TAAR Report T How to Fight the Spam War

TAARReport
T H E
June 2004
Volume 20 • Number 6
A U T O M A T E D
A G E N C Y
R E P O R T
How to Fight the Spam War
Inside TAARReport
Agency Watch • 1
Many of today’s tools for fighting spam
are ineffective. Learn what works best
and what’s in store for the future.
Editorial • 2
Carriers are creating a workflow
headache for agents. Is there anything
you can do?
Connections • 5
Be sure your ISP isn’t silently censoring
your e-mail. In addition to reducing
spam, they could be keeping valuable
messages from reaching your inbox.
Reality Check • 7
Does your producer have poor communication skills and refuse to follow procedures? Bring him/her back in the loop
by following a few simple guidelines.
TechnoTidbits • 9
Use TweakUI, a free Microsoft utility, to
take control of the user interface that
you see all day, every day.
Personal Computing • 10
Reid Goldsborough recommends the
best overall utility suite for keeping the
bad guys away from your computer.
Work.Flow • 12
Agency owners and principals need to
wake up and participate in the workflow implementation in their agencies.
Agency Solutions • 14
An agency in Missouri has created a
simple scanning solution that is based
on transactional filing.
www.taarreport.com
by Paul Peeples
T
hough no one really knows how to completely stop spam, there are
some tools and precautions we can take to reduce it. For years, it
seems that spam has been spinning out of control, so I figured it was time
to explain how spam works and share ideas for reducing it.
Aside from the fact that spam is irritating, it also sucks up resources,
bandwidth, and value. Every offer you receive for body enhancements,
low loan rates, or online prescription drugs is a direct hit on your wallet.
That’s right, your wallet. Why? The additional cost of spam in wasted
human resources, bandwidth, and CPU cycles drives up the cost for
Internet access for all of us. Ferris Research estimated that spam cost U.S.
businesses more than $10 billion last year. Worse yet, the future is not
very optimistic. Research firm Gartner Inc. recently reported that spam is
increasing 1,000% a year, and by the end of 2004 will represent 50% of all
e-mail sent over the Internet. There
are as many proposed solutions for
combating spam as
there are spam messages. Heck, even
Research firm
some spam mesGartner Inc. recent- sages propose solutions. Actually, the
ly reported that
core problem is that
there is no incentive
spam is increasing
for spammers to
1,000% a year, and
stop spamming.
Even the recently
by the end of 2004
passed CAN-SPAM
act seems to be inefwill represent 50%
fective. Under CANSPAM, spammers
of all e-mail sent
over the Internet.
continued on page 3
Carriers and their agents have a love-hate
relationship. This is nothing new. Remember
when carriers first required agents to use their
direct bill systems? Those first systems were
cumbersome and created much more work for
agencies. When clients called to find out if
agencies had received their checks, the agencies
had to call carriers instead of being able to look
in their own files.
After many years of complaining and cajoling, carriers have finally begun to really streamline the process. Real-time communication with
carriers is finally becoming a reality due to
technologies like Transformation Station and
TransactNow. However, carriers did not come
willingly. Instead, grassroots efforts of agent
groups like ACT, AUGIE, and the User Groups
created a common voice that pushed carriers
to get on board.
When will we learn from the past?
Unfortunately, I fear the industry has not
learned from its past and is doomed to repeat
it. The move toward sending electronic documents to agents is beginning to get out of
hand. Carriers are unilaterally making decisions
on how they will deliver electronic documents
that are dramatically changing agency workflows.
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T H E
A U T O M AT E D
A G E N C Y
R E P O RT
TAARReport
JUNE 2004
VOLUME 20 • NUMBER 6
Steve Anderson,
EDITOR
Andrea Serrette,
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Jack Burke
SOUND MARKETING, INC.
Reid Goldsborough
SYNDICATED WRITER & AUTHOR
G. Barry Klein
ULTIMATEINSURANCELINKS.COM
Laura Nettles
NETTLES CONSULTING NETWORK, INC.
Paul Peeples
FAIA
Wanda Shumaker
WJS CONSULTING GROUP
Jenny Kabakovich,
BUSINESS MANAGER & HIGH-TECC COORDINATOR
Char Campbell, PRODUCTION
Sissi Haner, COPY EDITOR
Afni Insurance Services, WEBMASTER
© Copyright 2004 by The Automated
Agency Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction, by any means, of material
appearing in TAARReport, The Automated Agency Report is strictly forbidden
without permission.
The Automated Agency Report,
TAARReport (USPS 765-570, ISSN 08888205) is published monthly by The
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How to Fight the Spam War, continued from page 1
only need to provide a way for
recipients to “opt out.” Once
they do that, they can continue
to spam.
OK… enough doom and
gloom. There are several
weapons you can use to battle
spammers. Teaming up with
desktop, server, and even network and ASP solutions, you
can minimize the amount of time
spent sifting through spam and
get to your legitimate e-mails.
The desktop battlefield
Most e-mail clients, such as
Outlook and Eudora, can filter
content, but they’re clumsy and
often filter the good e-mails as
well as the bad. For instance,
even if you use “subject filters,”
spammers know how to get
around them. They simply misspell words that aren’t caught by
your filter. Even if you modify
the subject filter to match the
misspelling, spammers again
change the spelling, and so on.
Obviously, this is a vicious cycle
— and it becomes labor intensive to maintain “dynamic” filters. Here are a few alternatives:
Bayesian filters — Used by
some software, these filters use
algorithms that “learn” based
on what they are told is trash.
These filters seem to catch more
than 90% of spam, but as in the
above example, they have to
constantly be taught what is
junk and what isn’t.
Header-analysis tools —
These ignore e-mail bodies and
concentrate on the From: field.
They often use “white lists” and
“blacklists” that accept or reject
based on whether the sender is
in your address book or not.
In the future, better tools will
be developed, such as smart
clients that actually understand
the contents of e-mails and apply
better reasoning with much
more complicated rules that
will overcome the shortfalls in
today’s filters.
The server battlefield
Today, most of us are on networks. So, the server is a great
place to start when figuring out
how to divert spam or viruses
before your desktop ever sees
them. Most solutions have automatic update features that can
help you be proactive rather
than reactive.
Challenge and response —
These systems require a sender
to complete a human task (as
simple as responding to an
e-mail) before he/she is allowed
Most e-mail clients, such as Outlook
and Eudora, can filter content, but
they’re clumsy and often filter the
good e-mails as well as the bad.
www.taarreport.com
3
As you can see, fighting spam at the
desktop or server level can be clunky
at best. That is why I believe the future
of fighting spam will be at the network
level.
to send messages to the recipient. Until the sender completes
this transaction, the e-mail will
not be sent. Automated programs that send spam don’t
have the functionality to
complete a “human task.”
Server quarantines — These
are used in extreme circumstances by ISPs trying to assist
in combating spam. For example, if abc.com is bombarding
customers, the ISP can disallow
material from abc.com. This creates issues for abc.com, especially if they were a victim of someone hacking into their system’s
mail server to send e-mails. Or,
they could have been a victim
of spoofing, whereby someone
sends e-mail by falsifying a specific domain such as abc.com.
The network battlefield
As you can see, fighting spam
at the desktop or server level
can be clunky at best. That is
why I believe the future of fighting spam will be at the network
level.
Peer-to-Peer blacklists —
These work by sharing filtering
rules (as well as some of the
characteristics listed in the other
two methods) among a network
4
of trusted associates to amplify
everyone’s blocking capability.
So, for example, if a certain email is identified as spam in the
list, it will be deleted from
everyone’s inbox automatically.
Honeypots — These are
decoy e-mail accounts that
attract spam and are strategically placed all over the Internet.
When a new spam attack is
launched, there are companies
working 24/7 on capturing this
data, and updating lists and filter rules used to eliminate spam.
ASPs — ASPs are services
that apply different rules to your
e-mails based on all of the above
filters, rules, and techniques.
One such service (offered by a
company in Canada called
Electric Mail) offers a great filter
for your e-mails if you control
them yourself. Their service will
also apply virus scans and other
filters you may want, prior to
the spam hitting your network.
These services are relatively
inexpensive, especially when
you factor in lost productivity
caused by spam. If you have 35
employees who spend 15 minutes a day checking and deleting
spam, and you pay them a wage
continued on page 6
Resources for Combating Spam
Bayesian Filters
• SpamAssassin; free; spamassassin.org
• McAfee SpamKiller; $40; spamkiller.com
• Spamnix; $30; spamnix.com
White Lists / Blacklists
• Qurb; $30; qurb.com
Challenge and Response
• Mailblocks; free to $25; mailblocks.com
Peer-to-Peer
• SpamWatch; free; www.cs.berkeley.edu/~zf/spamwatch/
• SpamNet; $40 per year; www.cloudmark.com/spamnet
ASP Models
• Electric Mail; $2-$5 per box per month;
www.faia.com/techdept/resources/electricmail.cfm
• AppRiver; www.appriver.com
TAARReport • June 2004
Connections
by Jack Burke
The Silent Censor
Everyone, including myself, marvels at
the phenomenal changes the Internet has
brought about in the realm of communication. E-mail, despite inherent problems and
frustrations, has become our mainstay. The
telephone is now secondary to the Internet
in communicating messages.
But there is a dark side. Imagine how you
would feel if the U.S. Postal Service arbitrarily
decided that any mail coming from a specific
business address did not deserve to be delivered to you. In fact, imagine that they
destroyed the mail on the basis that this
address was a source of “bad mail.” Now
further imagine that this address was a skyscraper office building and that one tenant
really did send “bad mail” that no one should
ever see. But since the post office couldn’t
differentiate between offices within the
building, every piece of mail from that building (good and bad) was destroyed.
Welcome to the concept of the silent
censors of the Internet!
I’m not talking about spam filters that may
exist on your mail browser system or even at
the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level. Those
filters identify likely spam and sort them into a
separate folder. You, not the filter, become the
final decision-maker as to what you want to see
(or not see). Periodically, you open your spam
file and review the contents. Usually the mail
is indeed spam and you trash it. But once in a
while, legitimate e-mail gets caught in the trap
and you have the option to open and read it.
The silent censor is more insidious than any
filter you can imagine. As background, here’s
my story and how I came to learn about the
silent censor.
www.taarreport.com
For nearly 10 years our company has used
a regional ISP (ISWest) to host our Web site,
enable our Internet access, and handle our
mail server. Several weeks ago, their e-mail
server functionality went down. Due to a virus,
the e-mail queue line hit 100,000 e-mails and
the infected server quit. It took them several
days to resolve the problem and a substantial
amount of our e-mail was lost in the process.
(That’s an understandable, though frustrating,
reality of Internet risk and exposure.) They
finally announced that all problems had been
rectified and everything was back to normal.
Normal for them, but not for me. The first
thing I noticed was a dramatic decrease in total
e-mail volume. Regular e-mail had dropped
from about 100 messages per day to an average of 25. Additionally, my spam file (at the ISP
site) went from 300 pieces per day to less than
15. I knew something was awry, but several
calls to the ISP technicians only resulted in their
confirmation that everything was in order.
Yesterday, I received an irate call from a
valued client wanting to know why I had
missed the recording of a monthly conference
call. I explained that we never received notifi-
I don’t know about you, but
I don’t want an electronic
censor determining what
I should or should not
receive. I also can’t afford
to have client messages
circumvented.
5
cation and the client insisted that several
notices had been sent by e-mail well in
advance. In the meantime, I also found out
that I hadn’t been receiving editing material
from my editor on my new book. Yet a thorough review of our e-mail and spam files
showed no signs of any such communications.
I called the ISP again and spent a lengthy
amount of time with a technician trying to
explain that something was wrong. He agreed
to check into it. When he called, he again said
that everything was normal. I disagreed and
gave him the domain addresses for the missing mail, which he agreed to check against
their master cache files.
He called back to explain what he had
found. The sending servers for these domains
had been “blacklisted” by the ISP as high-volume spammers. As such, nothing from these
servers was allowed to enter our ISP’s e-mail
servers. It had nothing to do with the specific
people or organizations from which the mail
originated, but the source of the transmission
— the e-mail distributor on the sending end.
As the story unfolded, I learned that there
were quite a few blacklisted sources. All
discretion on the part of the recipient had
been surpassed by the arbitrary silent censor
blacklist. Ironically, many of my clients and
resources send out newsletters and utilize
distribution companies for processing such
legitimate mail. Unfortunately, these companies may also serve as distributors for spam.
If blacklisted, nothing gets through and I had
absolutely nothing to say about it.I don’t
know about you, but I don’t want an electronic censor determining what I should or
should not receive. I also can’t afford to have
client messages circumvented. The extra few
minutes per day spent in culling through my
spam file is a small price to pay for freedom
of communication.
My ISP is currently removing all blocks that
were in place. As a result, anything anyone anywhere sends to me will be received and I will be
the one and only censor of what I should or
should not read. Yet the removal of these blocks
will only apply to my account. The silent censor
will be hard at work for every other client of
this particular ISP — and no one knows about it.
Are you the victim of a silent censor? Do
you want to be? A phone call to your ISP may
be an eye-opening event. I know it has been
for me. ◆
Jack Burke is the president of Sound Marketing,
Inc., editor of ProgramBusinessNews, host/producer
of Audio Insurance Outlook, and author of bestselling books on marketing, customer relations,
and service. He can be contacted at
[email protected] or 800.451.8273
How to Fight the Spam War, continued from page 4
of $5 per hour, your lost productivity costs could be close to
$1,000 per month! Chances are,
you pay more than $5 per hour
and employees spend more than
15 minutes a day checking spam.
Clearly, spam is an issue that
will invade us for years to come.
6
In the Wall Street Journal it was
reported that the reason spam
perpetuates is because there are
so many new people using the
Internet who actually open it.
Once the Internet reaches critical
mass, the efficacy of spam will
start to disappear. ◆
Paul Peeples is the director of
technology for FAIA, heading up
an IT department. Peeples brings
with him the knowledge of two
sides of a complex industry; he is
a licensed Florida general lines
agent and a systems analyst. He
can be reached at 850.893.4155
or [email protected]
TAARReport • June 2004
Reality
Check
When Procedures and Producers Collide
by Wanda Shumaker
O
ne of my agency survey
questions asks participants
to complete sentence prompts
regarding the effectiveness of
sales, service, and leadership
staff. One of the prompts is as
follows:
“Our agency would be more
effective if producers would
only______________.”
The most common responses
to this prompt center around
communication and participation in agency procedures.
Some typical responses are:
• If they would only follow
our procedures.
• If they would communicate.
• If they would keep us in
the loop.
• If they would let us know
how we can reach them
when they aren’t here so
we can answer the client’s
question.
• If they were held accountable to the same procedures
as the rest of the office.
Another survey question asks
staff to rank the quality of communication on four points: leadership to staff, staff to staff, sales
to service, staff to leadership.
In reviewing a sampling of 10
www.taarreport.com
random surveys of agencies
from 15 to 100 employees, the
“sales to service” category
ranked the lowest.
In many cases, the producer’s
interactions with a prospect or
client are known only to the
producer. If the prospect or
client calls the office in the
producer’s absence, it often
leaves the service staff “twisting
in the wind” trying to appropriately address the need. It can
also make a poor first impression on a viable prospect.
Policies, procedures, and
producers
Even agencies that have successfully tackled the challenge of
creating formal workflow and
procedure manuals will confess
to breakdowns in implementation. Ideally, the workflow plan
for new business should encapsulate all steps, from lead generation to policy delivery. Yet it
is common to find workflows
either circumventing producers
altogether, stifling producers
in excessive process work, or
including their role in a very
limited scope.
The key to incorporating the
sales process into the workflow
is to keep perspective on the producer’s primary role — production. We did not hire producers
for their data entry skills. In fact,
if you utilize personality profile
tools, you will recognize that the
traits that make a good producer
are the same traits that explain
why they detest the structure
and order of restrictive or hyperdetailed procedures. The “square
peg, round hole” syndrome will
haunt you forever.
This is not to say we should
exclude or exempt producers
from procedural compliance.
There are just as many opportunities for errors and omissions
from a rogue producer as there
are from ill-managed service
processes. The key is to keep
the producers engaged in the
process by making it as useful
for sales staff as it is for the
agency as a whole.
For those who tell me producers won’t ever use computers, I
suggest you look around and see
who carries the PDAs in your
office. The recipe for success
usually provides mobile accessibility and ease of use. Consider
the following tips for successfully incorporating producer activity into your procedures.
7
Provide alternatives
Producers in your office are
the most mobile among you, or
at least they should be if they
are doing their jobs effectively.
Set standards of performance for
data entry expectations, but provide alternatives for accomplishing the task. For example, your
first step for recording prospect
data could read something like
the following:
• First Contact: Producer is
responsible for gathering data
regarding prospect name,
address, e-mail, phone number, and expiration date. This
information will be keyed into
the agency management system within one day of lead
qualification and will either
be entered into the system:
✓ By the producer, or
✓ Producer will provide an email with the details to their
designated account assistant
or administrative personnel,
who will enter the information into the system, or
✓ Producer will provide a
written form with the
required information to an
office administrative staff
member for system keying.
The above example sets the
expectation for information to be
entered into the system. It is the
producer’s responsibility to get
it there, even if the task of data
entry is otherwise delegated.
This provides timely data entry
and more accurate reporting, but
does not tie active producers to
their desks. Many a “dropped
ball” can be avoided by simply
8
copying an e-mail to a designated service person.
Set standards
This is probably the most
difficult to accomplish, although
there is really no reason it
should be. If you make it clear
that only the system data will
be used to run various reports,
such as leads entered, quotes
in process, or sales made, most
producers will let go of their
ad-hoc solutions if they see the
agency is serious about system
utilization. Also, if the workflows are effective, they will
benefit the producer by providing more efficient communication and better overall service
to the client.
Include producers in the training
program
Even though the lion’s share
of the workflow belongs to the
account manager and service
staff, it is also important that
the producer staff at least understand the scope and intent of
the procedures. One of the most
common complaints is a perception that some producers don’t
have to follow the rules, or that
they don’t even know there are
procedures. Include producers
in the original development of
the workflows, or at least get
some input from them once
they are in rough draft form.
There are issues that need to be
addressed that only the producer can answer, and to exclude
them from the building of effective procedures will invite
implementation failure.
If they are able, don’t enable
A common complaint among
service staff is that producers
never learn the system and end
up calling or stopping by to ask
an account manager for something they could just as easily
look up themselves. While
sometimes this is necessary, it
can also be a drag on efficiency.
Provide the producer with basic
lookup quick reference guides so
they can start using this information. Also, if producers have
access to the system at the time
they ask the question, show
them how to get the answer
themselves instead of giving
them the answer.
Focus on the client
It can be easy to point fingers
at another group and fall into the
familiar blame game. But whether
you are service or sales, the focus
should always be on what best
serves the customer. Our ability
to pick up where another left off
and engage an “anyone-anytime”
attitude when it comes to effective
customer relationship management will naturally diffuse the
territorial battles within our
organizations. ◆
Wanda Shumaker is president of
WJS Consulting Group, which
provides practical insights into the
effective use of agency technology, from training issues to system
usage audits and accounting practice reviews. Contact Wanda via email at [email protected] or visit
her Web site: www.wjscg.com
TAARReport • June 2004
Techno•Tidbits
by G. Barry Klein
TweakUI — Free Utility as Useful as Ever
This month I’m reviewing
a golden oldie, a free
Microsoft utility that has
been around for many years,
and available for many versions of Windows. Microsoft
has long offered this utility
— and others — for free.
However, each time you get
a new machine, the default
Figure 1
installation doesn’t include
it. So, even if you’re familiar with it, you
may not have it on your current system.
TweakUI, as the name suggests, is a utility
that allows you to play with (tweak) the user
interface. Many, if not most, of the settings
you can adjust here can also be changed from
other places. TweakUI provides a simple interface that displays all options and choices in
one spot.
TweakUI is one of a series of free utilities,
from Microsoft, packaged together under
the name PowerToys (www.microsoft.com/
windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp).
Although I am only talking about this one,
you should look at all of them and see if
there are others you might also find useful.
The full name for TweakUI is TweakUI.cpl.
The “cpl” extension means that it gets
installed as part of the Control Panel. You
may or may not be able to access it from
there, however. If it doesn’t show in the
Control Panel, you can fire it up by using
Start-Programs-PowerToysTweakUI.
Figure 1 shows the
TweakUI interface, with the
shortcut options expanded
and all else collapsed. On
the desktop (which is actually a Windows folder), the
default setting shows icons
that are shortcuts with an
arrow in the lower left corner, whereas files and programs don’t have
that. I like that distinction, so I never change
it. However, another default is to name all
new shortcuts with “Shortcut to…”, and I
don’t like that. So, I turn that option off
with TweakUI.
In fact, when I install TweakUI on a
machine and go through every option (which
only takes a few minutes), I usually end up
changing only a few options. For that reason,
I consider this to be a minor utility, especially
compared to others (such as RoboType) that
I use every day.
Nevertheless, I like the fact that this simple
and free utility gives me such easy control
over the user interface that I see all day,
every day. ◆
G. Barry Klein is a former insurance agent who
maintains the www.ultimateinsurancelinks.com
Web site as an industry service. He can be reached
at [email protected]
TweakUI, as the name suggests, is a utility that
allows you to play with (tweak) the user interface.
www.taarreport.com
9
Personal Computing
In Search of Truth, on the Internet
by Reid Goldsborough
N
ormally we think of maintenance as a chore, something
we have to do to keep things
running smoothly and prevent
problems down the road,
whether with our car, house,
or computer. But with a PC,
maintenance can actually be
fun… if approached from the
right perspective.
The “joy” of computer maintenance takes many forms.
These days, automation is the
byword. Operating systems
such as Microsoft Windows and
utility suites such Symantec’s
Norton Internet Security let you
automatically keep crucial parts
of your computer system up to
date. It’s fun to watch the technology keep tabs on itself.
The security vulnerabilities of
Windows are legion, and this
forces you to download patches
and updates if you want to minimize your exposure to hackers
seeking to break into your system over the Internet.
You can run Windows Update
periodically through Microsoft
Internet Explorer, which automatically detects which versions
of Windows components you
currently have installed and, by
checking with Microsoft’s site,
which have newer versions.
Or, if you’re running
Windows XP Home Edition, you
Staying up to date is crucially important these days in keeping the bad
guys away from your computer. The
best overall utility suite for this is
Norton Internet Security…
10
can automate things even further by directing Windows to
check for “critical updates” by
itself at the frequency and time
of your choosing. From the
Control Panel, go to System and
click on Automatic Updates to
specify your settings.
Keeping up
You can keep your other software up to date by periodically
checking the Web sites of the
respective manufacturers.
Typically, by pulling down the
program’s Help menu, you’ll
quickly be directed to the site.
But the Web site VersionTracker
(www.techtracker.com/products)
does something similar with
multiple programs, for free,
whether you have a Windows
PC or a Mac. The ad-supported
site has 30,000 programs in its
database. Pay versions, starting
at $24.95, automatically alert you
when new updates of programs
that you’re using become available.
Staying up to date is crucially
important these days in keeping
TAARReport • June 2004
the bad guys away from your
computer. The best overall
utility suite for this is Norton
Internet Security (www.syman
tec.com), which combines a firewall, anti-virus program, pornblocker, spam filter, spywear
detector, and pop-up ad blocker.
If you use the program, make
sure you let its LiveUpdate
feature automatically keep
your virus definitions and other
components up to date.
Symantec’s other utility suite,
Norton SystemWorks, is less
useful, and if you need system
tools more powerful than those
provided by Windows itself, a
better package overall is V
Communications’ SystemSuite
(www.v-com.com).
SystemSuite includes tools
for preventing and recovering
from hard disk crashes, recovering accidentally erased files,
completely uninstalling programs you no longer need, and
completely shredding sensitive
files. It also has an excellent file
manager, PowerDesk, that
makes quicker work of copying,
moving, deleting, and otherwise
manipulating files than
Windows Explorer.
Defragmenting
With today’s large and fast
hard drives and more efficient
operating systems, one maintenance task that’s no longer as
necessary is disk defragmenting.
When working with files over
time, they invariably wind up
stored in pieces at different
locations on your hard disk.
www.taarreport.com
It still makes sense to defrag once in a
while, though unless it’s for a network
file server, there’s usually no need to
buy a separate program for this beyond
what comes with Windows itself.
Running a defragmenter gathers
up the pieces and places them
together in one contiguous
location.
Recent testing by the computer magazine PC World, however,
showed that defragging no
longer improves performance
the way it used to. It still makes
sense to defrag once in a while,
though unless it’s for a network
file server, there’s usually no
need to buy a separate program
for this beyond what comes
with Windows itself.
Backing up data
One maintenance task that’s
still crucial is backing up your
data, particularly if it’s business
or financial related. At the very
least, manually copy such data
to a rewritable CD or DVD disc
when it changes.
More sophisticated options
include using the more automated backup tools that come with
Windows, a stand-alone backup
program for networks such as
the well-regarded Dantz
Retrospect Professional
(www.dantz.com), or a Web backup system such as the excellent
IBackup (www.ibackup.com).
Searching for spies
One really interesting maintenance task is checking to see
who’s spying on you. If you
download a lot of software, one
or more programs may be peeping at your Web surfing habits,
which could be slowing you
down. Such behavior naturally
riles people, and good-spirited
entrepreneurs offer free software
to weed out the sneaks. The best
overall stand-alone program for
this is Patrick M. Kolla’s Spybot
Search & Destroy (www.safernetworking.org).
Another fun, and free, software maintenance program is
WinPatrol (www.winpatrol.com).
Among other things, it shows
you all the programs that load
automatically every time you
load Windows, letting you disable any you don’t want running that may be slowing you
down. ◆
Reid Goldsborough is a
syndicated columnist and author
of Straight Talk About the
Information Superhighway.
He can be reached at
[email protected] or
www.netaxs.com/~reidgold/column
11
Work.Flow
by Laura Nettles
Are You Asleep at the Wheel?
Agency owners and principals need to wake up and participate
in the workflow implementation in their agencies.
I recently had the privilege of attending the
AMS Users’ Group conference in Indianapolis,
Ind. It was a great conference with hundreds
of vendors and thousands of attendees. In
“Indy” we were surrounded by cars — hence,
my title “Are You Asleep at the Wheel?”
The inspiration for this article came to
me very, very early the morning I attended a
panel discussion hosted by Jeff Yates, executive director of the Agent’s Council on
Technology (ACT).
In the past, I have participated in several
ACT projects. I am most proud of the two Best
Practices Guides we created (Agency Business
Processes and Workflows and Information
Management). Both guides are available at
the ACT Web site (www.iiaba.com/act). I also
participated in a work group that focused
on carriers turning off paper to agencies.
Wow — what an eye-opener!
So, there I was, observing this panel discussion, surrounded by the “car” theme of
Indianapolis — and it hit me. The panelists
(carriers and agency personnel) and audience
participants were passionate about offering
solutions to agencies. The problem is that we
are all going to different car races — but
pretending we are at the same race.
Carriers are showing up to the NASCAR race
in a soapbox derby car. Vendors are trying to
retrofit the NASCAR high-speed features into
soapboxes. And agents, well, I think we are all
asleep at the wheel. Here are some examples.
A while back, carriers with substantial
download capabilities started “turning off
12
the paper” to agents. This forced agents to
utilize download. Carriers provided online
access to policy documents. Although there
are still some security issues that need to
be fixed, the process has been effective in
streamlining workflow for the carrier. CSRs
adjusted their workflow and learned to
double check downloaded transactions by
toggling back and forth between the carrier
system and the agency management system.
Carriers liked this — and therefore started
“turning off the paper” for non-downloaded
transactions. Agents — asleep at the wheel —
paid little or no attention to this decision.
CSRs have been unable to adjust workflows
for no paper on non-downloaded transactions. It’s not a simple toggle back and forth
to check the download. It requires data input
into the agency management system. CSRs
resorted to the most inefficient method of
processing — printing the policy locally. Big
efficiency gain this is — carriers simply passed
the cost of printing to the agency.
Call to action
I think many agency executives need to
wake up and get involved in workflow. Many
agency owners and principals just do whatever
the carriers tell them. Agency owners and principals don’t understand the impact these decisions (or lack thereof) have on their internal
operations. At the AMS Users’ Group conference, carrier representatives appeared genuinely committed to better workflow solutions.
But their voice is small compared to the voice
TAARReport • June 2004
of the agency owners and principals. Agency
owners and principals need to say no to inefficient workflow solutions offered by carriers.
Another issue is the lack of feature implementation. When agencies don’t take advantage of features developed by vendors, then
carriers and vendors move on. The carriers —
seeing the lack of utilization by their agents
— move off into other directions. Nobody
wins. Both carriers and agents are guilty of
this.
The best example of a feature that could
be implemented by agencies is the new
real-time interfaces offered by most agency
management system vendors. These tools
(TransactNow and Transformation Station are
two examples) provide the CSR with direct
access to the carrier system from the agency
management system. Talk about “real-time”
service. Imagine the possibilities.
Agency owners and principals need to
wake up and participate in the workflow
implementation in their agencies. Agency staff
is crippled by the inefficient workflows that
are created for each carrier. Clients are getting
poor customer service because nobody is servicing them anymore. Everyone is processing
transactions. Our CSRs have become processing representatives. It feels as if the entire
staff is taking a giant step backward — sales is
servicing, service is processing, and processing
is doing clerical work. I challenge you to stand
up and take a giant step forward and regain
control of your agency’s future.
How to improve workflow
Here are some guidelines for agency
owners and principals:
• Paper from carriers should not be “turned
off” until download is implemented.
• Implement download for all carriers
where available. Commercial lines download is available for some carriers and
vendors today.
• Implement carrier real-time interface fea-
www.taarreport.com
When agencies don’t take
advantage of features
developed by vendors,
then carriers and vendors
move on…Nobody wins.
tures. Evaluate your markets on their ability
to deliver these interfaces. Make this a top
priority with your carrier representatives.
• Establish workflow guidelines from the
client’s perspective. Eliminate unnecessary
processes. Focus on service delivery.
• Consider dual monitors for processing
staff. As real-time interfaces move
beyond inquiry to transaction processing,
CSRs may need additional screen space.
Dual monitors are much cheaper to maintain than printers.
• Listen to your CSRs. Stop throwing people
at problems. Develop workflows that
integrate technology and streamline
operations.
The rules of the game have changed. Like
it or not, agency owners and principals are in
a race — a race with a lot at stake. You can
be asleep at the wheel and leave others to
determine your future, or you can wake up
and participate in the workflow processes
required of your staff. Know what’s going on.
Help direct the future of the independent
agent by ensuring you are able to deliver
quality products and services. Wake up! ◆
Laura Nettles is on a mission to maximize
independent agency performance. She believes
that without proper implementation and workflow
planning, an agency will never reap the full
benefits of technology. Nettles is a member of
the TAAR Network and can be reached at
[email protected]
13
Agency Solutions
A Simple Scanning Solution
Editor’s Note: This TAARReport column provides you with real-world solutions to technology
problems encountered by agencies. Each column highlights a different agency, describing the
business problem, the initial solution created, challenges encountered, and how well the solution
worked. Often, we learn the most from understanding the methods that don’t work and the
corrections that can be made. If you have a solution you would like to share, send an e-mail to
[email protected].
T
his month’s solution comes
were simply being introduced
from Alan Hedrick, owner
into digital formats.
of County Wide Insurance
It appeared that the main
unreasonable.
Other proprietary document
management systems were also
Agency in Dexter, MO.
focus of agency management
available to our agency. While
Country Wide has four
systems was to scan each docu-
these systems were designed for
Missouri locations.
ment and attach it to the indi-
effective workflow, the cost was
vidual file of the client. This
a great concern. However, the
option mirrored the paper
proprietary systems offered
method of processing individ-
some great advantages (e.g.
ual pieces of paper and physi-
Optical Character Recognition)
implement scanning in our
cally filing correspondence in
that would give us the ability
agency. We desperately wanted
each individual client paper
to search for documents at a
to move to an environment
file. With our move from client
later time. Unfortunately, these
with less paper while retaining
file processing to transactional
options required additional staff
the efficiencies we currently
filing, we had already proven
time to properly name, file, and
enjoyed using transactional
the value of T-filing in terms
attach these documents.
filing to store our paper files.
of both personnel cost and time
Problem
We had a strong desire to
The variety of options surrounding digital scanning ini-
savings.
So, we believed that scanning
Solution
We decided to take what
tially created tremendous con-
paper this way would actually
worked for us in the past and
fusion. As we looked at various
be two steps forward and three
update it to reflect the new
solutions for storing documents
steps back in terms of time effi-
digital method of handling
electronically, it seemed that old
ciency. The idea of returning to
documents. It is our agency’s
paradigms for processing paper
piece-by-piece filing seemed
philosophy that 90% of our
14
TAARReport • June 2004
information should be found
in the agency management
“It wasn’t an easy task winning
system.
I wish I could say we used
everyone over with this idea, but
an elaborate scientific method
to determine our best option.
However, that was not the case.
After much discussion and
experimentation, we became
convinced that using transactional filing was a good thing
and we did not want to lose
now that the dust has settled, I
think even the skeptics are very
pleased. For an agency our size,
there is no other way.”
the efficiencies we had gained
Misti McBride
(Personal Lines CSA)
using it.
So, we transferred our paper
filing system to an electronic
folder filing system. We looked
for software programs that
Implementation
There are two options for
personnel (CSA, producers,
owners, and processing
would create a file folder tree.
storing documents electronical-
We found our solution right in
ly in our agency. First, a limited
the Windows software environ-
number of documents are
underwriting requests and
ment, and it required no addi-
attached directly to the client
make quick responses on those
tional cost. We simply made a
file in our agency management
requests. Those items are col-
folder on a network drive for
system. These items include
lected from each office at the
the year, month, day, depart-
such things as pictures, signed
end of the day and scanned as
ment, and CSA. In that folder,
applications, risk narratives,
one image file and stored on
we stored the scanned images
and previous insurance infor-
the server by year, month, date,
for that day.
mation. We limit documents
department, and by CSA.
department).
CSAs primarily handle
This solution was so simple
added this way in order to
The processing department
that implementation and train-
keep control of the storage
handles the bulk of the paper
ing was extremely easy. The
capacity of the system.
that comes into the office. These
“e-T-Filing” system emulated
The second (primary)
items include renewal policies,
the transactional filing system
method is using the e-T-Filing
new policies, endorsements,
of the past, so much of the
system. The bulk of paper that
and other policy correspon-
training was already complete
arrives via mail and fax are
dence from the company. The
prior to digitizing the docu-
handled this way. Mail is
main advantage for our pro-
ments. The learning curve was
retrieved and sorted by the
cessing department is the lack
much smaller and allowed
receptionist in our office and
of interruption during their
quick implementation.
distributed to the appropriate
work hours. They are not obli-
www.taarreport.com
15
desktop the number of pages
The “e-T-Filing” system emulated
needed or; 4) PDF print the
the transactional filing system of
an e-mail.
the past, so much of the training
was already complete prior to
number of pages needed for
Results
Paper transactional filing
was one of the easiest and
greatest timesavers our agency
digitizing the documents.
has deployed. The dedication to
data integrity and the degree of
trust inherent in its systematic
gated to deal with customers,
sponds with the year, month,
manner of handling paper is
answer phone calls, or handle
day, and department.
the key to its success. The e-T-
other duties in the office out-
Document retrieval is accom-
Filing method is no different.
side their roles as processors.
plished as it always has been.
The solution is simple, but
This department uses e-T-Filing
If it is determined that we need
many agents are overlooking it
to process paperwork into the
to view a letter, for example, we
because they are enticed by the
management system, audit poli-
look up the transaction on the
“razzle dazzle” of new technol-
cy coverages for changes, and
client record in the management
ogy. The foundation is solid for
evaluate premium changes in
system to determine the date it
the management system to con-
comparison to benchmarks
was completed. After noting the
established by the agency.
date, the user clicks on their
At the end of the day, the
desktop e-T-File icon, which
processor gathers daily work
leads them through the matrix
from other employees and
of the year, month, day, and
organizes it for the morning
department, before they click on
scanning. Our outlying office
the image file for the CSA.
faxes, emails, or mails their
At this point, the Windows
tinue to use the foundation of
transaction processing and then
digitize the paperwork rarely
needed in the future.
E-T-Filing has been a success
story for our office. Over an
eight-month period, it has
proven to be the right choice
daily work to our office. Our
image viewer opens and
processor arrives at the office
displays all of the scanned
at 7:00 a.m., and doesn’t tie up
images processed for that day.
implement, involved minimal
the scanner during the primary
Thumbnail images make it easy
training, and has been an effec-
office hours. The processor
to see what you are looking for
tive way of handling paper that
scans each person's daily work
(e.g. a letter, a policy declara-
we only need to view on rare
as an individual image file and
tion, etc.).
occasions. It has also enabled us
renames the file to match the
At this point we can either
for our agency. It was easy to
to turn off paper from compa-
person who processed the
1) view and close; 2) print the
nies that download material to
work. Each file is copy/pasted
number of pages needed for a
us and strictly work from the
to the e-T-File folder that corre-
hard copy; 3) fax print from the
agency management system.
16
TAARReport • June 2004
www.taarreport.com
Resources
Vendor Contacts
AMS Services, Inc.
800.444.4813 • Windsor, CT
www.ams-services.com
Applied Systems, Inc.
800.999.5368 • University Park, IL
www.appliedsystems.com
Ebix, Inc.
800.433.5744 • Atlanta, GA
www.ebix.com
DORIS Insurance Systems
800.282.3394 • Alpharetta, GA
www.dorissystems.com
InStar Corporation
800.736.1425 • Kennewick, WA
www.instarcorp.com
irs-aims
800.876.1466 • Universal City, TX
www.irsaims.com
Keal Technology
800.268.5325 • Concord, ON
www.keal.com
MI-Assistant
800.755.2329 • Eleva, WI
www.mi-assistant.com
Strategic Insurance Software, Inc.
800.747.7005 • Gahanna, OH
www.sisware.com
Terrace Consulting, Inc.
(888) 269-6200 • Oakland, CA
www.terrace.com
VRC Insurance Systems, Inc.
818.707.4295 • Westlake Village, CA
www.vrcis.com
XDimensional Technologies, Inc.
800.789.2567 • Brea, CA
www.xdti.com
Association Contacts
Independent Insurance Agents &
Brokers of America (IIABA)
800.221.7917 • Alexandria, VA
www.independentagent.com
Professional Insurance Agents (PIA)
800.742.6900 • Alexandria, VA
www.pianet.com
www.taarreport.com
ACORD
800.444.3341 • Pearl River, NY
www.acord.org
IVANS, Inc.
800.288.4826 • Greenwich, CT
www.ivans.com
CSIO – The Centre for Study
of Insurance Operations
416.360.1773 • Toronto, ON
www.csio.com
AIMS Users Group, Inc. (irs-aims)
Mark Willingham, President
TEL 915.365.2516 • FAX 915.365.3667
www.irsaims.com
VIP-VRC’s Insurance Partners (VRC)
Bob Pachner, President
TEL 212.338.2526 • FAX 212.682.3299
www.vrcis.com
The TAAR Network…
User Group Contacts
AMS Users’ Group (AMS)
Susanne Ruffner, Executive Director
TEL 972.929.8803 • FAX 972.915.2863
www.amsug.org
Applied Systems Client Network
(Applied Systems)
Bill Jenkins, Executive Director
TEL 407.869.0404 • FAX 407.869.0418
www.ascnet.org
Ebix Users Association (EUA)
(Ebix, Inc.)
Debbie Hawkins, West Coast, Co-Director
TEL 805.529.1165 • FAX 805.529.1916
Kathy Ginkel, East Coast, Co-Director
TEL 407.932.0084 • FAX 407.932.0089
www.eua.org
ANeU (Affiliated Network of Ebix Users)
Kitty Ambers, Executive Director
TEL 804.674.4899 • FAX 804.276.1300
www.ebixusergroup.com
DORIS User Group (DORIS)
Oscar Page, President
TEL 937.461.5563 • FAX 937.461.7592
www.dorissystems.com
InStar Users Group (InStar)
Kathy Ginkel, Co-Director, East Coast
TEL 407.933.7879 • FAX 407.932.0089
Debbie Hawkins, Co-Director, West Coast
TEL 805.529.4313 • FAX 805.529.1821
www.instarusers.org
consists of insurance and business
professionals with a wide range of
talent and expertise. The following
individuals are available for consulting,
training, and speaking:
Steve Anderson
[email protected]
• technology audits
• rent-a-CIO
• imaging technology
Nettles Consulting Network
[email protected]
• workflow consulting
• automation implementation
• managing change
Mark Parrish
[email protected]
• automation selection
• LANs and peripherals
• internal systems, operations
Michael J. Weinberg
[email protected]
• marketing and sales
• agency management
• incentive-based compensation
Tim Woods
[email protected]
• custom Internet development
• application software development
• Internet business consulting
MI Management System Resource Group
(MI-Assistant)
Dave Deetz, Resource Group Director
TEL 715.287.4262
www.mi-assistant.com
For more information about the
TAAR Network or referral to specific
members, contact…
National Association of S.I.S. Partner
Agents, Inc. (NASPA)
Craig A. Munson, CIC, President
TEL 815.756.8565 • FAX 815.756.1936
www.partneragents.com
The Automated Agency Report, Inc.
PO Box 6218
Broomfield, CO 80021-6218
TEL 303.404.0457
FAX 720.294.9797
[email protected]
17
Mark July 18 to 21, 2004, on Your Calendar Today!
Steve Anderson invites you to:
“Embrace the Future” at HIGH-TECC 2004,
July 18-21 in Vail, Colorado
…the industry’s most unique event for agency
and company insurance professionals.
HIGH-TECC 2004 is the best place to learn what
you need to know to take charge of your
organization’s technology future.
Check it out at . . . www.taarreport.com
At HIGH-TECC 2004 you will be able to:
• Hear authoritative and unbiased
information, analysis, and commentary
on the up-to-the-minute insurance
technology developments that affect
the independent agency.
• Network with some of the industry’s
top executives and thinkers.
• Get real-world solutions to help prepare
you for the future and help solve your
agency technology problems.
Early
Registration
Savings
FOUR EASY WAYS
TO REGISTER ➢
Phone
303.404.0457
“This year’s HIGH-TECC was amazing! I could not
have asked for a better ‘business conference’ experience. With helpful and informed presenters, the time
flew by. Also, the people I had a chance to meet and
talk with were friendly and eclectic. I look forward to
next year's HIGH-TECC.”
Rikki Lee Concannon, Seubert & Associates, Inc.,
Pittsburgh, PA
“The pace is intense but the information shared
and the relationships created are invaluable. If you
are interested in growing your firm and creating a
stronger bottom line, this is the conference to attend.”
Paul Lunetta, Harden & Associates, Inc.,
Jacksonville, FL
“I have gone to several vendor conferences, but
they are all obviously biased. This was a setting where
I was able to hear honest opinions from other agencies, vendors, and companies. It was great to talk with
people who have the same issues as we do and discuss
possible solutions for the future.”
Shane Davis, Sky Insurance,
Maumee, OH
“HIGH-TECC provides a great opportunity to learn
about the latest agency technology developments and
to have the chance to share experiences with fellow
agents and company and industry representatives.”
Jeff Yates, Executive Director,
IIABA’s Agents Council for Technology (ACT)
Mail
PO Box 6218
Broomfield, CO 80021-6218
FAX
720.294.9797
Online
www.taarreport.com
Name ____________________________________________________________________ TEL ____________________________________________________
Company ________________________________________________________________ FAX ____________________________________________________
Address __________________________________________________________________ E-Mail __________________________________________________
City/State/ZIP ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Will you be bringing your spouse/significant other and/or family members?
(Additional meal and activity tickets will be available at registration) ______________________________________________________________________
Registration Fee: includes conference-sponsored meals
(Sunday reception & Tuesday dinner, all breakfasts and
lunches), breaks, and materials.
■ Before May 14 1st Registration $635 Add’l Registration $585
■ After May 14 1st Registration $735 Add’l Registration $685
Note: Camp registration fees do not include hotel accommodations.
Remember, you can register online using our secure
Web site by going to www.taarreport.com
Payment Method: ■ Check/MO ■ Bill me ■ Credit Card
HIGH-TECC registrations may be canceled until midnight, July 1, 2004. A $100
service fee will be assessed. After July 1, 2004, no registration fee refunds.
Send to:
The Automated Agency Report, Inc.
PO Box 6218 • Broomfield, CO 80021-6218
TEL 303.404.0457 • FAX 720.294.9797 • www.taarreport.com
18
TAAR604
TAARReport • June 2004
Bits&Bytes
by Steve Anderson
New Transactions Added to
Transformation Station
AMS-Rackley Announces
SETWrite
Several new features have been added to
Transformation Station to make it easier for
carriers and agents to communicate in real
time. Alerts allow a carrier to notify agents
electronically when certain events occur, such
as an insured reporting a new claim, sending an
underwriting or marketing message, or notification
of a pending cancellation. The agent initiates a
request/response and all alerts pending for that
agency will be received. For TAM or Vision
users, an activity is created and attached to the
associated policy or claim record and appears
automatically as part of the normal agency
workflow. The new attachments feature allows
the agency to send and receive attachments as
part of a real-time transaction. For example, the
agency could attach a photograph or copy of the
accident report to a first notice of loss submission
and send it in real time.
Several announcements were made at the
AMS Users Group Convention in April. AMSRackley demonstrated its newest product,
SETWrite, a Web-based comparative rater.
Agents enter application information once into
a single Web interface and receive real-time
rates and related information directly from participating carriers. Because the system uses the
carrier rating system, accurate rates from multiple carriers can be compared on one screen.
Data entered by the agent to request a quote is
preserved on the carrier site and is available as
part of the policy writing process. The carriers
currently available in SETWrite are: The Hartford
Financial Services Group, Progressive Insurance
and Travelers, Penn National Insurance, Hanover
Insurance, and Citizens Insurance. Kemper Auto
& Home, a Unitrin Company, has also agreed to
participate in SETWrite.
AMS Announces Service 24/7
AMS Services introduced a 24/7 customer
service option for AfW Online, Sagitta Online, and
AMS 360 users. Using Service 24/7, when an
agency service representative is not available,
policyholders can get information about their
insurance policies directly through the agency’s
Web site or from the AMS call center. Information
collected is fully integrated into the AMS management system. The Service 24/7 solution is easily
customized by the agency to fit their service
needs. Internet screens are designed to look like
the agency’s Web site and call center service
representatives use the agency’s name when
they answer the phone.
CSR24 Interfaces with
Carrier Call Centers
CPIA Name Change
The Certified Professional Insurance Agent
Society (CPIA), based in Richmond, Va., was originally founded in 1968 as the Fire Mark Society.
To help the industry better understand its purpose,
it has changed its name to American Insurance
Marketing and Sales Society (AIMS). The organization has steadfastly recognized property-casualty
insurance agents for their sales excellence and professionalism. The CPIA designation is awarded to
insurance sales professionals who have successfully completed a three-part exam. With more than
550 members and 1,000 CPIA designees, AIMS
Society’s mission is to serve as the preeminent
national organization dedicated to providing sales
training, networking, and marketing innovation to
insurance professionals. More information is available at www.aimssociety.com.
Afni Insurance Services has extended services available to agents utilizing CSR24 to provide 24/7
service to their clients. CSR24 can now interface seamlessly with a carrier’s service center and/or claims
call center. This means a client always calls the agency for all service requirements. Calls that need to
be handled by the carrier call service center (as required by some carriers) are seamlessly rerouted
without any inconvenience to the client. With this new system, clients have one agency number to
call for all of their service needs.
www.taarreport.com
19
Page from the Past
Solving Common Information Production
Problems
“An agency’s overall success or failure is intimately linked to its ability to produce and handle information,” wrote TAARReport in 1993. By
now, you’ve probably read countless articles that
are a variation on this theme – but have you
actually stopped to take a serious look at how
your agency handles information? Have you
adapted your procedures to keep pace with
changing times? Below are a few things to consider. While they may seem basic, many businesses overlook them, and that can have disastrous
results. As TAAR put it, “If you’re not alert to
potential problems in your agency’s information
production process, you’ll pay for it.”
Minimize written errors – Computers don’t
make mistakes – people do. Thus, the quality
of output depends on people inputting and processing data and information. Hire people who
have well-developed writing skills. Another way
to minimize writing errors is to conduct routine
spot checks of letters, proposals, and reports.
Minimize filing and clerical errors – Develop
adequate procedures. Whatever system you
develop should be logical, easy to understand,
simple to use, and easily reviewed and augmented as necessary. Electronic information is vital to
agency operations and is meant to be used,
processed, and reused.
Solve design problems – It’s not just what you
say that matters, but how you say it. How your
agency is perceived in the community and by
your clients is partially related to how you present the information you disseminate. More
people having more access to more computers
magnifies the potential for that perception to
become clouded or confused. Use existing
pre-designed templates and styles in order to
create consistency. ◆
PERIODICALS
PO Box 6218
Broomfield, CO 80021