More than half of insurance agency management computer system users tap a real-time tool to start an inquiry or service transaction, according to a survey.
The poll was conducted by the Real Time/Download Campaign, a coalition of agents, brokers, carriers, technology providers, user groups, and agent and industry associations.
"Increasing numbers of agents and brokers are leveraging real-time technology tools to handle policy rating and sales, manage customer inquiries, and deliver service," the group noted in an announcement.
According to the poll of some 3,200 agency staff members, 54 percent used real-time for inquiries and 55 percent for personal lines endorsements. In addition, 43 percent of agents are rating personal lines in real-time through the agency management system or comparative rater.
Real-time, the announcement said, is the ability to click on a button from a client file in the agency management system or comparative rater for immediate access to carrier information on that client. This approach provides a single workflow for servicing or quoting.
The Real Time/Download Campaign said survey responses came from every state in the country. Slightly more than 90 percent of respondents said they use an agency management system in their office.
"As real-time continues to gain momentum, it's important to understand what's been achieved," said campaign co-chair Cyndy Smith, vice president and director of technology at Haylor, Freyer & Coon Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., and Industry Affairs Committee chair of The AMS Users' Group.
"By benchmarking where we are, we're better able to track future progress in implementation and adoption of this important workflow enhancement," she said.
According to the coalition announcement, use of real-time tools is saving agents and brokers a significant amount of time each day.
"Nearly half of those using real-time (47 percent) find time savings of as much as 30 minutes per employee per day (45 percent in personal lines and 50 percent in commercial). An additional 28 percent (35 percent in personal lines and 19 percent in commercial) peg the savings at 31 minutes to an hour per employee each day," the organization said.
"We've worked hard to educate people on the value of real-time and download," said Ms. Smith. "Agents need to understand that real-time functionality already exists in most management systems; it's a matter of turning it on and making sure employees understand its value. [These] workflows help agencies deliver better customer service and retain business without adding more staff."
The survey also found that agents have increasing numbers of carriers offering real-time functionality. "About 60 percent of agencies doing personal lines real-time inquiries or service transactions say they have it available with four or more of their carriers," the group said.
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