Even though sales and upgrades of electronic devices suchas smartphones and tablets are slowing down, people rely ontechnology more than ever before.

For example, some homeowners are using their smartphones tocontrol their heating and air conditioning systems or even turn onlights remotely. And thanks to the internet, information, goods andservices are available 24/7, 365 days a year.

But what does all that mean for the insurance industry as awhole and for independent insurance agents specifically?

According to the recently conducted "Insurance DigitalTransformation Survey," independent insurance agentsunderstand that digital technologies are vital to growing theirbusinesses, but they're not moving very quickly to adopttechnology.

More than half of respondents said they don't have key digitaltools and automation such as client portals, mobile apps and claimsdownload. Many agents are still using phone, email and fax as theirmain method of connecting with clients, but these are not inaddition to more tech-based means of communication.

The survey reports that fewer than half of independent agentsare using text messages, social networks, instant messaging ande-newsletters.

The survey, designed to measure the industry's use of digitaltools, was published by the Insurance Digital Revolution, an industry initiativeorganized by Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers ofAmerica's Agents Council for Technology,the ACORDUser Groups Information Exchange and the National Association of ProfessionalInsurance Agents to encourage faster adoption ofdigital technology.

"Agents understand the current market and know they need to makechanges to compete. A significant number — 70%— have proactive strategies in place to implement newtechnology to improve their businesses," said Ron Berg, executivedirector of the Agents Council for Technology. "But even with thatawareness, adoption of new technology has been slow. The number ofoptions available is overwhelming and many agents don't know whereto start, or need help in evaluating the return on investment ofnew technologies."

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Digital technology for agents' toolkit

Agents are learning that digital tools can be criticalcomponents to their sales and customer relations toolkits, helpingagents acquire new customers and improve relationships withexisting clients. And many are moving in the right direction.

According to the survey, 43 percent of agents currently operate24/7 using staff, automation, or a combination of both, while fewerthan one-quarter of agents have client portals (23 percent) ormobile apps (21 percent).

But, when it comes to social media, agents are doing a littlebetter: The majority connects with customers on Facebook (78percent) and LinkedIn (68 percent). Agents appear to be using thetools to generate new business effectively, with nearlythree-quarters of agents surveyed reporting that they're gettingnew business leads regularly from social media.

The survey reinforced the perception that there is stillprogress to be made with agency websites. Only 8 percent ofrespondents rated their sites as "excellent." More significantly,of the agents surveyed, 60 percent admitted that their sites areaverage to poor. The biggest drawback was a lack of functionality,with fewer than a quarter of respondents saying customers had theability to receive quotes on auto or home insurance from theirsites.

"Although 91 percent of agents say their clients are not askingfor a client portal and 92 percent say clients aren't asking for amobile app, that does not mean they don't want them. Agents can'tassume that no news is good news. When it comes to customers'digital requirements that's never true," said Mike Becker,executive vice president and CEO of National Association ofProfessional Insurance Agents. "Look at banking — many institutionsdid not know how popular online and mobile banking would be withtheir customers until they adopted it. The same is true forinsurance. These technologies provide quick, easy and on-demandaccess to policy and billing information, quoting and rating."

Room for workflow improvement

When asked about workflow, the survey also found room forimprovement, even though progress is being made in agents' adoptionof automation tools to process claims, quote new business, and makepolicy changes.

Overall, the survey found, 40 percent of agents responded thatdisjointed workflows is the biggest automation challenge, although60 percent are not using claims download, and only 6 percent and 16percent are using bridging to quote new commercial lines andpersonal lines policies, respectively. This means a number ofagents are manually reentering data when they switch from carrierportals to their agency management systems — all of which slowsdown the process and increases the risk of mistakes.

Related: Going digital? Here's how to keep a personalconnection with clients

Greg Maciag, president emeritus of ACORD, said, "The results ofthe survey are encouraging. Many agents want to become digital,they just need guidance on where to start. The Insurance DigitalRevolution was started to be an information hub for insuranceprofessionals, creating a one-stop shop for information on alldigital tools available and providing a roadmap on how agents canincorporate these technologies into their daily workflow. It isdesigned to bring agents, carriers, and vendors together, so theycan join forces to revolutionize the industry." 

About the survey

The "Insurance Digital Transformation Survey" was conductedelectronically among agents in the United States between March 8and April 5, 2016.

Overall, 4,304 agents, brokers and managing general agentsresponded to the survey. Agents represented in the survey write avariety of business, with personal and commercial the mostprevalent. Respondents were asked to select all lines of businessthat apply.

For more information about the survey, visit the InsuranceDigital Revolution website.

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