Minnesota Department of Commerce Success Story
Introduction
Prior to 2005, the Minnesota Department of Commerce managed nearly 100,000 active resident and non-resident insurance agents and firms using paper-based processes. Paper insurance license applications frequently arrived without required information and licensing staff needed from five to fifteen weeks to complete and process them. Department of Commerce employees were continually required to review the status of incomplete applications, resulting in so much extra work that the Department often frustrated agents wanting to begin selling insurance in Minnesota. In 2005, Glenn Wilson, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce recognized the urgent need to leverage technology so that conducting business with the Department would be more efficient and effective.
Challenge
In searching for a technology partner, the Department drew up the following requirements:
- The partner's system must enforce business rules to ensure that applications are complete before being submitted to the state for review.
- The solution had to be easy and convenient to ensure a high rate of adoption among agents.
- It must cross-reference other records in the system to check that applicants had met the requirements necessary to be licensed in the state of Minnesota.
- The partner must assist in converting Minnesota's legacy systems to the new solution, quickly and efficiently.
As the department began to evaluate alternatives, they understood that the cost of implementing such sweeping changes in house could cost Minnesota taxpayers $4 to $5 million. They knew that a technology partner could potentially reduce the upfront investment, and drive up the benefits.
Action
After a competitive bidding process in which numerous vendors participated, the department selected Sircon Corporation of Okemos, Mich. for paperless processing of license applications, license renewals, and appointments and terminations, as well as recording agent education, and consumer complaints.
Requirements associated with the online licensing process are detailed and complex, but Sircon's knowledge of the industry and experience in working with other states helped ensure that all required information was incorporated into the department's implementation. Sircon also worked closely with the state to determine their particular business needs and to tailor the solution to fit the Department's processes and workflow.
Sircon used its extensive industry knowledge and experience to implement the solution on time and within budget. Minnesota needed a solution that would be up and running in months, not years, and Sircon implemented the new system in 10 months.
Results
Only 18 months after the successful implementation of Sircon's solutions, the Minnesota Department of Commerce reported the following adoption rates for electronic processing:
- 99% of license renewals
- 99% of address changes
- 99% of continuing education course completions
- 98% of letters of certification, appointments, and terminations
- 93% of license applications
- 91% of name changes
On average, the Department has seen a fivefold improvement in time to licensure where now applying for and renewing licenses normally only takes a few days, not weeks. Sircon's solutions have substantially reduced the burden of manual data entry and paper processes for the department's staff, freeing up resources to provide better service to callers. The Department reports that the number of customer service calls has diminished and that the overall response time for agent and consumer requests has improved for insurance licensing inquiries.
"The Minnesota Department of Commerce is extremely pleased with the level of technology adoption we have seen from carriers and producers, and, already, the efficiencies gained from our partnership with Sircon have provided tangible results and long-term savings as we continue to work to improve our service to the public", said Christopher Danos, Information Technology (IT) Project Manager with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
"We couldn't have imagined these kinds of results when our search for a technology partner began," Danos said. "But thanks to Sircon, the Minnesota Department of Commerce is ready to serve our customers quickly and accurately with the value Sircon's products and services provide."
