More agency principals are considering "going paperless." When talking with them, I am reminded of my own agency's efforts to design our first disaster-action plan. We imagined a variety of scenarios and tried to plan for each; but when an actual disaster struck our office years later, we realized we had overlooked several important issues.
Preparing an insurance agency to move from a paper-based filing system to a paperless one is similar to preparing a disaster recovery plan–the planners must consider how the agen-cy will operate in a different environment. When faced with the prospect of eliminating paper from their daily routine, agency employees typically worry about how they will fare once papers have been discarded. Although they may focus intently on procedures for scanning documents and the type of scanners to be used, these are not the most important issues.
Moving to a paperless environment causes a cultural shift as the agency staff begins to move–and view–information differently. They soon realize how easily and efficiently they can store and retrieve data in an electronic format and how the new system helps prevent E&O claims.
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