Technology & Specialty Insurance
Adding highly efficient, technology driven processing to the specialty insurance business has proven to be difficult, and few organizations have executed this successfully. Numerous organizations have online underwriting facilities, but many of them ask so many questions that they are difficult to use. The challenge is to balance individual account underwriting with an efficient process, but these objectives are in conflict with each other.
Two specialty insurance organizations have done this successfully (there are clearly others, but these two stand out). The first is Darwin, who has blended an automated underwriting process with individual account underwriting for accounts needing extra attention. An article in Insurance & Technology describes their ibind system (see here).
The second is the United States Liability Insurance (USLI). USLI has a great online system that is efficient, easy to use, and underwrites effectively. Both systems speed the process for brokers, improving both efficiency and service.
Note: Allied World Assurance recently announced the acquisition of Darwin (see here).
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Personally, I'm a techy, not an insurance agent or broker. It's a much better use of my time to visit my local insurance agent to review my policy needs. That way I KNOW I'm covered with general liability and errors and omissions coverage.
Posted by: Christine | February 17, 2009 at 05:52 PM