Paperless Environment

Your response to industry hot topics.

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Should the insurance industry move to the paperless environment?

Poll ended at Fri Nov 02, 2007 6:22 pm

Yes
4
80%
No
1
20%
 
Total votes: 5

shemeshka
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Posts: 83
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:52 pm

Paperless Environment

Post by shemeshka »

Hi Guys:

I'm writing a long report at school about implementing paperless environment in the insurance industry. The goal of my report is to show how slow we are moving in this direction, define the reasons, and offer the solutions on how and why go paperless.

Right now, I'm looking for souces relating to this topic area. I need at least 5 general such as Internet, general magazines and newspapers, books, or other similar places and at least 5 specialized, scholarly or professional sources. This can be kind high quality sources I may reference, paraphrase, or quote in my report such as articles in professional, trade or scholarly journals rather than books.

I know this is a hot topic for everybody today and I'm sure many of you have done a lot of research on this topic. If you find something interesting and informative, actually anything you find on this topic, please post it here. It will help me a lot and will help others who are either start their agency and want to go paperless or moving from the paper environment to paperless.

Looking forward to hear from you.
Thanks a lot!
jcardrant
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Location: Left Coast

Post by jcardrant »

shemeshka
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Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:52 pm

Post by shemeshka »

Thank you, jcardrant.
Any other sources?
pmaxwell
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Re: Paperless Environment

Post by pmaxwell »

I was wondering if you could share your final report (or at least links to some of the references you used or found helpful).

Thanks
Lcanada
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Re: Paperless Environment

Post by Lcanada »

You can also check out the best practices guide to learn more about imaging, document management, content management and workflows by Laura Nettles of Nettles Consulting Network (http://www.nettlesconsulting.com/BestPracticesGuide.htm). Laura has been helping agencies incorporate the vast benefits of imagine and document management into their daily workflows. Laura is an industry veteran and is always happy to share her wealth of knowledge with the insurance community. :D
meytai
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Re: Paperless Environment

Post by meytai »

That nettles thing already helped me out
meytai
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Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:25 pm

Re: Paperless Environment

Post by meytai »

Does anyone know if the DOI would have an issue with an agency making a client sign a monitor/screen instead of actual paper?

I have done my calculations, and we can save 10,000 in costs a year if we went this route..

Thanks in advance
ameadows55
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Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:03 am

Re: Paperless Environment

Post by ameadows55 »

Most certainly an insurance company should work toward going paperless. We have made tremendous progrress toward being 100% paperless. Attached are some of the articles that have been writing about our company.

http://www.docfinity.com
ph: 814.238.0038
Panhandle Farmers Mutual Insurance Company
Attains Competitive Edge with Paperless
Processing
In the insurance business, only the strong
survive. How, then, can small or midsized
insurance companies compete with
the giants? Panhandle Farmers Mutual
Insurance Company is a small company,
but by any measure, also typical. In 2003,
Panhandle employed 8 people; four years
later, their workforce consists of just five.
Nonetheless, with this 37% reduction in
staff, Panhandle Farmers Mutual Insurance
Company generates more premium volume
than in 2003, with less of a burden for each
of the remaining employees. The company
anticipates growing by 35% over the next several years without having to add new staff.
What secret weapon keeps them competitive? Electronic document management. Art
Meadows, President and CEO of the company, spearheaded an initiative to embrace
technology at Panhandle. Optical Image Technology, Inc.’s (OIT) DocFinity® suite has
been the key component of the company’s transition to paperless processing. The results
have been significant.
In just a year and a half after DocFinity implementation, Panhandle was able to go
entirely paperless with the following processes:
* Panhandle has printed copies only because they are required to by law.
DocFinity has also helped Panhandle dramatically reduce paper with respect to the
following practices:
challenge
To use technology to
enable a small insurance
company to generate
more premium volume,
reduce its expense ratio,
and remain competitive
with minimal staff.
solution
Optical Image
Technology, Inc. and
the DocFinity suite of
electronic document
management software
benefits
Panhandle Farmers
Mutual Insurance
Company anticipates
growing by 35% over
the next several years
without having to add
new staff. The system
has improved customer
service, decreased costs
associated with the use
and storage of paper,
and simplified the audit
process.
 A+ Claim reports  Faxes
 Operating System reports  Agent commission statements and checks
 Mortgagee notifications  Cancellation/reinstatement notices to agents
 Reinsurance Contracts  Quarterly and Annual Financial Statements*
 Reinsurance Recovery Payments  Reinsurance Premium Submissions
 Actuarial Opinions  Annual Financial Audits*
 Change requests:
80% paperless submission
 Claims reporting:
97% paperless submission
 Online Payments:
14% electronically submitted
 Credit reports: 65% paperless
submission
 Applications:
65% paperless submission
DocFinity Award-
Winning Technology
Presented by IASA in 2007 to
Unitrin Direct for their
use of DocFinity software
http://www.docfinity.com
ph: 814.238.0038
History
Panhandle Farmers Mutual Insurance Company offers a variety of property and casualty insurance products primarily designed to meet the needs of the small rural communities of West Virginia. The company presently offers dwelling fire, allied lines, homeowners, mobile homeowners, farms, small commercial and liability coverage. For more than a century, claims, contracts, policy files, invoices, and other processes were entirely paper-based. Previously, Panhandle relied on more than 20 fireproof four-drawer filing cabinets for storage of clients’ records and files. Each empty filing cabinet weighed 735 pounds.
When Meadows took the helm in 2003, his primary objective was to change the focus and direction of the company’s operations. He recognized that Panhandle could significantly increase efficiency by incorporating technology into their office processes. In his first three years with Panhandle, Meadows implemented more than 100 different procedural changes.
Panhandle uses INSPRO™ by Town and Country Computer Services, a policy management system for small to mid-sized insurance firms. Meadows’ first endeavor was to increase the efficiency of that system. Later, he streamlined the company by implementing electronic transfer, incorporating electronic mailing to reduce paper mailing, and instituting direct deposit for payroll and commission. Overall, though, he recognized that a fundamental component of increasing efficiency would be to create a paperless office.
Meadows says, “When we decided to go paperless one of my goals was to not only make our files paperless, but to change the process to control paper flow into our office. I have seen and talked with so many insurance companies that have had paperless files, but did not design or develop controls to reduce the flow of paper coming in to their office. Many of my peers told me, ‘Yes, we are paperless now; but we are handling more paper than we ever have.’ I was determined to create an environment within our office to become as paperless as possible.”
The DocFinity Solution
Meadows contacted several different vendors to find a document management system, and chose DocFinity for its ease of use, flexibility, cost effectiveness, and the short turnaround time from planning through implementation. He had considered using a competing imaging provider that was specific to the insurance industry, but decided that DocFinity was a better fit. DocFinity software was able to address all of Panhandle’s needs at a much more competitive price, without losing any of the functionality that Panhandle required for their software solution. Panhandle is using the DocFinity Core, which includes both a scanning and imaging solution, as well as the IntraVIEWER® module. IntraVIEWER enables them to view and annotate their documents using standard internet browsers.
In addition to providing quick and easy access to clients’ files and improving their disaster recovery capabilities, Meadows anticipates that DocFinity will simplify Panhandle’s auditing process. State laws require regular auditing of insurance companies, and considerable man-hours are required to search for and locate the documents that auditors require. Now, auditors will have immediate, convenient access to electronic documents and images, eliminating the need to expend valuable company time and resources locating paper files.
©2007 Optical Image Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. DocFinity, IntraVIEWER, and XML FormFLOW are trademarks or registered trademarks of Optical Image Technology, Inc.
http://www.docfinity.com
ph: 814.238.0038
Panhandle is further streamlining efficiency by creating query-based retrieval so that agents can use DocFinity to view their files remotely. Agents will have access to only those policies and claims that they have written. Viewing of personal policyholder information—Credit Reports, Reinsurance Reports, Claim Work Forms, Medical Records, Attorney Letters, etc. — will be restricted.
Ultimately, Panhandle’s plan is to eliminate as much paper storage as possible in all business areas within the company. They will gradually expand their use DocFinity beyond storage of policy and claims files, and include invoices, documents for agents’ manual rates, agent and vendor contracts, and even board meeting minutes and information.
Integration
DocFinity integrates seamlessly with INSPRO™, Panhandle’s policy management system. When policies and claims are called up, employees have direct access into the documents using a VCR button. They can immediately choose which documents they wish to view without having to log in to DocFinity first.
Panhandle was able to transition to DocFinity shortly after DocFinity’s two-day training. Since they were able to integrate DocFinity with their existing system, employees had no new programs to learn and could continue to work within their familiar software environment. Overall, the process took about two months.
Return on Investment
Meadows is adamant that because the insurance business changes daily, it is imperative that small companies keep up with technology if they hope to survive and remain competitive. He elaborates, “It is extremely difficult for small companies such as Panhandle to remain profitable unless they have the tools in place to work efficiently.” Historically, the company’s expense ratio had been 46%-47% of its total volume. After Meadows assumed leadership, the company was able to reduce its expense ratio to 29% in 2004, which is extremely rare for a company their size. Meadows attributes this dramatic decrease to the fact that Panhandle is able to process more work without having to replace staff. By implementing DocFinity, his company is assured of maintaining this level of efficiency. Meadows says “DocFinity allows us to hold our expenses down and enables us to compete in the marketplace.”
In the future, DocFinity will continue to enable Panhandle to significantly reduce its file storage space. Employees are in the process of imaging active files and moving them out of the fireproof filing cabinets. Meadows researched a popular online auction site, where the average rate of resale for these cabinets is approximately $700. He anticipates that by selling their fireproof cabinets, Panhandle will recoup more than 90% of DocFinity’s cost.
Meadows discloses, “It’s a must that we keep up with technology. The DocFinity imaging system has brought us to the position that we want to maintain in the insurance industry. We are extremely satisfied with DocFinity.”
“We are extremely satisfied with DocFinity.”
Panhandle is further streamlining efficiency by creating query-based retrieval so that agents can use DocFinity to view their files remotely. Agents will have access to only those policies and claims that they have written. Viewing of personal policyholder information—Credit Reports, Reinsurance Reports, Claim Work Forms, Medical Records, Attorney Letters, etc. — will be restricted.

Article #2

Thinking Green: Document Imaging Gives Panhandle Farmers Mutual a Competitive Edge
DocFinity® Solution Advances Customer Service While Protecting The Environment
By Art Meadows, President/CEO, Panhandle Farmers Mutual Insurance
Imagine an insurance office devoid of clutter, with instant access to information whenever you need it...a world where applications, policy changes, and reinsurance transactions are paperless. Picture your company performing audits remotely, with pre-indexed information awaiting review. Envision revolutionizing your office and competing against larger insurers, offering services some have only dreamed about. This is possible, and more – document imaging and innovative thinking have changed our business model for the best at Panhandle, helping us become a role model for other small regional insurers.
Everyone knows insurance is highly regulated and competitive. Success requires controlling operating expenses, increasing efficiency and providing customer service that encourages current customers to remain loyal. Panhandle’s customer focus was why we invested in Optical Image Technology’s (OIT) DocFinity document imaging solution. DocFinity provides many options as we grow and change. Today, we see results that we previously deemed impossible, and we continue to partner with OIT in our quest for continual improvement.
Panhandle offers property and casualty insurance products designed to meet the needs of small rural communities in West Virginia, including dwelling, fire, allied lines, homeowners, farms, small commercial and liability coverage. Until recently, our processes were completely based on paper. In 2003, we had 22 fireproof four-drawer filing cabinets purely to store clients’ records and files. We decided to pave the path to future efficiency by adding document imaging from the DocFinity® suite of workflow and document management products offered by OIT. We already had Town & Country Compter Services’ INS PRO™ policy administration, accounts receivable, and premium/loss accounting system in place. The seamless integration of DocFinity’s imaging with INS PRO, as performed by OIT, enabled us to capture information over the Web and store and manage it in DocFinity. Web Services technology from OIT let us add capabilities, putting power at our staff’s fingertips without changing their work environment, and with minimal training.
Today, customers can locate agents, complete applications, add insured persons, submit claims, make payments, and more via our portal, which then pulls, indexes, and organizes the information within the DocFinity electronic storage repository for internal use. Agents also have access to underwriting guidelines, rates, endorsements, and relevant customer data customers that is stored in DocFinity. Remote access has made it possible to give secure access to people who are located all over the state. Turnaround time is faster, service is better, and we compete more effectively.
In addition to decreased expenses, we have eliminated filing cabinets and the paper that fills them. Forms that were customary yesterday are now electronic, as are the materials that were mailed. Each cabinet of paper that we avoid producing saves trees, paper, gas in shipping the paper, eventual destruction of files that would end up in a landfill, and more. Our original clients, the farmers of 1898, would be proud to see what we are doing for customers today, and glad to know we are saving trees and doing our part to promote a cleaner environment with products like DocFinity.
The good news is that you, too, can “think green” and make a difference in the world around you. With a robust imaging solution and the extended possibilities of workflow automation and web services, the possibilities for enhancing your efficiency are endless!
For more information about Panhandle Farmers Mutual Insurance and their use of DocFinity, visit http://www.docfinity.com/customers/Panh ... urance.htm. To learn more about DocFinity solutions, contact Optical Image Technology at info@docfinity.com or call 814-238-0038.
Real Results at Panhandle Postage costs decreased by 86%; 65% of applications & 80% of policy changes are completely paperless; reinsurance material, and reports are electronic; automatically indexed & filed declaration pages eliminated misfiling and loss; virtual Market Conduct exams are saving nearly $20,000; productivity is higher.

I hope this helps,

Art
ForumReader1
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Posts: 25
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 5:36 am

Re: Paperless Environment

Post by ForumReader1 »

The DOI is not likely to care about electronic signatures. Laws regarding electronic signatures and the preference of the insurance carriers is likely to control. Electronic signatures were addressed by the E-SIGN act in 2000.

Here's a brief summary. You can google E-SIGN or Electronic Signatures to learn more:
On June 30, 2000, Congress enacted the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act(1) ("ESIGN" or "the Act"), to facilitate the use of electronic records and signatures in interstate and foreign commerce by ensuring the validity and legal effect of contracts entered into electronically. Careful to preserve the underlying consumer protection laws governing consumers' rights to receive certain information in writing, Congress imposed special requirements on businesses that want to use electronic records or signatures in consumer transactions. Section 101(c)(1)(C)(ii) of the Act requires businesses to obtain from consumers electronic consent or confirmation to receive information electronically that a law requires to be in writing. The Act went into effect in October 2000.
meytai
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Re: Paperless Environment

Post by meytai »

There is a company called Wacom that manufactures monitors that allow you to draw/sign on the monitor directly.. i actually purchased a signature pad for teh office, to test it out.. because it is aa cheaper alternative.. the signature pad costs 79.. the monitor costs 1000 (the low end model).. so now i am going to buy the monitor because the signature pad didn't allow my client to view what heor she was signing.. although i didn't come across that scenario because i never got to let a customer use it, i can imagine a customers discomfort with signing a signature pad and not knowing what their signing..

Going paperless will save us so much time and money

Going paperless to me just doesn't mean to scan the paperwork.. it means to completely eliminate the need to print out the application.. has anyone seen or done this yet?

Meytai
mikemurd
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Posts: 1
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Re: Paperless Environment

Post by mikemurd »

If you want to get more information on a paperless work environment in the insurance industry, visit http://www.blueleafclaims.com. A VIRTUAL CLAIM COMPANY!
See brochure at: http://www.blueleafclaims.com/pdfs/blueleafbrochure.pdf

We utilize cutting edge technology, and committed employees and consultants, to offer our clients quality and
cost effective claim administration services. Our experienced professionals are strategically and remotely located throughout the United States, providing claim services for insurance companies, reinsurers, program administrators, managing general agencies, captives, risk retention groups, pools and self-insured entities.

We offer a TPA solution for most commercial lines of business including general liability, automobile & trucking, property, inland marine, cargo, professional liability, management liability, public entity and workers compensation. Our tailored TPA solution includes the placement of resources at the client’s location, utilizing a comprehensive web-based “paperless” claim management system.

We offer customized TPA solutions including Virtual TPA© and TPA in a Box®. Our experience includes managing “run-off” claims for carriers and reinsurers. We also provide professional claim consulting and auditing services.

We specialize in program business, captives, pools, and self-insured arrangements, offering a TPA solution for most commercial lines of business including general liability, automobile & trucking (including liability, physical damage and cargo), property & inland marine, professional liability, management liability, public entity and workers compensation. Blue Leaf Claims’ unique approach toward claim administration is cost effective and more efficient than typical claim administration companies, as it utilizes:

+ An entirely paperless web-based claim management system with integrated image scanning capability, and ability to strategically place experienced resources anywhere in the United States.
+ Remotely located staff, web-based video conferencing to integrate staff and client communications, voice over IP telephone and other Internet-based communication systems.
+ The ability to recruit and provide the most qualified and experienced staff with no geographic limitations.

Thanks.

Michael T. Murdock, CPCU, ARe, ARM, ASLI, ACI
Chief Executive Officer
Blue Leaf Claims, Inc.
LadyBroker
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Posts: 366
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Location: Southern California

Re: Paperless Environment

Post by LadyBroker »

Our company (a nationwide wholesale broker) is paperless, and it is wonderful. You do need to have, at minimum, 2 monitors, and really 3 works better. It does take some time to get used to not holding the paper in your hand, and remembering to annotate your files and all that, but after 8 months, I can't imagine going back to paper files. It also saves you a ton of money on file storage, since everything is stored electronically. Even our faxes come in and are posted into our queues electronically, so the only paper we have in the office is from when we have to actually print a policy to send to the retail broker. And, we are hopeful that soon we will be able to deliver those policies electronically.
"It's a typical day, on the road to Utopia.."
steve32
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Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:46 am

Re: Paperless Environment

Post by steve32 »

I'm looking to go paperless also... but worried about losing data.

For the smaller agencies: Do you use an online backup service like Mozy or do you just backup to DVD media?

Thank you in advance.
Island Girl Agent
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Re: Paperless Environment

Post by Island Girl Agent »

I've commented on this thread before and will say it again...if you aren't paperless, you're going backwards. We're a medium sized agency and have been paperless for over 4 years. It was a challenge to scan everything initially, but at this point, it's a simple process. We have a paper management system that dovetails with our agency manager system and we set activities, scan and shred every piece of paper that comes into our office. By the time the account managers see the workflow, it's already documented in the system and ready for their expertise. This allows us to utilize our more experienced professionals to do what they've been trained to do, manage accounts not paper. Now our biggest challenge is to continue to push the carriers to deliver policies and endorsements to us electronically so we don't have to 1) handle paper, 2) waste paper and 3) spend money shredding (which we outsource) paper according to the law. We're getting there...I just got another broker on board and they expect to start delivering electronic policies to us next month. Then what we do is deliver as many policies as possible electronically to OUR clients, saving postage and other resources. This is working very well with most of our business clients, and most of the personal lines clients have the policies mailed out directly from the carrier. Lady Broker, I am glad to see you guys are on board with electronic delivery. Between that and downloading directly into our agency manager system, we make choices on who we do business with based on many factors, but this is definitely one of them. Having been in the business since the 70's, I've seen a lot of changes in the industry but in my opinion, going paperless has had a bigger impact that just about anything...ok, other than going from those pesky carbon set certificates to the ease of issuing certificates in an agency management computerized system. Jeez, I'm old, huh? :o
meytai
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Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:25 pm

Re: Paperless Environment

Post by meytai »

I currently have Hawksoft.. initially i started out with Agency Advantage.. but the level of support was very bad.. and the fact that the program, at the time, was based on Microsoft Access, was annoying.

I went with the more expensive Hawksoft.. at the time 300 bucks was expensive.. but i was very happy with my decisino

2 years later, i start to see the limitations that Hawksoft has... and i got introduced to AMS

My point for anyone that is looking for a paperless solution is to make the right decision first.. because a transition from one agency managemetn software into another one 2 years into it is very difficult!

Pleaes research the crap out of the options you have and sit down for a presentation.. have a pen and paper ready..

Don't think of things only in terms of price
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