, license applications, appointments and continuing education. The GEICO staff manages processing for more than six licenses per agent on average, and frequently one agent may have more than 20 licenses.

To obtain consistent, trusted data on its agents, GEICO looked for a way to automate the data- gathering and reconciliation processes so that its corporate database would match the information in the Producer Database (PDB) of the National Insurance Producer Registry. The company turned to evolutionary technology to automate the data-entry process, along with the transmission and reconciliation of information needed for licensing and appointing agents.

Today, GEICO processes some 25,000 new licenses and 100,000 appointments per year using an electronic method of submitting transactions to state insurance departments, a system that eliminates manual paper processes. Moreover, the company receives almost immediate electronic confirmation of each transaction. With online license applications and renewals, made possible by improved data quality from a trusted data source, GEICO has significantly reduced the time needed for processing multiple license applications and has been able to reduce its support staff. The result is that GEICO's data now is 99 percent compatible with the information in the PDB and at a reduced cost.

GEICO has continued to evolve this trusted producer data source concept by acquiring a new type of solution that is beginning to make life much easier for brokers and carriers. Our firm, Sircon, calls this technology "one-click compliance." With a single mouse click, an agency, broker or carrier can automatically synchronize the information for each agent with the official records of the regulatory agencies in every state. Rather than filing changes repeatedly on a state-by-state basis, today's technology allows companies to adjust their own records to match state regulators' records across the nation--with just one click instead of 50 separate reconciliations. That one click addresses many of the varying regulatory issues in all the states, helping ensure that the producer's data is compliant.

Not only does "one-click compliance" automate the transmission of data, but the data provided comes from highly trusted sources, the PDB and states' own regulatory systems of record. From our own experience in furnishing this technology and service at Sircon, we have seen tremendous new efficiencies amongst organizations that have adopted this system.

Since corporate records are no longer out of sync with state regulatory records when using this system, companies are gaining significant time savings. Simultaneously, data is becoming more accurate and staff members are required to expend less effort, freeing them for higher-value assignments. Most important, the organization remains compliant because all relevant data is accessible instantly.

For the agent, deployment of a trusted, automated database means the licensing process is faster, without the roadblocks generated by inaccurate or incomplete information in records relating to licenses, lines of authority, and appointments. Agencies and carriers can onboard agents more efficiently and reduce delays in recognizing the revenue they produce.

One-click compliance is the next evolutionary advance in the trend over recent years toward automating the management of producer recruitment, licensing, appointment and terminations. Technology that eliminates the paperwork involved in the on-boarding of producers is already used extensively by carriers, brokers and state insurance departments. Transferring current data and background information from producer to carrier and state regulators has become as simple as sending an e-mail. Now, the reconciliation of the producer's local data with official state records across the nation replaces "all hands on deck" with one finger and a computer mouse.

In the current and foreseeable regulatory environment, electronic, just-in-time systems that deliver trusted data in standardized fashion across the industry are certain to be attractive solutions. Organizations that are slow to adopt such technology may expect to see their positions in the marketplace steadily deteriorate as "fast companies" leverage trusted databases to stay compliant and work more leanly and accurately. The technology becomes a crucial investment that rapidly lowers costs while providing a necessary competitive element in the attraction, retention and certification of the best producers.

Companies should be examining this technology now to determine how it can fit into and/or replace current processes to produce a highly efficient and successful path for the future.

Special Reports /

The Next Step in Tech: One Click Reconciles Producer Data with Records in Every State

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