NU Online News Service, March 29, 11:20 a.m.EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--A software expert toldinsurance agents and brokers attending an automation conference toposition themselves for an economic upturn by investing now intechnology.

Businesses have "got to invest now" so when there are "smallupturns" in the market place they will be in a position to "takeadvantage" of that future, said Euan Menzies, president and chiefexecutive officer of Bothell, Wash.-based insurance software andservice provider, Vertafore.

He spoke here at the 34^th annual national conferenceof AMS Users Group, which changed its name Friday to NetVU (Networkof Vertafore Users).

Mr. Menzies told his listeners that right now Vertafore iscontinuing to invest in improving its technology to develop aseamless work experience for users.

"We see evolution, not revolution," he said.

He reviewed how Vertafore has continued to work at improving itsease of use and seamless integration between agency and carriersystems. Saying he was avoiding the term SEMCI (Single Entry,Multiple Company Interface), he said the company is improving itssoftware so agencies and brokers will "see more seamlesstransaction with carriers."

"It's all about building capacity for your business," said Mr.Menzies.

"It is not enough to build for the future," he continued. "Weneed to make sure you can invest in the future."

He assured attendees that Vertafore continues to make the neededinvestments in technology to provide a better experience and isstudying the integration area to improve interface.

Among some of the technologies he highlighted, Sagitta UI, theagency management system for large, complex agencies and brokers,is being refreshed because it has "gotten tired and stale." Whileit does the job, he said the product needs to be improved to appealto the "I-Pod generation."

The company, he continued, is working on password managementcapabilities that will allow for the management of identificationauthority aimed at preventing unauthorized access to agency orpersonal information, adding that this is a huge errors andomissions risk users want answers for.

Just today, Vertafore said it will release Vertafore IdentityManagement that will allow the company's users to use one usernameand password to connect with major identity management andfederation vendors and systems. The product will be available tothe public toward the end of 2010, the company said.

In an interview with National Underwriter, SusannaMorgan, Vertafore senior vice president of product strategy andmarketing, said the company has worked with insurance brokerBB&T and The Hartford to develop this technology. Othernational carriers have shown great interest in the product, shesaid, and is optimistic about future adoption by the industry.

During the conference, Vertafore unveiled WorkSmart, a contentmanagement and workflow technology solution for agents and brokerswith shops of more than 50 employees. WorkSmart's precursor isImageRight, used by insurance carriers, managing general agents andsome large brokers. The company does not have a version for smallerbrokers and agents of less than 50 employees.

One lesson from the conference, said Ms. Morgan, is that agents'customers want more self-service features to have continual Webaccess to their accounts for the purpose of changing an insuredvehicle, printing insurance identification papers, or accountinformation.

She said it is important to develop these systems for agents,not only because their customers want it, but it also helpsindependent agents and brokers compete with direct writers.

In his speech, Mr. Menzies said Vertafore is confident that itwill soon be able to provide users with commercial lines submissioncapabilities that will be an efficient link similar to what hasbeen developed for personal lines.

While it has been hard to get it right, Mr. Menzies predictedthat eventually agency management systems will have the sameease-of-use capabilities as personal lines, and that will mean anincreased number of submissions using that technology.

"We will get commercial right just like we got personal linesright," he said.

This story was updated April 1, 10:43 a.m. EDT, with acorrection in paragraph 14.