Sword Insurance, which issoon to be renamed AgencyPort Software, announces the generalavailability of Turnstile, astandards-based PDF conversion solution for the cloud. Available toinsurance carriers, MGAs, and insurance technology vendors, theservice converts ACORD PDF forms to ACORD XML for point of sale,rating or policy administration systems.  

For many carriers, a considerable amount of time is spentmanually rekeying data found within a PDF emailattachment.  Turnstile converts this informationautomatically, allowing carriers to handle submissions morequickly, providing a better experience for their independent agentsand allowing carriers to do so at lower cost. Additionally,carriers can rely on Sword Insurance to update Turnstile as newACORD forms and new form editions arepublished.   

"Let's face it, the faster carriers can deliver a quote to acustomer, the better their chance of signing them," says AllanEgbert, CTO for Sword. "Where most agency interfaces come up shorttoday, either because technology solutions aren't in place orindependent agents don't use the solutions, Turnstile fills a gapfor carriers in their ease of doing business initiatives. Agentsdon't have to change their behavior, learn a new system, or beissued with another password."

Turnstile is a secure service for any agent portal and interfacethat shortens intake time and reduces processing costs, therebyeliminating lost sales opportunities. It is hosted by RackspaceHosting. 

"Insurers consider ease of doing business a top priority in2011, and technology vendors are responding by providing moreagency interface options with better support for varied businessprocesses, according to Martina Conlon, a principal in Novarica'sinsurance practice focused on the P&C and healthcaremarkets. 

"We encourage insurers to regularly assess their businessprocesses and consider product options that address agent's needsand eliminate manual re-keying of data," she says. "Streamliningapplication submission can deliver big wins in efficiency andcustomer satisfaction."

Turnstile can be integrated into a carrier's front-end solutionor carriers can work with the Sword Insurance professional servicesteam to complete the integration. The web service can be adapted toeither modern or legacy architecture.

The pay-per-use service is available as a standalone solution oras an add-on for existing AgencyPortal and BookSmart customers.Unlike other PDF transformation solutions, Turnstile requires nosoftware downloads or confusing middleman websites, significantlysimplifying the process.