BRIDGING the paper – digital document divide

The spread of computer technology in the business world brought with it the promise of the “paperless” office. But, as it turns out, a great future of hyper efficiency and zero waste has become buried under a mountain of paper.

As the volume of paper documents continues to pile higher at many insurance businesses, it becomes increasingly difficult and time-consuming to access information and process it efficiently. This state of affairs is so entrenched as the norm that many companies fail to recognize the enormous costs they are bearing, along with the significant impact on customer service.

To compete in today’s fast-paced, 24/7 world, insurance companies need to share knowledge efficiently and effectively – internally, with customers and with suppliers – so they it can interpret information and put it to use faster than others.

Documents are the DNA of knowledge. Think about the essential role that documents like applications, payments, photographs, and claims play in improving customer service, loyalty, and profitability. The challenge is how to manage that information and share it effectively, especially when so much of it is paper-based.

Take Algoma Insurance Brokers of Sault St. Marie, Ontario. It handles numerous documents that guide its insurance decisions. For example, photos of a wood stove in a home give underwriters visual information about insurance risks, including details about location, installation, and condition. Similarly, home inspection reports contain valuable information about insured assets that must be tracked and filed. Add to that the industry updates that Algoma teams need to serve their clients responsibly, and the result is a paper stockpile that occupies more than 2,000 square feet of storage.

Managing documents efficiently on an enterprise-wide scale involves creating a single system in which all elements – computers and their application software, networks, the Internet, scanners, printers, networked copiers, fax machines and multi-function devices – operate seamlessly.

With the advent of digital documents and networking, this is now possible. As a result, insurance companies are transforming the way business knowledge is gathered, analyzed, stored and retrieved.

For Algoma, the path forward began by using digital cameras to photograph customers’ insured assets, instead of standard photography. Using digital photography, Algoma discovered how valuable it was for customer teams to have quick electronic access to those photos. Digital image files accessible from desktops put an end to frustrating, time-consuming physical searches to locate paper photos to support business decisions or claims.

But this as just the first step, Algoma and other insurers are making the transition to an all-digital document infrastructure. Now paper documents can be digitized and stored in digital document repositories, revolutionizing the way information is shared across the enterprise. The promise of a “paperless” office is becoming a reality.

In the past, insurance companies would copy and distribute paper documents through internal mail to a limited list of recipients determined by the sender. Today, Algoma and other companies are scanning paper documents and filing them in a “knowledge repository” on the company intranet, allowing quick and easy access to information by anyone in the organization.

According to Ross Weatherby, Algoma’s technical administrator, the company is saving up to $40,000 per year in labour costs with its digital document centre. Documents that have lasting value are automatically scanned and digital filing software allows employees to easily search records and databases by key words, customer names and numbers. Weatherby estimates the technology paid for itself in the first three months of operation in salary savings alone.

Experience with insurance companies around the world indicates that approximately 1.5- 2% of net written premium (NWP) is direct document spend, including equipment, labour, services and supplies. In fact, if you factor in other indirect costs – queue times, professional productivity losses and business process impacts – up to 15% of NWP can be associated with documents related to the policy issuance and administration process. That is money directly off the bottom line!

By partnering with experts in document services and solutions, insurance companies can better manage information, whether it is on paper or already in digital form. Now knowledge can be moved quickly from where it is stored to where it is needed, with technology that supports the way an organization works.

Today’s competitive environment requires that organizations share information more effectively than ever before. Digital document solutions can help manage knowledge to improve productivity, deliver better customer service, and reduce costs.

The Wired World welcomes your feedback. Contact us, via E-mail at <vspencer@corporate.southam.ca”>b>vspencer@corporate.southam.ca