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E&O Security in the 24/7 Agency (Part 1 of 8)

As the internet continues to play a bigger role in agency and company marketing and service, there is an increasing expectation by insureds of 24/7 service, particularly in the area of claims. Expect this to intensify as email and web site interaction become more and more frequent. In this article, Virginia Bates explores the E&O exposures created by new and old technology and what you can do about them.

There was a five car accident in your town last night:

One of the drivers wants to just get some sleep and deal with it in the morning.
One wants someone working on it now!
One can’t wait to seek the reassurance of that nice lady in his insurance agency who is always so nice and will take care of everything.
One wants to “jot down” exactly what happened while it’s still fresh in his mind. He’s just too “hyper” to sleep.
One wants to take the car to her favorite shop - pick it up fixed - and not be bothered with one bit of paperwork or hassle.

Since clients come in all varieties with different preferences, the insurance agency that attracts and keeps clients has to offer different things for different people. While many agencies are creating those various communications channels, other agencies are pondering the legal ramifications of each one.

MORE EXAMPLES

A client wants an auto quote on a new car at 8:30 p.m. so he can call the dealer with his choice in the morning.
A contractor is putting a bid together for a new client after a hard day’s work at the site of a current job. Darn! - it needs a certificate attached and he wanted to drop it off on the way to work at 7 a.m.
A commercial prospect is a power email user and wants your email address if he has any questions on your proposal that she will be reviewing over the weekend.

These expectations exceed the normal eight hour workday. Agencies will have to select among various operating strategies to meet them. These strategies include:

Responding to requests out of the office - at the golf course, supermarket or home phone where the insured “catches” you.
Extending office hours some or all workdays from 7:00AM to mid evening via staggered eight-hour employee days.
Using carrier claims-report “800” phone lines for all claims reporting or for “off hours” claims reporting.
Signing up for a carrier service center for policy service (e.g. coverage changes, billing questions, binders for closings, certs for third parties).
Voice mail at the general office level or at the individual’s own phone extension.
Phone answering services with or without beepers and on-call rotation of responding agency personnel.
Email to a general agency address or to staff members’ individual addresses.
Opening the agency’s website to clients and including an email hyperlink to the agency or to a particular department within the agency.
Interactive, transactional websites that allow the on-line visitor to do something, such as report a claim, request an ID card, report a car change, rate a new car option - not just with a free-form request - but by completing required data fields (probably via dialogue boxes) that will be viewable by agency staff and electronically transportable to the carrier and into the agency management data base.
An interactive, productive website goes one step further and allows the commercial client to complete the transaction with a print-product, such as an ID card, that the client can print right there on their own printer or with a confirmation that notification (for a claim or for a policy change, for instance) has actually gone off to the carrier.

Each of these 24 hour, 7 days a week ways of doing business has its own benefits, costs, and E&O hazards. An analysis of the concerns associated with each and recommendations for its safest implementation may be helpful.

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