Frank Heaps
Director, P&C Product Marketing
StoneRiver
That is a great question. Each year we see a new report from analysts and industry media that laments the aging work force of insurance and insurance IT professionals. When you couple the aging workforce issue with carriers that are downsizing or not replacing staff that leave, this is a real and a serious business problem. We know that the market will turn at some point, and indications are it could happen within the next 12 to 18 months. Will you be ready? How long does it take you to train an underwriter? An adjuster? A CSR?
Technology has made significant advancement in addressing improvements in staff efficiency and effectiveness. Workflow, BPM, rules engines, and more have begun to be accepted into the insurance workforce. However, many companies are still using outdated, mainframe applications. If you define a modern system as less than five years old, there have been fewer than 100 sales of modern systems in the past five years. That means that 90% of insurance carriers are processing policy, billing, and claims on older applications -- many far older than five years. These applications are usually incapable of embracing and operating with advanced workflow tools and processing automation. What’s the business impact? You will still have the long training time for new staff when the market turns.
Carriers that recognize the training challenge will come out ahead. Traditionally it takes months before new adjusters or underwriters can work on their own. The training cycle requires classroom time, licensing, worker shadowing, auditing, and more. How much more effective will you be if you can cut that training time by 75%? Carriers that have solved that problem when the market turns will be nimble and able to take on new business aggressively.
This is the first of a series that will address the challenges of attracting, training, and retaining staff. The benefits of automation, workflow, and BPM as they relate to making your staff more efficient and effective will be addressed. These business drivers are the driving force behind our Stream™ solutions. Will you be ready when the market turns?