More than half of respondents said they don't have key digital tools and automation such as client portals, mobile apps and claims download. Many agents are still using phone, email and fax as their main method of connecting with clients, but these are not in addition to more tech-based means of communication.

The survey reports that fewer than half of independent agents are using text messages, social networks, instant messaging and e-newsletters.

The survey, designed to measure the industry's use of digital tools, was published by the Insurance Digital Revolution, an industry initiative organized by Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's Agents Council for Technology, the ACORD User Groups Information Exchange and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents to encourage faster adoption of digital technology.

"Agents understand the current market and know they need to make changes to compete. A significant number — 70% — have proactive strategies in place to implement new technology to improve their businesses," said Ron Berg, executive director of the Agents Council for Technology. "But even with that awareness, adoption of new technology has been slow. The number of options available is overwhelming and many agents don't know where to start, or need help in evaluating the return on investment of new technologies."

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Digital technology for agents' toolkit

Agents are learning that digital tools can be critical components to their sales and customer relations toolkits, helping agents acquire new customers and improve relationships with existing clients. And many are moving in the right direction.

According to the survey, 43 percent of agents currently operate 24/7 using staff, automation, or a combination of both, while fewer than one-quarter of agents have client portals (23 percent) or mobile apps (21 percent).

But, when it comes to social media, agents are doing a little better: The majority connects with customers on Facebook (78 percent) and LinkedIn (68 percent). Agents appear to be using the tools to generate new business effectively, with nearly three-quarters of agents surveyed reporting that they're getting new business leads regularly from social media.

The survey reinforced the perception that there is still progress to be made with agency websites. Only 8 percent of respondents rated their sites as "excellent." More significantly, of the agents surveyed, 60 percent admitted that their sites are average to poor. The biggest drawback was a lack of functionality, with fewer than a quarter of respondents saying customers had the ability to receive quotes on auto or home insurance from their sites.

"Although 91 percent of agents say their clients are not asking for a client portal and 92 percent say clients aren't asking for a mobile app, that does not mean they don't want them. Agents can't assume that no news is good news. When it comes to customers' digital requirements that's never true," said Mike Becker, executive vice president and CEO of National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. "Look at banking — many institutions did not know how popular online and mobile banking would be with their customers until they adopted it. The same is true for insurance. These technologies provide quick, easy and on-demand access to policy and billing information, quoting and rating."

Room for workflow improvement

When asked about workflow, the survey also found room for improvement, even though progress is being made in agents' adoption of automation tools to process claims, quote new business, and make policy changes.

Overall, the survey found, 40 percent of agents responded that disjointed workflows is the biggest automation challenge, although 60 percent are not using claims download, and only 6 percent and 16 percent are using bridging to quote new commercial lines and personal lines policies, respectively. This means a number of agents are manually reentering data when they switch from carrier portals to their agency management systems — all of which slows down the process and increases the risk of mistakes.

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Greg Maciag, president emeritus of ACORD, said, "The results of the survey are encouraging. Many agents want to become digital, they just need guidance on where to start. The Insurance Digital Revolution was started to be an information hub for insurance professionals, creating a one-stop shop for information on all digital tools available and providing a roadmap on how agents can incorporate these technologies into their daily workflow. It is designed to bring agents, carriers, and vendors together, so they can join forces to revolutionize the industry." 

About the survey

The "Insurance Digital Transformation Survey" was conducted electronically among agents in the United States between March 8 and April 5, 2016.

Overall, 4,304 agents, brokers and managing general agents responded to the survey. Agents represented in the survey write a variety of business, with personal and commercial the most prevalent. Respondents were asked to select all lines of business that apply.

For more information about the survey, visit the Insurance Digital Revolution website.

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