During the process, I can also change my seat assignment (an important feature for anyone with long legs), print baggage claim tags for checked luggage and obtain printed boarding passes. The whole process takes about a minute. What is amazing is that the whole thing was self-serveeven though I did all the work, I was happier because of the speedand the result.

Lets face it, our customers expectations are rapidly being redefined every day. Im not just talking about the expectations of the 20-something crowd, but every consumer, in every demographic. We have fast food, drive-through service, click-and-buy online. As an industry, are we, as insurance professionals, ready to respond?

Today, technology drives customer service in ways that we never dreamed of just a few years ago. It is time for our industry to use this technology to begin providing a new, higher level of service.

We operate in the independent agency distribution systemthe best distribution system there is. There is no doubt in my mind that a customer is best served by doing business with an independent agent. This independence enables agents to hand-select the right products for each customer, priced to meet their specific needs.

Now that we are moving into an electronic world, we cant forget the distribution system we have perfected over the past 150 years. The independent agency is the “catchers mitt” of our distribution system, the only place where all the relationships with those customers come together.

If you were to ask my average customer who their insurance company was, their answer would not be “Company ABC or Company 123.” In most cases, it would be Peel & Holland. This is driven by the fact that we work hard as agents to brand ourselves, and that we may have placed that coverage through a number of different carriers because of market cycles.

Our customers need the ability, if they choose, to go to their agency Web site to get basic services in the electronic worldthe same way they have in the paper and telephone world. Our agency sites must have the ability to “manage the process” for our clients, creating customer friendly transactions that exceed, not just meet our customers expectations.

Will a customer with a homeowners policy with Company ABC and an auto policy with Company YXZ be satisfied with having to go to two different locations and enter two different logons and passwords in order to get a question answered? Absolutely not, especially when many customers recognize their insurance company as their agent.

Remember, the customer is king and they vote with their dollars. Should they have the ability to go directly to the company if they so choose? Absolutely, yes. The point is that it should be the customers decision.

Technology exists today to enable our customers to get e-service in a customer-friendly fashion. Simple customer questions regarding billing and claims are available on most company Web sites. However, the process is not simple for consumers, and they will demand that it be simple in the future.

As agents, it is up to us to join together to ensure we can provide exceptional experiences for our customers.

The technology exists, but now we need to challenge our carriers to support the independent agency system, enabling us to provide the e-service capabilities needed to maintain and grow our customer baseand do it through our agency Web sites.

Roy Riley is president of the AMS Users Group, based in Irving, Texas.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, July 14, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.