Choosing An ISP

Q: How should an independent agent or broker choose anInternet service provider?

A: There are many Internet service providersout there looking for your business. They offer a number ofbandwidth options, prices, service levels, customer support optionsand value-added services, so finding the one that satisfies yourneeds is as simple as making a checklist and doing a littleresearch.

Determining your bandwidth requirements, which a producer can dowith a technology service representative or consultant, is anecessary first step. Questions such as how often will your workrequire the Internet and how much data you will be transferring(uploading and downloading documents) are a good place tostart.

The next consideration is price. Can the services I require bedelivered at an affordable price? Even though price is an importantfactor, many times it should not be the determining factor, asservice levels and customer support could be less than desirable ona rock-bottom priced service.

Choosing an ISP that offers service level agreements (SLAs)should be another determinant when choosing a service provider.SLAs are contracts between an ISP and a customer. These contractsoutline which services the ISP will provide and define theircommitments to you based upon goals in specific areas.

Even though SLAs can offer you a sense of assurance andconsistency, it is still important to choose an ISP that places ahigh emphasis on customer satisfaction. Choose an ISP with a proventrack record in customer serviceservice that gives you the mosttechnical, operational and billing support you can anticipateneeding. Be sure to investigate and understand churn rates(customer turnover), and the reasoning behind those churn rates.Very often, high churn rates point toward dissatisfiedcustomers.

Value-added services, such as various security products andonline tools and portals that allow customers access to usagestatistics, account information, and network performance areimportant to consider as well.

This answer was supplied by Tim Stansbury, product managerfor Verios Network Services, (www.verio.com) in Englewood,Colo.

Got an agency tech question? E-mail Ara Trembly([email protected])or Mark Ruquet ([email protected]).

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, March 5, 2004.Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.