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August 26, 2001 at 08:00 PM
Industry executives agree that among the many challenges faced by the insurance industry today, the need to control the combined ratiosthe share of losses incurred to premiums earnedby reducing operational costs is by far the most pressing business problem at hand. And it will continue to be so in the foreseeable future.
To deal with this challenge, the insurance industry as a whole has spent, and is continuing to spend, vast sums of money on their existing information technology to make themselves more efficient and cost-effective. Throughout this IT initiative, the insurance industry has adopted workflow and content management systems in large numbers, due to the need to manage its complex paper-driven business processes.
It is estimated that more than 50% of all insurance companies have already adopted some form of workflow or content management tools. Unfortunately, these investments were often made in silosnot enterprise-wideresulting in disconnected and often redundant systems that fail to maximize cost and time savings.
With the advent of the Web and its ability to deliver content management and workflow securely over the Internet through Web-enabled browsers, it is now possible to link enterprise-wide, across satellite or regional offices. However, many insurance companies also failed to recognize the Web as a vehicle for reducing costs when implementing their workflow and content management systems.
For insurance companies, an effective e-process approach focused on improving its business processes is the key to cutting costs and realizing profitable growth and enhanced competitiveness. The successful e-process approach essentially means adopting a philosophy of optimization by taking full advantage of todays advanced technologies.
Innovative software solutions providers are now introducing new products that incorporate legacy workflow and content management tools with advanced e-process management technologies and Web-based applications designed to streamline business processes and reduce costs.
These enterprise content management solutions enable insurance companies to not only create and automate a paperless processing system to handle overwhelming volumes of content, but also harness the power of the Internet as a new service and communication channel.
Business transactions, including customer service, conducted over the Web are far more cost-effective than those using traditional business channels. Insurance companies that recognize the inherent value of linking customers, agents/brokers, partners and employees and extending their business processes and related content to the Web will dramatically reduce costs while increasing operational efficiencyand safeguard their survival.
Despite the promise of e-process, adoption has been slow, with only a few insurance companies blazing the way. So, what do these early-adopter IT managers know that most dont? They realize that a well-implemented e-process strategy will deliver very impressive and measurable results.
E-process solutions can reduce the industrys exceptionally high business acquisition and transaction processing costs. In many cases, a well-implemented e-process strategy can yield up to 30% in savings.
