Time Study Sees Savings For Agencies

NU Online News Service, June 12, 11:34 a.m.EST? Independent agents and customer servicerepresentatives could save significant amounts of time they needfor marketing and customer relationships by using single-entry,agency-based technology, a study has found.

That conclusion was reported in a workflow time analysis by theApplied Systems Client Network, Inc., based in Altamonte Springs,Fla., the user group for Applied Systems agency managementtechnology.

The national study compared three workflow choices for CSRs:

? A telephone call to the company

? A visit to a proprietary carrier Web site

? Single entry, multiple-company interface, or single-entry,multiple-company interface (SEMCI), enabled by IVANS TransformationStation, an Internet data exchange that provides real-timecommunications between agents and carriers.

For a new business owner's policy rating and issuance, the studysaid, customer service representatives took seven minutes fromstart to finish to get three comparative quotes via TransformationStation.

It took them 64 minutes using three carrier Web sites, saidASCnet. These figures do not include entry time of seven minutes ineach management system.

Newer technology also proved most time-efficient for billinginquiries, the study noted. Transformation Station took twominutes; a phone call eight minutes; and a carrier's Web site nineminutes.

The study also highlighted difficult-to-measure costs to agentsand their companies in explaining problems to customers and workingout regulatory issues.

The report underscored the inefficiency inherit in existingsystems and defines the advantages new technology brings, said thegroup.

Companies are in a position, even with their proprietarytechnology, to easily adopt SEMCI and Cincinnati-based IVANSTransformation Station, said the group.

Applied Systems alone estimates that it has 80,000 desktopsready with the new technology, representing an estimated $40billion in premium.

ASCnet is preparing a full report on the time study. Moreinformation is available at www.SEMCI.org.