Paper free in 2003?
Rough Notes

The deluge of paper that's inundated the industry is on the verge of subsiding

"There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend."

-Bob Dylan

While Bob Dylan wasn't talking about the insurance industry going paperless back in 1979 when his "Slow Train Coming" ballad was released, reducing the amount of paper that courses around the industry has, in fact, been a goal for almost that long. It's been a slow train coming. Veterans of the insurance industry will recall the slogan: "Paper free in '83." Here we are, two decades after that non-event and the movement is starting to gain momentum. Carriers are shutting off some of the paper that has traditionally gone to agents.

Thinking of this in terms of the life of a redwood helps put the apparent slow progress into perspective. "It's relative," quips Jeff Yates. However, as executive director of the Agents Council for Technology (ACT), Yates doesn't take this subject lightly. Several months ago, ACT, which is affiliated with the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, released a document titled "Turning off the Paper to Agents" in which the key responsibilities for carriers, vendors, and agents are laid out. The document was compiled by an ACT work group made up of 18 representatives from agencies, carriers and associations.

Why bother? According to the document: "... the overall efficiency of the Independent Agency System will benefit from the elimination of paper being sent to the agent, provided carriers follow certain procedures in implementing this change and continue to provide this information to the agent in an electronic format in a manner that is convenient and efficient for the agent."