As part of the Webinar, presenters will explain the Campaign's 21 Day Challenge, which offers agency management a quick and easy way to introduce real time and download into their organizations. The Challenge is a multifaceted, step-by-step process built on the widely accepted premise that it takes 21 days to create new habits—and break old ones.
“The Challenge has helped more agencies recognize the benefits of real time and download,” says campaign co-chair Cyndy Smith, vice president and technology director at Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Syracuse, N.Y., and a national director of NetVU, the Vertafore users group. “Much has transpired since the campaign launched in 2007. The number of carriers offering real time has nearly doubled, and the availability of download, which was already more broadly available, is up by as much as 30%.”
Campaign Co-Chair Karen Youngman, CPCU, personal lines manager at Don Allen Agency, Inc., based in Rochester, N.Y., and a member of ASCnet, the Applied Systems Client Network, added, “The Webinar will provide an explanation and demonstration of real time and download, address issues agencies face during implementation, and offer an overview of industry initiatives—including advocacy work—designed to drive increased efficiency.”
The Webinar, titled “Real Time: The Next Major Advance in Agency Workflow,” continues a series of presentations held during 2009 and early 2010 that have attracted thousands of agents and other industry professionals.
About the Real Time/Download Campaign
Launched in April 2007, the Real Time/Download Campaign (www.getrealtime.org
The campaign—supported by independent agents, trade associations, carriers and technology providers—isn’t advocating a specific technology, but a workflow approach that frees up more time for agencies to sell, process and service business. Most agents can leverage tools already contained in their agency management systems or comparative raters.
Real Time 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. The transaction may be a quote, billing inquiry, claim inquiry/loss run, policy view, endorsement or a request for information. Most-recent numbers show more than 20,000 real-time transactions are performed industry-wide each business day through agency management systems; this figure excludes real-time rating transactions processed by comparative raters.
The campaign’s goal is to double the number of real-time transactions each year.
Campaign participants include agents, brokers, carriers, technology providers, user groups, and agent and industry associations. The campaign is led by industry groups and sponsored financially by: ACORD User Groups Information Exchange (AUGIE)/ACORD; Agents Council for Technology (ACT)/Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America; Allied Property & Casualty Insurance/Nationwide; AMS Users' Group (AMSUG); Applied Systems; Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet); Artizan Internet Services; EMC Insurance Companies; Grange Insurance; Harleysville; IVANS; Liberty Mutual Agency Markets; MetLife Auto & Home; PIA of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut & New Hampshire; Strategic Insurance Software (SIS); The Hartford; Vertafore; and Westfield Insurance.