The I accept button on many life insurance Web sites is becoming the electronic signature of choice for some insurers, and a new study indicates the number of users will continue to grow.

Four years after the Electronic Sig-natures in National and Global Commerce Act (ESIGN) was enacted by Congress, the use of electronic signatures in insurance has failed to spread as fast as some pundits predicted it would, but a recent study by LIMRA International shows 50 percent of U.S. life insurers will have some type of e-signature functionality available for customers within the next year.

About 30 percent of companies currently are active in e-signatures, reports Maria Dynia, assistant scientist, technology in marketing and distribution center for LIMRA, with another 20 percent aiming to roll out a solution sometime soon. A lot of the companies start by rolling out pilot programs with products that are simpler in the process, she says. Some carriers are using I accept buttons, others are using a signature pad, and some even offer a voice signature. The LIMRA data shows the most prevalent form of e-signature is the signature pad. If [e-signature] is done using agents, it is likely to involve a signature pad, she says. There is the comfort [for carriers] having agents use technology with their clients.