It may come as a surprise to some of you, but there was a time–not all that long ago–when life was much simpler.

When you watched a Western movie, for example, the good guys wore white hats, were neat and clean shaven, and sported a sparkling smile. The bad guys, on the other hand, wore black hats, were unkempt and looked like scowling poster boys for “Extreme Dental Makeover.”

Further, while you couldn't tell for certain, you got the distinct impression that those lawbreakers could use a stiff dose of Listerine (maybe because the heroines made such impossibly horrified faces when the villains tried to get up close and romantic).

Sure, one could accuse the filmmakers of stereotyping, but there was a clear delineation of boundaries in those films that we as kids found reassuring. As Archie Bunker put it: “You knew who you were then. Girls were girls and men were men.”

So, if a good guy got shot, we hoped it was just a flesh wound; but if a bad guy got shot (and killed)–well, that was justice in the Old West, and he probably deserved to die anyway for breathing so heavy and slobbering on the pretty little schoolmarm who was saving herself for the righteous dude in the white hat.

In the insurance technology world, there has also long been a traditional white-hat/black-hat relationship between agents and carriers when it comes to the nagging issue of single-entry. multiple-company interface, better known as SEMCI–or “real-time” transacting, as we know it today.

Technology to allow independent agents (our heroes) to transact with multiple carriers from a single entry has existed for some time. But the carriers (our villains) have insisted instead on proprietary systems that require re-keying of data by agents for submission to multiple insurers.

Gradually, however, a number of those insurers have begun trading in their black hats for white headgear. Realizing that meeting agents' technology needs is the wisest of moves, these carriers have committed to newer technologies that allow agents to submit multiple quote requests from a single entry of customer information.

It sounds like the beginning of a happy ending for all–but just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, another problem has put the bite on the drive for real-time. That problem can be summed up in two words–apathetic agents.

During the recent ASCnet agency technology conference, I spoke with a carrier executive whose company has worked hard and spent good money to give agents real-time capability. This executive was frustrated, however, at agents' seeming unwillingness to pick up the technology ball and run with it to achieve that capability.

“I have a group of agents I call my 'precious metals,'” he explained. When it comes to technology, he said, “they have silver in their hair, gold in their pockets and lead in their [butts].” He went on to say that these agents seemed content to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their success, and were less than eager to do the work of learning and adopting new interface technology.

“We're offering a lot” in terms of real-time technology, the executive added, “but unless they start using it, we're not going to offer any more.”

Another carrier executive at the same conference pointed to “a vocal few agents who are looking for an ideal world,” in which they could take advantage of newer carrier technology by routing all transactions through their agency management systems. The problem, according to this executive, is that the number of such agents remains small.

For years, independent agents have been complaining about multiple-entry of prospect data, but what are we to think when–at least according to some carriers–many agents refuse to adopt the technology that would enable single-entry?

Most of the agents I talk to are in the “vocal few” who support technology advances, but what of the great majority who never attend a technology conference? Are such agents lazy, afraid of something new, or is the problem that they just don't care?

I'm inclined to agree with another ASCnet attendee, who opined: “They just don't know what they don't know.” Whatever their reasons might be, however, one thing is clear–a sizeable number of agents today seem unwilling to do their part to help progress-minded carriers deliver more effective and efficient transaction interfaces.

It's time for agents on the technology cutting edge to get the posse out and spread the word on real-time technology's benefits.

Unless the agency management users' groups can mobilize a massive educational campaign to promote the benefits of real-time, it seems that insurance transactions will remain largely mired in a world where the guys with the black hats, scruffy faces and bad dentures are the winners.

Special Reports /

Are Apathetic Agents Holding Back SEMCI?

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