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 Back to 2005 Press Releases
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Gartner Says Real-Time Transaction Capability is Key in Driving Property and Casualty Insurer Loyalty |
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STAMFORD, Conn., August 18, 2005 - While property and casualty insurers need to implement the same standards to provide real-time transactions for brokers and agents, survey results by Gartner, Inc. show that many insurers have been slow in offering the technologies necessary to implement these transactions.
A Gartner survey of 72 members of the Council of Independent Agents and Brokers (CIAB) conducted between January and April of 2005 showed that agents and brokers prefer to do business with insurers that provide real-time transaction capabilities to better service policy holders. However, adoption of single-entry multiple-carrier interfaces (SEMCIs), which enable distributors to send and receive data seamlessly, continues to lag among insurers and distributors.
According to the survey, only 32 percent of respondents use SEMCI to enter data and communicate with multiple insurers for quoting, issuing policies and handling policyholder inquiries. This can be attributed to the fact that only 24 percent of insurers currently support SEMCI.
Gartner analysts said that by providing a single workflow interface, agents and brokers can spend more time selling insurance and less time keying data into agency management systems.
"Having real-time transaction capabilities means policyholder inquiries can be addressed immediately, as opposed to waiting several days or even a week for an answer," said Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, research vice president at Gartner. "It will be impossible to drive agent loyalty without adequate investment in technologies to support real-time information availability and transaction capability."
While financial stability is the most important characteristic in determining the insurer with which distributors choose to work, the availability of information and use of new technologies is critical, according to the survey. Agents and brokers ranked both the accessibility of electronic documents and forms, and the ability to support straight through processing of applications, as highly important in driving distributors to sell insurance products, especially among independent agents and brokers. These factors were ranked much higher than the visibility of quota, incentive and compensation information, and the ability to prepopulate issuance forms with quoting data.
While a single workflow interface is important to distributors, many insurers do not view a single workflow as beneficial. ?Insurers want to provide their distribution partners with tools that allow ease of doing business, as long as it does not allow ease of doing business with their competitors,? Ms. Harris-Ferrante said. ?Convincing insurers that a single workflow solution is in the best interest of all parties requires agency/broker leadership in a unified voice with the support of their associations and workgroups.?
In addition to improved distributor and customer satisfaction, Gartner analysts said insurers will find benefits such as improved productivity, increased efficiency and reduced transaction costs.
"The use of content management solutions, exchanges, Web services and data standards will help streamline and improve agent-carrier transactions, and ultimately help sustain competitiveness for property and casualty insurers," said Stephen Forte, senior research analyst at Gartner.
Additional information is available in the Gartner research report entitled "SEMCI Presents a Real-Time Challenge for P&C Insurers." The report highlights the key areas on which insurers, agents and brokers are placing considerable focus, and gives advice on what needs to be done to bring the insurance industry closer to enabling real-time transactions for personal and small commercial lines of business. The report is available here
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Gartner Financial Services Technology Summit
Ms. Harris-Ferrante will further examine the state of the financial services industry during the upcoming Gartner Financial Services Technology Summit, to be held August 29-31, 2005, at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. The inaugural Gartner Financial Services Technology Summit is the most comprehensive event of its kind designed exclusively for financial services industry IT executives and their business counterparts with a keen interest in the business value of IT. Gartner Financial Services Technology Summit hits the critical spot between strategic planning and tactical advice for IT organizations in banking, investments, and insurance. This three-day forum looks at the state of IT in the financial services industry, a view of the future, what it takes to be prepared, and the complex IT issues while laying out the manageable actions needed for success. In addition, many of the 30-plus content sessions will feature case studies and panel discussions presented by end users and industry professionals.
For complete event details, please visit the Gartner Financial Service Technology Summit Web site at www.gartner.com/us/fstechsummit. Members of the media can register by contacting Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.
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About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. is the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry. Gartner serves more than 10,000 clients, including chief information officers and other senior IT executives in corporations and government agencies, as well as technology companies and the investment community. The Company focuses on delivering objective, in-depth analysis and actionable advice to enable clients to make more informed business and technology decisions. The Company's businesses consist of Research and Events for IT professionals; Gartner Executive Programs, membership programs and peer networking services; and Gartner Consulting, customized engagements with a specific emphasis on outsourcing and IT management. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and has over 3,900 associates, including more than 1,100 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. For more information,
visit www.gartner.com.
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