Before you say you dont have time to get involved, think about this. How would your bottom line be impacted if you (or your staff members) could input information one time, and one time only, and receive fast, accurate turnaround on quotations? How much time and frustration would that save?

What would happen to your workflows if you could make a change on a policy, or report a claim by inputting information on your desktop management system and then instantly transferring this information to your carrier without ever leaving your chair?

What if you could get immediate access to billing status, loss runs and commission statements without having to make a phone call, send a fax, or wait for the mail to arrive? If any or all of these ideas appeal to you, then please tell your carriers that this is what you want. Better yet, demand it!

If you had several carriers that had competitive pricing and outstanding products and who allowed you to do business this way, wouldnt you drive your business to those carriers? Thats the message we have to convey to our carriers, as an industry united. This is the only way we can drive the change we all need to survive.

Today, every agent has increased his or her workload, taking on tasks that used to be handled by the carrier. We order MVRs, we do property inspections, we rate, we supply the declarations page for adjusters after a loss occurs, and we re-key lots of information. Every one of these tasks adds cost to our agencies.

To top it off, were then asked to train our staff on how to use multiple carriers proprietary programs to place business. Then, our carriers ask us why we dont place more business with them! Isnt it about time we demanded the automation we need to streamline our workflows and eliminate redundancy within our agency businesses?

We live in an era where technology has evolved to the point that we are able to actually see some significant, positive change for us. If youre unfamiliar with whats available, I encourage you to visit the Web site www.semci.org to see whats out there. I would also invite you to discuss these issues with your carriers and drive them to that Web site as well.

Standardized, effective automation for independent agents is at a turning point. The movement has taken off, and the momentum is growing nationwide. Diverse users groups and representative organizations are banding together to present a unified voice, to work for the good of the industry, and to eliminate the “Thats not what our agents want” excuse. Please help us make our voices heard by making yours heard with your carriers. You can make a difference in the outcome.

Pam Parry is president of the AMS Users Group, based in Irving, Texas.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, July 22, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.