The Hartford Financial Services Group has launched a newautomated system that will make it easier for agents to service andmodify their clients' personal lines insurance policies from TheHartford. The Personal Lines Policy Change Center will enableagents and their customer service representatives to manage autopolicy changes in real time. The application also will supporthomeowner policy endorsements, although real-time capabilities areavailable only for auto policies at present.

Agents will be able to quote different scenarios and determinehow these changes will affect their client's premium. Agents alsocan save quotes for future reference, get a detailed view of howchanges can impact future policy bills, and print newidentification cards and supplemental applications online.

More than 90 percent of the auto policy changes made through thePolicy Change Center can be completed within minutes, allowingagents and CSRs to focus on servicing customers and growing theirbusiness.

"In today's competitive market, agents and their servicerepresentatives demand fast, efficient results," says MikeConcannon, senior vice president of The Hartford's personal linesdivision. "They don't want to be bogged down by inconveniences,such as rekeying data or waiting days for a new policy ID card tobe processed."

Shirley Pleskach, with North Country Estates agency in Lowville,N.Y., affirms the flow of the Policy Change Center makes processingendorsements easy. She points out populating credits based on avehicle identification number eliminates the need to go to othersystems for the right information.

"What I love is not having to stop what I'm doing to call intothe center to get a quote on the two or three different vehiclesthe customer is thinking about buying," she says. "I can do it allmyself with the insured on the line."

The Personal Lines Policy Change Center is accessed through TheHartford's Electronic Business Center (EBC), located athttps://ebc.thehartford.com.