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Articles
Weighing Your Options: Online Versus Classroom CE
January 2010 by Gary Gummig
Both methods are readily available, but which one is right for you?
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Complying with IT
December 2009 by Lori Chordas
Article Overview:
Technology is becoming a must-have in carriers and agents' tool belts for state and federal regulatory compliance.
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Hot Insurance Tech Companies To Watch In 2010
December 21, 2009 by Ellen Carney with Eric G. Brown and Christina Lee
Article Overview:
The insurance industry toughed it through the darkest days of the downturn by focusing on two perennial business themes — cutting costs and driving efficiency. But as the economy returns to growth, insurers are now aiming for business growth and profitable revenue.
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The Next Step in Tech: One Click Reconciles Producer Data with Records in Every State
December 1, 2009 by Tim Owen, Vice President of Product Management & Patrick Masi, Product Manager
Article Overview:
Our challenge often is not just finding the right data but finding consistent data. Especially in matters relating to producer compliance, data flows in many different directions, forms and degrees of accuracy.
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Automated Onboarding by Replacing Manual Processes with Network Technology
April 8, 2008 Commentary by Scott Morrison, Sircon
Article Overview:
Although insurers have begun embracing electronic and Web-based approaches to recruiting, onboarding, and managing agents, most organizations have seen only patches of efficiency and cost savings. Scott Morrison, Sircon's VP of Product Strategy explains how leveraging Sircon's fully networked systems to automating "producer lifecycle management" can lower administrative costs and throttle up revenue.
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The Greater Lansing Business Monthly
April, 2007 by Joanne Tyes Briseño
Article Introduction:
Internet technology has changed the way we live our lives. Online services have made everything from research to shopping faster and easier. Through the Web, Sircon has brought that same efficiency to the insurance industry. Recently named one of the Michigan 50 companies to watch, Sircon is utilizing today’s Internet technology to develop a nationally known powerhouse of services...
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Electronic Licensing Gets Geico Stamp of Approval
March 1, 2006 Therese Rutkowski, Managing Editor
Article Overview:
When Geico's business grew significantly several years ago, the number of agent licenses it had to process doubled. As a result, the company switched from a time-consuming paper-based licensing administration process to an electronic one.
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Producing Results
February 1, 2006 Robert A. Nero, President and CEO
Article Overview:
This article addresses the elements of Producer Lifecycle Management (PLM) and the benefits of utilizing technology solutions for both carriers and producers to manage each step of the entire process. Sircon defines PLM as the sequential steps a producer takes to become licensed to sell insurance. The faster a producer is ready to sell, the more revenue is generated for the carrier. Technology solutions that facilitate this process with a great degree of speed and data accuracy also helps carriers maintain the interest of producers during the recruiting process because these solutions dramatically increase speed-to-market for producers.
Click here for the complete article.*
*Best's Review: February 1, 2006, Copyrighted A.M. Best Company, Inc. 2006, All Rights Reserved, Reprinted with Permission
The Spitzer Effect
September 1, 2005 Therese Rutkowski, Managing Editor
Report Overview:
The fate of contingency commissions is up in the air, and large insurance brokerage firms are struggling to recoup that lost revenue. Meanwhile, carriers and smaller, regional brokers face inevitable technology and process fixes to accommodate new regulations and a shifting commercial insurance market.
Visit the Insurance Networking News website for complete article.
Forrester Research Trends Report: BPO Services for Insurance
June 30, 2005 Marc Cecere - Vice President, Principal Analyst
Report Overview:
Business process outsourcing (BPO) will be growing within the insurance industry, driven as much by increasing comfort with vendors as it is by the need to reduce costs. However, to date, insurance companies have been reluctant participants in BPO for both cultural and structural reasons. Overcoming this resistance is the pressure for profitability, vendor investments to develop insurance credentials, and the maturation of both carriers and service offerings. Because of these factors, the biggest growth will be seen in large carriers that will cherry pick BPO services around niche areas like agent activation and fraud detection. Smaller companies will outsource both niche areas and core business processes that are non-differentiators.
Visit the Forrester Research website for complete article. (Please Note: A login is required to view the complete article.)
Forrester Research Trends Report: Drivers and Trends for IT and Insurance
June 1, 2005 Marc Cecere - Vice President, Principal Analyst
Report Overview:
A soft insurance market combined with regulatory requirements and more sophisticated IT leadership is driving IT to make significant changes. During the next two years, we will see increased consolidation of systems and processes, as well as the application of point solutions for high-return/high-risk areas. Furthermore, in midtier carriers, we will see increasing deployment of packages to replace the core systems of policy administration and claims processing. Finally, both IT and business process outsourcing will increase slowly as the industry knowledge of vendors and the sophistication of IT leaders increases.
Visit the Forrester Research website for complete article. (Please Note: A login is required to view the complete article.)
Filing Gets Up To Speed
March 1, 2005 Therese Rutkowski, Managing Editor
Article Overview:
Insurers have been pushing states for regulatory reform. If insurers are to remain competitive, they argue, insurance companies must get products to market faster. But they are stymied by redundant and cumbersome filing, licensing and reporting requirements across the 50 states.
Visit the Insurance Networking News website for complete article.