Insurers and agents move toward a real-time revolution.

Real-time interface--which allows users to make a request electronically and promptly receive a response--has a hand in helping insurance agencies and carriers eliminate backlogs, produce more sales and save steps in work flow, according to a recent report by the Agents Council for Technology.

Users can use real-time interface to make transactional requests, such as policy quotes, service inquiries, policy views or requests for information or billing queries. A user's electronic response can be in the form of a message, direct access to the requested information or the initiation of an online process, according to ACT.

ACT, affiliated with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, published The Real-Time Revolution: Redefining How We Work to help independent agents and brokers and carriers better use real-time technology to improve work flows and customer service and sales, and understand the broad reach technology is likely to have in the industry.

"The ramp-up of real-time functionality is at a higher pace than virtually any other technology that's been implemented," Jeffrey M. Yates, ACT's executive director, said recently in a roundtable discussion by three insurance professionals on the topic.

Real-time interface is a definite win-win for both agents and carriers, said Angelyn Treutel, chief financial officer of Bay Saint Louis, Miss.-based Treutel Insurance Agency and chair of ACT's work group formed to study the potential of real-time transactions. "The real-time opportunity is very exciting because it will make all of our business processes a whole lot better."

Use of real-time technology would allow consumers to receive better customer service and get immediate answers from their carriers, agents and brokers, according to the ACT report. In addition, independent agents and brokers could handle inquiries and transactions in a "once-and-done" manner, eliminate multiple data entries, save time, shorten training efforts, eliminate mailing costs and file space, and dedicate more time to sales activities. Other benefits include managing general agents would receive complete, legible submissions, rather than the handwritten faxes with missing information many receive today; and carriers would have billing, claims and policy inquiries automatically handled and could transfer books of business from other carriers electronically.

A drive for real-time functionality is growing. The number of real-time inquiries and transactions is increasing by as much as 30% a month. In addition, in one year alone, real time reached an activity level that the traditional batch model needed 17 years to achieve, according to ACT.

ACT plans to work with the ACORD-User Groups Information Exchange, or AUGIE, an organization of user group leaders, and other interested industry groups to further investigate the potential real-time applications, said Treutel. ACORD is a global, nonprofit insurance association dedicated to facilitating the development and use of standards for the insurance, reinsurance and related financial-services industries.

Agents already connecting with carriers via real-time systems believe they have value in helping work flow for both personal and commercial lines. According to a recent AUGIE survey, 63% of respondents strongly agree that it will help with quoting functions, while 51% strongly believe it has value in issuance.