Some agents trying to rid themselves and their agency of excess paper are scanning policy declarations. Whether you put it in the file cabinet or on the file server, paper is eating up your valuable space. Todays technology allows us to turn off the plethora of paper being spit out at the insurance carrier to be mailed to agents.

Many companies have made policy inquiry functions available at their Web sites. A few outstanding companies actually have made the Web site function of policy inquiry pull information in a PDF file directly into an agency management system.

How does this impact your workflow? Imagine if you could point and click and see the actual policy declarations on your screen. All the endorsements and policy attachments are at your fingertips. You can see them and print them or fax or e-mail them. This is not the future; it is here today. Could we someday actually be a paperless business?

2. Super-size Your Agency Management System. In todays world of convenient fast food and super-sized portions, use your agency management technology to maximize your client service and super-size your commission.

Use the built-in diary system to remind you of renewals and generate letters to give your clients an annual insurance check up. Make sure there have been no changes in their operation and advise them of new coverage endorsements available to add to their order.

This added service positions you as the added value they are looking for in a risk management advisor. Your clients are getting barraged with letters from competitors. Wouldnt it be nice to hear from their own insurance agent with a couple of words of advice?

3. Analyze This. Have your staff write down step-by-step how they get the job done. How do you get from point A to point B? Often doing the same work for company X has one workflow and Company Y, another workflow. This is one of the frustrations of the independent insurance agent. We want to be independent but that means we have independent companies, which means each one often does things its own way.

Once the workflows are written, compare them. You may be surprised by the duplication of efforts. One simple task may involve three or four employees, and when they get together they may find that one or two steps are being repeated among them. Time your current steps and see how long the whole thing takes. Youll be surprised at the number of steps it can take and the amount of time spent on simple tasks.

4. Pass the Buck. In the past, companies have been transferring work to the agent. Transfer some of your agency work onto the customer. They want control over their own information and account. Banks are doing it, so why cant we?

Give your customers access to their own accounts. Let them issue certificates of insurance. Let them check their billing. They will love it. Some agency management systems have components that allow clients to complete certain transactions on their own accounts.

5. Change is OK. Dont be scared of change. Be open to new ideas. You can always go back. Try a new idea; you may like it.

After you have gathered the data in your current workflows, get everyone together for a meeting. Sit down and discuss who is responsible for what. Decide among the staff who would be better suited to do what pieces of the process. Remember that no one is wrong. Dont be critical of each otherlisten and learn. Try new workflows out. Give them a chance. It may not be smooth the first time, but with some tweaking it may be great.

Technology today is allowing independent agents to create new workflows and offer exceptional customer service. Embrace new ideas. We have come a long way from typing policies, filling up paper files and mailing applications. Today we e-mail, fax, upload and download, click on Web sites, and transact business in real time. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Independent agent Jo Ann Litwin ([email protected]) is with Orchard Park, N.Y.-based Litwin Castle and Christ Inc. She serves as regional director and liaison to the U.S. and Canadian interface committees with the Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet), the user group of Applied Systems agency management technology.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, March 10, 2003. Copyright 2003 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.