E-signature adoption is picking up steam,
although this transition has taken much longer than initially expected.
Despite some progress, e-signatures still have not
reached ubiquity in any segment of the insurance industry. In a recent
Celent survey, 62% of respondents said their companies were not using any
form of e-signatures in their dealings with customers or agents. Looking
ahead to 2008, most insurers have a clear opportunity to leverage
electronic signatures to improve service levels and reduce costs. In a new
report, An E-Signature Update for US Insurers, Celent examines the
issues insurers are facing as they move toward straight-through processing
enabled by process automation and the use of e-signatures.
The insurance industry is slowly dispensing the
myths associated with e-signatures, and consumers and agents are starting
to drive carriers toward adoption, rather than simply allowing themselves
to be pushed down the e-signature path. Even though the potential benefits
of e-signatures are compelling, many carriers have not pressed the issue
because their peer companies have not yet done so. Celent believes that
the majority of Tier 1 through Tier 3 carriers will put e-signatures in
production for at least some business processes within the next 24 to 36
months. Carriers that are waiting for early adopters to work through any
remaining issues before they would consider offering e-signature
capabilities need to plan for this shift.
“There are tons of success stories out there,”
says Craig Weber, managing director of
Celent’s insurance practice and author of the report. “But many
carriers have been slow to give their agents and customers an e-signature
option, which severely constrains the value of any electronic processing
of new business or service requests.”
“The benefits of e-signatures are too compelling
to ignore,” Weber says. “Carriers that have not yet started down the
e-signature path should have something planned for 2008.”
This report provides context for the continued
debate over e-signatures, updating Celent’s original report on the
subject which was published five years ago. The current report is based in
part on a survey administered to insurance carriers late in 2007. A key
finding is that a majority of carriers have not yet implemented a single
e-signature option for agents or customers.
The 20-page report contains 4 tables and 10 figures.
A table of contents is
available online.
