Insurance Networking News

notion of an electronic signature system was pretty requirements for each state. “We couldn’t just single
scary,” says Tom Gonser, founder and VP of product out certain states where it could be available, so we
strategy for DocuSign. “It was digital certifications really did have to make it available in all 50 states,”
and installing software. It was not pleasant.” In con- says Paul Mineck, VP of administration for the Duluth,
trast, he notes that with DocuSign’s technology Ga.-based insurer.
and a browser, an insurer can send a con- Though entrenched in an “old-school
tract and have it signed online. business, kneecap to kneecap, where paper
The use of highly secure authentication and flip charts are used,” WFG imple-
such as biometrics and digital certifica- mented e-signature technology from
tions never took off for customer-facing CIC, a year ago in order to make it easier
type applications because of their for agents to do business with their
excessive complexity and cost for clients, to enhance the relationship
deployment in those situations, notes between its agents and product
Michael Laurie,VP of product strate- providers and to better attract and
gy and a co-founder of Silanis. retain life insurance associates,
Insurers might be held back by Mineck says. The firm’s U.S. rollout
other reasons. While some may start or has gone so well that it now is looking at

continue e-signature projects during introducing the technology to its

Paul Mineck

a recession to reap cost savings— Canadian associates as well.

World Financial Group

especially if it is part of a larger STP Still, carriers may find resistance project—others may stall plans since they’re from customers, at least at first, to e-signa-too strapped for capital. A majority of insur- ture technology, for some lack comput-ance companies (62%) were not using ers or simply want to receive policies via any form of e-signatures in their deal- regular mail. ings with customers or agents, “If you ask the average person on according to a December 2007 the street to sign something electron-study by Craig Weber, SVP, of ically, if they haven’t used it before, it Celent, a Boston.-based financial sounds odd,” Amica Life’s Hannah research and consulting firm. Since says. “People are reluctant to commit that time “we have moved the football to something they don’t really under-forward, but we probably are not stand.” Consequently, Amica Life

into first-down territory,” says Hector Maury trains its sales agents to walk their
MassMutual
Weber, adding that the market cri- customers as simply as possible
sis likely has thwarted insurers from under- through the process so that e-signatures seem
taking non-essential major projects, such “like the most natural thing in the world,”
as e-signatures. Furthermore, some life Hannah says, noting that the sales indi-
insurers lack electronic applications, so viduals who have done so have experi-
have no need for e-signatures. “And enced a very high rate of usage.
creating an e-app is a pretty big Keen on boosting its adoption
undertaking,” he says. rates, Liberty Mutual plans to assess

World Financial Group Inc. precisely why some people are (WFG) talked about implementing e- resistant to e-signatures. And it is signatures for a long time, but balked in cautious not to force-feed e-signatures part because life insurance submis- so that it does not disrupt the sales

sions via the Internet are complicat- Gary DeGruttola process or create a bad customer ed due to the 50 different filing experience. “We don’t want to

Liberty Mutual

give customers a reason to leave us, so we are not going to force our agents to push it,” says DeGruttola. “We’ll offer it to the customer and explain the benefits, and if they adopt it, great; if they don’t, that’s okay too.” Older agents of insurance companies, in particular, can be inclined to carry around paper, pens and forms; their displacement by new, younger “digital natives” will help insurers create a true e-app environment, says Gartner’s Leigh.

Diversifying Offerings

Concerned about adoption, MassMutual is considering using different types of technology. It will begin with a Click2Sign implementation (See “e-Signature Example: ‘Click2Sign,’” page 14), and at the request of its agents, it will consider providing signature pad technology for its financial services professionals. Some vendors have recognized the importance of diversity by being able to provide solutions that can accommodate different means of input.

Indeed, analysts such as Leigh of Gartner urge insurers to give customers their preference of one or more mediums (phone, Internet and paper) to execute transactions. That is, one client might want to contact the carrier by phone and obtain a policy online via an e-signature. Another, however, might call the carrier to ask to change the beneficiary on its policy and might want to continue with a phone transaction.

Instead of saying, “Go to the Web site to do it,” a progressive carrier will be able to say, “Speak your name and do a voice print signature over the phone.”

Like Click2Sign technology, voice signatures are a low-tech but highly effective method, according to Weber of Celent. “It is very easy in a call center environment to record the call and memorialize the assent” of the policyholder, he says. INN