The ACORD User Groups Information Exchange (AUGIE) was scheduled to meet during the ACORD/LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Orlando on May 21 to discuss, among other things, redoing the massive agency technology survey the group first conducted in 2002.
According to Jerry Fox, president of the AMS Users' Group and rotational chair for the May meeting, "A lot of people liked [the survey] and we're still getting requests for it. Some of the information is getting out of date, though."
AUGIE was formed in August 2000, and the agent survey asked questions of agents, principals and customer service representatives regarding their wants and needs in terms of technology. The key findings of the first survey were that nearly half of the agent respondents pay for technology as it is needed (rather than budgeting for it), and that broadband usage is widespread among agents. The survey also confirmed the conventional wisdom that agents don't like proprietary carrier systems and don't appreciate duplicate data entry.
Other key findings of the initial survey, said Pearl River, N.Y.-based ACORD, were that:
o All agents should budget for technology.
o Agents and carriers need to operate on the latest technologies.
o A Web site should be part of an agency's strategic plan.
"It's definitely on the agenda," states Cal Durland, manager, member relations for ACORD, on the idea of a second survey. "It was successful the first time and we're asking for ideas for the second time around. We'd like to start doing this every two years. It's something the industry keeps asking for."
