When it comes to insurance, ease is the name of the game for today’s consumers. Insurance companies may capture a customer’s signature instantly and digitally using free electronic signature software, saving them the time and effort of having to print, scan, fax, or send back signed papers. Rather than wasting time on paperwork, you may complete transactions quickly and from any location.
The electronic signature business today provides users with a diverse selection of options. All of them provide some degree of cost savings, efficiency, and convenience, to varying degrees. Although not all e-signature products are equal,
Features, functionality, and cost might vary widely from one system to the next. If you’re looking at eSignature software for your insurance firm, here are some things to keep in mind.
Do you have an agency management system that is compatible with the solution?
Be sure to look into the electronic signature choices that are used by insurance agents while you are evaluating your own options for electronic signatures. Integration of electronic signature solutions with agency management systems can, in some circumstances, result in a more time- and labor-saving procedure.
Look for solutions that allow two-way integration, which means that papers that have been digitally signed will be saved in both the electronic signature software and the back-end system used by your organization. Using the technology provided by Vertafore’s QQSolutions, you are able to safely upload documents that have been signed by both you and your customers to platforms such as Applied Epic’s Vertafore and QQSolutions’ GBS.
How long and how much effort is put into installation and training?
The setup and training of software for Esignatures should only take a few minutes, not hours, days, or even weeks. Take caution when it comes to creating an online signature service with an extensive learning curve; this is a symptom of bad user experience.
As an added bonus, many eSignature companies include unneeded features that insurance professionals don’t need. Try to choose software that even your less tech-savvy personnel can rapidly understand and deploy.
What sort of protection is included?
An insurance company’s eSignature system should employ the same AES 256-bit SSL encryption technology that banks use to provide the highest level of privacy and security for all interactions.
As an additional layer of safety, you might want to think about using electronic signature systems that come equipped with a password and RSA key encryption to keep your documents and account safe.
Inquire about the location of the company’s data servers, as well as whether or not those facilities have backup power and internet access.
Is it simple to use?
The electronic signature software should be user-friendly in order to increase the likelihood of its adoption by people who will be using it. Instead of utilizing a variety of methods depending on the type of document you need to have it signed, all of your electronically signed documents should be able to be signed in the same way using the same straightforward approach.
A good electronic signature solution should also provide centralized storage for all of your papers. In lieu of storing documents in a number of different locations or being forced to rely on a duplicate that is kept locally, this will make it simple for you to get documents whenever you need them and from wherever you are. In addition, you should seek technologies that do away with the need to scan documents, upload them, and manipulate them.
Is it in accordance with insurance industry guidelines?
The Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA) and the E-SIGN Act are the two primary pieces of legislation that govern electronic signatures in the United States. Both of these pieces of legislation were crucial in paving the way for the widespread acceptance of electronic signatures.
Authentication, record retention requirements, special consumer disclosures, and capturing the signer’s purpose are some of the criteria that have been outlined in the rules that have been set out by ACORD for the use of electronic signatures in the insurance sector. Any eSignature software that you are considering using must be in compliance with these standards and guidelines in order to guarantee that electronically signed documents are legally binding and have the same level of enforceability as manual signatures and transactions that are conducted on paper.
If so, does it allow for both mobile and office signing?
Electronic signature software offers a number of advantages, one of the most essential being flexibility. However, the degree of adaptability is highly dependent on the specific solution being used. Find a system that enables mobile as well as in-office signing to get the most out of your electronic signature software and provide your organization and your clients with the most signing alternatives possible.
You and your clients will be able to agree on a signature procedure once you have this capacity. It ought to be simple for customers to sign any document, regardless of where they are, using any device of their choosing. Your customers will adore how easy it is for them to sign documents on a tablet or computer when you bring them to the location to do so. There will no longer be stacks of paper that are difficult to manage or wasted time spent turning page after page.
In Conclusion
The addition of an eSignature product to your insurance agency’s offerings may facilitate the streamlining of business procedures, save time, improve client service, and bring in more revenue. With advantages such as those, it is difficult to see any potential drawbacks.
However, in the same way that you assist consumers lower their risk exposure, you can do the same for your agency by conducting in-depth research on each and every electronic signature solution that you take into consideration. Spend some time gathering information on the track record of each potential supplier in the insurance sector. Ask your contemporaries about the solutions they’ve used in their own agencies, look for evaluations, and make sure that the esignature providers you pick will solely serve to improve your own organization’s operations before making a final decision.