I am pleased to announce the launch today of a new blog Insurance Ecosystem.Com. My vision for this blog is to provide you with communicators that don’t normally blog but have great views and information to share. Each of these individuals has been wooed to blog here because I think they have so much to contribute in their area of expertise. PatAlexander.Com will remain the home base for my voice. I will contribute to this site from time-to-time or enter into the conversation via comments on a particular post.

I am inviting you to sign up to subscription to this new blog. Currently I plan to have new posts for you on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. I have several committed communicators and some thinking about it. If you know of someone that does not regularly blog that you would like to hear, let me know and I will see if I can entice them to join us. If you are a regular blogger, but would like to join in the conversation here with guest posts, let me know.

I believe that the more we have involved in the conversation the better.

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Insurance Ecosystem, insurance technology, twitter, blogging, wordpress, intensedebate, insurance technology

As usual I leave HIGH-TECC with my head chocked full of new information and ideas.   I have yet to check out any of the new ideas, but it could happen very soon.  Maybe later today.

In addition to lots of new ideas, HIGH-TECC is a great time to see old friends, make new friends and strengthen relationships.  I was fortunate to have the week before HIGH-TECC to wrap up some loose ends so that while in Vail I could focus on the people and happenings there.  This is the one conference where there seems to be the time and opportunities for real networking.  I left refreshed, mind cleaned out from the fresh air and ready to be back at it this week.

As usual, Steve provided us with a great program and Jenny kept us all on track.  I am already looking forward to next year.  I would like to ask that you provide comments on HIGH-TECC Day 2 about the various break-out sessions or any other comments you would like to add to the various posts.

In the photo from left to right: April Feldt, Vertafore, Chris Kinsman, Vertafore, me and my husband Gene.  Visit the HIGH-TECC 2009 FaceBook page for more pictures.

On the 3rd morning we are all on information overload, but looking for more.  There seems to be no photo from the 3rd morning, but this is a photo from the 1st day when we still look fresh.  As you can see we are hooked into our technology.

As we struggle with waking up our minds Steve forges ahead with his What’s Great In 2009.   He is demonstrating voice recognition software Dragon  Naturally Speaking Version 10 Preferred.  We are moving on to the the many uses of video.  He is discussing a number of uses of video at websites, the use of video for training and how and why to use a Flip Video.  Steve is showing us how to use eyejot to send video emails to clients.

Are you looking for a way to capture and store information on the web, emails and other information?  Steve is reviewing how he uses EverNote as his database for documents and information.

Other technologies discussed and demonstrated:

• Web browsers – Chrome vs. Microsoft IE or FireFox
• Google Voice
• Google Search – you can limit your search in a number of different ways by choosing the .Show Options at the top of the search. 
• Eye-Fi Photo
• Live Chat for your website
• InfusionSoft
• SehHey.
• Kindle
• OmniPage Pro

Having an open discussion on personal projectors used with MP3/Video players.  Lots of pros and cons to this projector.

Steve reminds everyone to check out the pics at the HIGH-TECC FB Page

Steve’s closing remark is to pick one or two ideas that you have seen at HIGH-TECC 2009 and implement them.  Don’t try to do everything at once.

This is the fastest 2 hours at HIGH-TECC.  It always takes me a couple of days to complete this post as there are so many links and subjects to pull together.  My final reflections will follow soon.

Dan Epstein of ReSource Pro began the day discussing Driving Efficiency & Enterprise Value with Business Process Outsourcing. Dan provided a brief presentation on what Business Process Outsourcing is and how it enhances an agencies ability to build their client relationships. He then opened up the session to questions, answers and discussions. This was one of the best open forums and exchange of information I have been involved in for some time.

The 2nd half of the morning is comprised of three break out sessions. The sessions are 2015 & Beyond with Pat Alexander, Social Networking Hands-On with April Feldt and Boosting your Top Line Revenue with Mitch Axelrod. Since I was a presenter I am asking other attendees to give their comments and observations via the blog comments.

Steve is kicking off the afternoon with his Your Questions Answered session. Steve requests attendees to provide questions or issues relating to agency technologies. He asked the attendees at the session to identify which of these or other subjects which are the most important. The 1st subject being discussed all the various issues and products around passwords needed by agency staff. The 2nd subject is about email management. On subject morphs into another. Next we discussing email content in addition to managing other media. The next subject begins at do you want to talk about agency websites. A large range of subjects are being discussed. The session was closed with a discussion on connecting to your client with chat, web conferencing and other similar products.

The final sessions of the day are two breakout sessions which are Mac Workshop with Barry Klein and Tough Economy: Opportunities or Problems with Jack Burke.
I am requesting that those of you that would like to provide feedback on the breakout sessions, please tie to the comments to this post. Other feedback and discussion is welcome as well.

Good morning from the 1st day of HIGH-TECC 2009 in Vail, CO.  After opening comments from Steve Anderson we are engaged by Mitch Axelrod, Axelrod & Associates.  His topic, Win the New Game of Business.  Wow what a great opening session.  Some comments to share:

• Don’t think outside the box, “Throw Away the Box”.
• Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time.
• Ask people why they bought from you.
• Ask people why they didn’t buy from you.
• Strengthen your strengths, don’t strengthen your weaknesses.
• Serve, deliver and serve some more.
• Thoughts are a dime-a-dozen, Knowledge is scarce and valuable, Wisdom is priceless.
• Are your systems a barrier to serving your clients or do they provide the tools to serve your clients.

Steve Anderson let the 2nd session of the morning with Insurance 2.0.   What are the future trends for insurance agencies.  He began with a YouTube video on Guy Kawasaki on innovation.  The link for this video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJtK7D90XgQ

The New Insurance Agency

• The New prospect/client
• The new agency owner
• The New Sales manager
• The New producer
• The New CSR

As always, Steve gives great examples, tools and challenges us to think about better and unique ways to do business.

After lunch it is time for the Agency Systems Vendor Panel.  Steve pointed out that this was no longer the Agency Management Systems Panel.  There are several types of systems represented today.  Agencies are often using more than one type of software to manage their business.  This is one of the best vendor sessions in recent HIGH-TECC history.

Wrapping up the day’s presentations is Duke Williams on Increasing your “Find-ability”.  This was an in-depth review of understanding how your website is found in search engines.  Duke is always generous with sharing his thoughts and knowledge with us.

The final session of the day is the Technology Showcase.  Six companies are participating in this event.  It appears that it is busy at each showcase table.  Also, there is a lot of networking and discussion of the days information taking place.  It looks that this event was a success again.

I am honored to share this press release with you.  Watch for my review of this product in the July 2009 edition of “The Anderson Agency Report”.

I highly recommend this webinar.  I have heard very positive feed back from the agencies I know that have attended.  Independent agencies are deriving major benefits from implementing Real Time as well as Commercial and Personal Lines Download today and I encourage you to attend this highly regarded one hour webinar being put on by the Real Time/Download Campaign on Wednesday, June 3 (1:30-2:30 PM eastern time) and on Wednesday, July 1 (1:30-2:30 PM eastern time).  ACT has gotten great agent and carrier attendance at previous showings of this Webinar, averaging 390! I encourage you register for this webinar today.

The webinar– Real Time: The Next Major Advance in Agency Workflow– will be led by Lisa Parry Becker and Cyndy Smith, two highly knowledgeable agents about these new workflows and co-Chairs of the Real Time/Download Campaign.  In this Webinar, they will explain Real Time, demonstrate it, discuss the benefits, and outline next steps whether you are just starting Real Time or interested in increasing its usage in your agency. They will also discuss the increasing importance of Download in a Real Time world. Cal Durland of AUGIE and Jeff Yates of ACT will also participate.

There is no charge for agents or others to attend these Webinars.  After you logon to the Internet session, you will be able to listen to the audio through your computer headset or speakers.  If you would prefer, you will also be provided with a toll number you can call to listen to the audio.

Please register for the June 3 session of the Webinar (1:30-2:30 PM eastern time) by registering at this link now: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/770965005

Please register for the July 1 session of the Webinar (1:30-2:30 PM eastern time) by registering at this link now: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/145366576

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements

PC-based attendees: Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees: Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Jeff Yates

ACT Executive Director

jeff.yates@iiaba.net

703-706-5402

This week I attended my first Zywave Brokerage Builder Conference.  Wow am I on overload.  For my property & casualty friends, this product is an agency management system built for and used by those agencies writing benefits coverages.  I have watched this product grow over the past several years and it has been impressive.

The conference was a very fast paced two days.  A balance of keynote speakers, product how tos, networking, user panels and of course socializing.  There has to be some fun at the end of those long days of sitting in meetings and piling your brain full of information.

I really like the approach Zywave takes in teaching their users about set up of activities and attachments.  They use the best practices approach of minimizing the number of activity types, matching the attachment types to the activity types and defining the conventions for descriptions.   Consistency is the key to being able to quickly retrieve information from your agency management system.  Consistency is also the key to successful reporting from your agency management system.

For me the most fun session was “Embrace Your Inner Technology”.  My impression of what this session would be about would be the technology of Zywave.  However, it was far more than that.  The session covered, web conferencing, social networking and wikis in addition to the  Zywave technology.  The exercise for each group was to determine what technologies they would use in transacting a particular business scenario with their client.

A week and a few days after HIGH-TECC 2008 I have checked out a number of the technologies discussed and presented.  Adopted some, tried some and decided they didn’t fit my needs but they have been added to my resources as my client’s might need them, and been led down different paths in other research.  I have ordered a Flip Mino, however, it has not arrived yet.  That is so frustrating to want to try something out and it not arrive as soon as you had hoped.  So there will be more on this item in later posts.

I have checked out EVERNOTE.com.  I really do like this site and it can be a very useful tool.  However, I have decided not to adopt as I have Western Digital My Book® World Edition™ II.  This drive is available to me via the internet.  I use SnagIt to capture internet information and organize along with other documents on the My Book.  This meets my needs in a similar fashion to the EVERNOTE.  As I tell my clients, it is great to check out new technology, however, if you have tools in place that addresses the same functionalities as the new technology, there is probably not a reason to change.  As a confirmed software junkie I can assure you I have a number of programs which I have purchased, used some and abandon to go back to a software I already had.

We discussed the potential of using Second Life as a tool for teaching roll playing to millennials.  I have visited Second Life and I have an account.  I have also sought out other avatar and cartoon softwares that might be used in lieu of or in addition to Second Life.  I’ll be back to you on this in future posts as I move forward with my research.

As usual when I leave HIGH-TECC, there is much to digest, research and try.  I am almost through my initial list.  However, as you can see sometimes and idea discussed at this event may lead to searching out other ideas and solutions.  But, I really did enjoy this year’s meetings.  I brought back the most ideas ever and I believe that this may have been the best HIGH-TECC I have attended.  Hope to see everyone back next year and meet some new friends as well.

Day 3 of HIGH-TECC is a morning session that is the true software junkie – techie overload session.  What’s Great in 2008 is presented by Steve Anderson and others that he has asked to participated.  Steve had Duke Williams talk about the importance of Google, AdWords positioning and pricing, etc.

Steve and the group discussed how to put live chat at your agency website and how to manage that with the agency staff.  Some agencies are using this technology and shared with the group their tools and experience.

Steve showed his YouTube video that he did for HIGH-TECC.  He discussed why an agency might use YouTube, how to video and add text, etc. Steve demoed his new Flip Video device and showed how simple this is to use.  Think about using this device to ask a client during your next visit for a testimonial.  Click on your Flip Video and capture their comments on-the-spot.  Suggestions from the audience:  Use the Flip Video device to create video of a producer discussing the merits and particulars of an account and send to underwriters with the marketing submission; interviews with claimants and other claims related applications; use to video a customer’s location and document with your comments; an agency could offer to clients to checkout to do a home inventory.  These were all awesome ideas.

Steve & Duke discussed Walk on Video.  This is us a WOW technology.  You really need to click on the hyperlink for this and check it out.  A great way to engage anyone visiting your website.  A new way to communicate.  This has so many possibilities.  Check it out and get moving so you are one of the few to be first.

Steve discussed some options for using on-line vendors to handle snail mail.  These could work well for an agency when they need to do large mailings.  Two sites he reviewed were  - postful.com and flydoc.com.  On-line postage for smaller offices, remote offices for multiple location agencies and staff members working remotely should be a consideration for agencies.  Look at dymo.com for various options which include Steve’s personal favorite which is the Desktop Mailing Solution.  You may find this more cost effective than traditional postage options.

Next item was the iPhone and the challenges for business applications.  The new 3G version of the iPhone which was recently released has Microsoft Exchange capabilities.  Thus, individuals in the corporation that would prefer this phone to others will make this an issue that businesses must begin to address.  The individuals in the corporation that want to use this device may just be the CEO, so saying no may not be an option IT people.

I wrote Reading Goes Digital: The Kindle for The Anderson Agency Report in the March 2008 edition.  I have found practical business applications as well as many personal uses for The Kindle.  Chris Kinman uses the The Reader Digital Book. From Sony.  We are each passionate about our particular device.  We compared such things as access to the ebooks from Sony and Amazon, how business articles in .pdf format can be downloaded to our devices and other possible business applications.  I think for Chris and I both it is the ease of having access to multiple books when we travel without having to lug them all with us.  Chris tells the story that on a trip he left his Sony book in the seat pocket on the plane.  He was so lost without it that he went to the closest mall and purchased a new one.  I feel that if this should happen to me, the same would be true.  I did like the size of the Sony and the navigation keys better than the Kindle, but I like the book, magazine, newspaper, blog availability of The Kindle along with the ability to shop The Kindle Store and download books over the Amazon WhiperNet Network without a computer.  My Kindle goes almost everywhere with me.  I have something to read whenever there is a waiting time that I must endure.  Of course, my Blackberry is also close at hand so I can communicate.  What a geek.

So how do you document the client visit when you are out of the office or don’t use the agency managements system?  Or how do you keep yourself and others up-to-date on reminders that you think of when not at a computer.  Look at jott.com for short messages.  This is a free service that records a message and then emails you or contacts per your instructions.  You can also Jott to your twitter account.  Look at idictate.com for recording conversations or in-depth information that needs to be retained.  Also look at copytalk.com which provides you with a 4 min block and then immediately goes into another 4 minute block.  I think these are great tools for producers, loss control or others visiting with clients or insurance carriers to use to transcribe meetings and things to do after the meeting.  In each of these cases, the transmission can be attached to the agency management system for documentation.  Imagine knowing everything that is going on with an account.

Recently Steve had a need to use InstantEstimator.com.  Use this site to estimate the cost to repair your auto.  Their website says:  “Thanks to Instant Estimator in most cases you can get an immediate answer from the convenience of your computer. The Instant Estimator system assesses and costs your cosmetic auto body and paint damage automatically in an easy-to-use process.”

Steve is close to the end of the scheduled time for the session and still has more to share and of course, we want more.  So he agrees to go on.  He discussed email management.  As we all know we are more and more overwhelmed by today’s email.  Some of Steve’s suggestions are:  turn off alerts, use outlook rules, get off distribution lists, process email as it comes in and don’t let it build up.  Some questions to consider, How immediate is email?  How often should you check email?  How often do you need to respond to email?  You should consider the number of times a day you check your email.  Some resources for email management are:   David Allen’s Getting Things Done & Michael Linenberger’s Total Workday Control.  When requesting action from someone consider one request per email in lieu of a list of items. The request should appear in the subject line.  When someone receives multiple requests in an email, either the email is put aside for later action and they may forget to respond or they may overlook one or more items in the list of requests.

Quick comments on google apps & google docs: upload word doc and invite multiple people to work on that document.  Consider google wiki(s).

And the final tidbit is about evernote.com. Do you have trouble organizing that information you find on the web and you want to be able to access it later?  Then when later comes you can’t find it?  This website lets you capture information from the web and retains the links back to where you found it(Of course, the link might change so getting back is not always possible).  You can categorize the captured information and it is searchable.  There is a paid version which lets you OCR pictures and other additional features.  But for those of us that capture a lot of resource information for later use, the free version sounds like a good deal.  I often have a difficult time finding exactly what I am looking for in this area.

My reflection on the day: I had to miss this session last year.  I do not like to miss this session.  I learn so much from Steve and the other participants.  I have expressed in my blog each day the amount of overload of information and today just adds to that, but WOW, what great tools and information.  But I am ready to kick back, have lunch with my husband and do some therapy shopping in Vail Village.