Prior to moving to an imaging solution, Michigan Millers kept about five years' worth of data in paper files in its office before taking them off site. With so many documents on hand, the carrier's first step was to develop a strategy on what to scan. "We decided that for all our active policy files we would scan them only if they were new business or at renewal time," reveals Smith. Renewal cycles at Michigan Millers are six months for auto and one year for other policies. With claims, the carrier picked a specific date and decided any claims file still active 30 days later would then be scanned. "Most claims are closed within 30 days, so that eliminated scanning a bunch of files we would never look at again," he says. Every six months the carrier brought on a new department. "It's been a purposely slow implementation to make sure we scale it up for each department and don't overtax the system," Smith asserts.

Michigan Millers operates in a Windows-based environment with a SQL server. Smith felt it was important to find a solution to fit the existing systems. "We were looking for a product where we didn't need another database or another operating system," he says. "Web based was important because our network support group is lean. It was important to cut back on the cost of maintaining and upgrading the system."

Smith believes the project also has benefited Michigan Millers in the area of disaster recovery. For example, he relates, one department filed original documents for later reference but rarely had to return to the files to retrieve anything. Managers asked why it was necessary to scan rarely used documents. "I asked them whether they made photocopies of the files and sent them off site, and they said no," Smith says. "So, if there were a fire and we lost that room, all the originals would be gone. If [those files] are on imaging, we make backups and send them to two off-site locations. Even though [that department] might not use workflow and go back to review the documents, if there ever is a disaster, we have the documents."

Smith claims studies have shown the average file cabinet costs a company $2,000 a year to maintain. Michigan Millers eliminated 60 file cabinets through this project. "Do the math–that's a heck of a savings," he concludes. "We're also able to handle twice as many claims with the same amount of people."