Is there anyone out there whos not interested in saving a few bucks? The bottom line for business today means cutting expenses is just as big a priority as increasing sales. So, is spending money on new technology the key? Not necessarily. Some new technology can give you a quick ROI, but the real key for insurance carriers is to have the right business model design to use that technology.
On behalf of IASA, Cathy Ellwood, director of corporate strategy for Nationwide Insurance, will be part of TechDEC from Sept. 12-14 in Orlando. Her session will be on Streamlining the Process: Eliminating Costs from the Insurance Equation. She said, Technology is nothing more than an enabler of a business process. If your process isnt efficiently designed and you dont have the data available when you need it, what youve done is used technology to drive up costs.
The Internet offers excellent opportunities for insurers to save money, but it also offers continuing opportunities for your company to operate inefficiently. Ellwood cites the task of entering policy information gathered from the Internet. Customer service reps have to verify this policy information with the customer, thus duplicating the work originally done by the customer and quite often irritating them with what is perceived as an unnecessary interruption.
The cost of human contact to verify information is becoming prohibitive. Customer self-service has become increasingly important. With your customers providing some of that labor, you can be on your way to an efficient operation, if your process is designed to take advantage of what the Internet has to offer. But that efficiency can be lost in a second if you have to turn around and make follow-up contacts with the customer just to verify a VIN or a date of birth. Not only have you invested in technology to support your customer service reps, youve invested in technologies that irritate customers. You are not going to make any money that way.
The opportunity to save money through technology is available for insurers without going out and buying more software. She said the theme of her session would be, How to identify opportunities for cost reduction by eliminating waste, duplication of effort, and inefficiencies in the process.
Quite often, all the tools you need to build a better company are there within the technologies you already have. The key is to continuously search for ways to make doing business easier for your customers and your business partners. Are your business rules and procedures getting in the way of an efficient process? Your customers and business partners will be happy to tell you. All you need to do is ask.
Would you like to know more?
Streamlining the Process: Eliminating Costs from the Insurance Equation
A TechDEC Session
Friday, September 13
Go to www.techDEC2002.com for information and registration.
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