This article (first in a two-part series by Steve Anderson) provides an update on some of the cool tools, gadgets, and gizmos that have practical applications for insurance agencies.
We all know someone who sticks his head in the sand and refuses to accept progress every time new technology comes along. When talking pictures came out, someone probably said they were a “fad” that wouldn't last long. Naysayers probably said the same thing when technology gave us the producer sitting at his desk, connecting to a carrier Web site over a DSL or cable high-speed connection.
Perhaps just as common a phenomenon is the agency that acquires the latest hot technology item, and then tries to figure out what to do with it. Technology is far more useful when an agency first identifies a problem and only then determines if any available technology can help solve that problem.
Since I started working as an insurance agent nearly 25 years ago, I've always been deeply interested in the latest technology and how it might help an agency. I maintain that interest today as a technology writer and consultant in the insurance industry.
LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER
More and more agencies are considering an electronic filing or paperless workflow model. Numerous options are available to implement such a model. Most agency management systems have a file-attachment capability, and full-fledged document management systems are also growing in number.
A pair of similar programs, PaperPort and OmniForm represent something of an in-between option for going from paper to electronic filing. I don't recommend either as a document management system, but with their recent upgrades, they can provide significant benefits to an agency. Using the newest versions of these programs might be a good first step for an agency that wants to help employees become comfortable with handling documents electronically.
Many PaperPort users might still be using Version 7 because they felt Version 8 wasn't worth the upgrade cost. But Version 9 Pro Office definitely is. Its most important new feature is the ability to work “natively” with PDF files. When you install the program, it installs a printer driver that creates a “virtual printer” on your machine. From any program you're using — Microsoft Word, Excel, or your agency management system, for example — you can choose that printer and create a PDF file version of a document. This saves you the trouble of printing a paper copy and scanning it back into your system as a PDF file. With a PDF document icon highlighted, you can click once on an Outlook icon within the program, and a message box with your PDF file attached will pop up, ready to be addressed and sent.
Another cool advance is the ability to drag-and-drop several documents into one file. I might have numerous PDF files stored in a folder — something from my agency management system, a Microsoft Word document and a scanned photo, for instance. I can drag all these file icons and drop them into a single document, such as an application to a carrier. Although you can create the same document with a full-blown version of Adobe, PaperPort offers a faster and easier process. Of course, sometimes you will want to create and send such documents from within your agency management system instead, because this method records what you send as an activity.
The ability to “point” the virtual printer toward a network drive is another benefit. Say you're visiting a carrier Web site and see information that you'd like all your employees to have. You can print the page as a PDF file and save it to a network folder, where everyone can access it. As always, the form typer remains one of the program's most useful features. After scanning documents into your computer, you can use the program to create fillable fields on the scanned forms. You can also create and remove fields.
OmniForm has even more useful features. It uses optical character recognition (OCR) and logical form recognition (LCR) to convert a scanned document into an editable, electronic equivalent of the paper form. Where PaperPort merely creates fillable fields with blank spaces, OmniForm also creates a database and links fillable fields to the database. In addition to fillable text fields, the program lets you create yes/no check boxes. You can post the forms you create on a Web site, and with a little bit of programming, you can enable clients to fill out online forms that automatically fill a database and perform such tasks as creating certificates.
Here's an example of how these features helped me once: One of our clients, an apartment management firm, called us in a panic, needing Flood insurance on 58 apartment units at one location. This meant that we needed to complete 58 Flood insurance applications. After scanning a hard copy of the flood app into our online folder, we filled out one form with the information that was common to all the units, easily duplicated it to make 58 copies, and then keyed in the information that was different about each unit. Because the program also does calculations, for each unit I just multiplied the coverage field by the rate field and put the total in the premium field.
DOUBLING UP: DUAL MONITORS
The University of Utah recently studied workers using two computer monitors on their desks and found a productivity gain of approximately 35%, as well as a 20% reduction in errors. The next hardware upgrade any agency makes should be to implement this dual-monitor system. Using dual monitors allows employees to view two full-sized documents side-by-side, without using the “alt-tab” keystroke to shift back and forth between them. I'm convinced that an agency won't be able to create a paperless workflow culture without a dual-monitor system that makes it far easier to work with documents on-screen.
Fortunately, setting this up is as easy as it is inexpensive. I recommend using flat-panel, 15-inch screens, which should cost around $350 each, as a complement to the usual 17- or 19-inch monitors on most desktops. The really low-cost way to connect the second screen is to scavenge the video cards from any old computers you have in storage. You don't need to be an IT expert to add the extra card to an empty slot in your current PC. If you're starting from scratch, you can purchase video cards with multiple ports. Either way, you plug the second monitor into the port and you're almost done. A few clicks into your “Display Properties” folder is all you need to be up and running. This setup will work with Windows 95 or 98, but it works much better if you upgrade to Windows 2000 or XP.
I've never seen anyone who didn't like using two monitors. An application open in one screen can be dragged over to the second screen, allowing someone to compare policies, write e-mails using information from a different document, or do any other side-by-side comparison of information.
Click here to read Part II of this article.