This month I thought I would have a look to find out what the US insurance market view was of what can be considered the same issues as the London Market Reform is attempting to address. From a very interesting article in the July edition of Insurance and Technology I learnt the following:

“Technology Must Be Seamless and Consistent Between Carriers. Real-time technologies, download capabilities, customer automation and full utilization of ACORD standards will all be necessary for carriers to remain competitive” wrote Brady Polansky, Director, Agency Operations,Westfield Insurance.

“Carriers Must Focus on Consistency, Timeliness and Flow, with services such as upload, download and real-time functionality, supported by ACORD standards, insurers can offer agents greatly enhanced efficiency and accessibility” says Carolyn "Cal" J. Durland, Manager, Agent Relations and AUGIE Facilitator, ACORD.

“Web-Based Solutions Deliver on Agents’ Tech Expectations. Insurers can leverage agent portals and systems integration technology to streamline agents’ workflow and improve efficiencies” adds Akhil Tripathi, SVP & CIO, Harleysville, Insurance.

So, not so very far away from same issues facing the London Market; hardly surprising, insurance is a global industry, yet on the other hand seems to be a very small community in that it tends to face the same issues.

Delving into these viewpoints the consistencies keep on coming: Brady Polansky Director, Agency Operations,Westfield Insurance says that for him one important technology that carriers need to implement  is real-time integration with agency management systems; he believes they should have already done this if they are not already behind the times. Also important for Polansky are download capabilities (for both personal and commercial lines), agency self-service and self-administration for portals, e-signatures, and online rating and issuing systems. “When it comes to the independent agency channel, the technology needs to be seamless, in the background and consistent between carriers” he says. “Systems should be agency-friendly, easy to use, and should fully utilize the ACORD standards and real-time technologies”. Polansky further posits that the technology shouldn't differentiate companies unless they lack technology, which would differentiate them in a negative light. I think that list of functionality he describes would be the envy of virtually all London Market companies, yet Polansky’s view would have these as entry level requirements. Quite a thing to think about for those wanting to break into the US mid to low commercial markets.

Turnig now to the views of Carolyn J. Durland, Manager, Agent Relations and AUGIE Facilitator, ACORD, they are as you might imagine those would be of someone from ACORD. Durland believes that today's agency technology is about consistency, timeliness and flow. She believes that data is and will also always remain the most vital element. However, “agents need to spend more time servicing customers, not entering data. Agency management systems are essential tools for efficiency, creating a single workflow and improving flow and accuracy” she says. They should contain the key services, including upload, download and real-time functionality. Supporting all of these systems, data flows and tools are of course ACORD standards. “The ability to send and receive data consistently, accurately and efficiently, whether by form or electronic message, is what ACORD has provided the industry since its beginnings”. Durland informed that Agents are actively evolving the industry and technology by participating in industry groups like AUGIE, taking part in industry wide initiatives like the Real Time Campaign, joining ACORD working groups and attending ACORD events — all to improve data flow and agency efficiency. Sound familiar?

Akhil Tripathi, SVP & CIO wrote that at Harleysville Insurance, their agents are their primary customers (as the brokers are in London and pretty much everywhere else except personal lines). As such, Harleysville are leveraging Web-based technologies to deliver high-value solutions with a primary focus of making them easy to do business with. The expectations of independent agents are constantly evolving due to the "consumerization" of technology says Tripathi and their need for faster cycle time and reduced transaction costs. Agents need to be able to execute business transactions and deliver efficient service to their customers at any time and from any place. To solve this Harleysville have rolled out an agent portal that fulfils this need and is continuously evolving new capabilities. This agent portal has been seamlessly integrated with their new, state-of-the-art commercial and personal lines policy systems. In turn, these systems connect with an underwriting rules engine and predictive modelling, which allow our agents to get the right price quickly. Cycle time has been reduced from days to minutes for all new submissions, thereby improving productivity and conversion rates for our agents. “We recognize that in order to maximize their profits, agents are streamlining their workflows to eliminate redundancies and reduce costs” says Tripathi. That, in turn, exerts pressures on carriers to better integrate their systems and workflows with agency management systems. “We understand the value of this integration and therefore continue to build out real-time integration with major agency management systems”.

So, very much the same issues really. Integration, one time data keying, process efficiency, reduced transaction costs, straight through data flow. All issues facing London; though at times it still continues to proclaim “we are different”.

Poll

"I joined a Lloyd's that had not really changed its working practices or business practices and responded to technology in the past 320 years," CEO Richard Ward says: That statement is:

1. Outrageously unfair
2. Mostly unfair
3. Elements of truth
4. More truth than unfair
5. Spot on
6. Who is Richard Ward?