Carrier-Agent Transactions Increase Significantly in 2009

IVANS has reported that electronic communication within the insurance industry has increased significantly in the last year, citing data from its Automation Reporting solution.

IVANS, a Stamford, Conn.-based electronic data interchange (EDI) and agency-company interface solutions provider, recently claimed that data from its Automation Reporting solution indicates that the property and casualty industry is communicating electronically significantly more than a year ago.

The Automation Reporting solution helps carriers benchmark utilization of download and real-time technologies. IVANS is able to provide this kind of usage data, the company says, because its technologies facilitate communications between more than 130,000 agency-carrier pairings.

In a press release, IVANS reported that download transactions from carriers to agents increased 17 percent, while real-time transactions from agents to carriers increased 21 percent, compared to a year ago. Perhaps more tellingly, the vendor reports that it has seen a 60 percent increase in the number of active agents conducting commercial lines transactions.

IVANS attributes much of the growth to new carriers that are implementing agency-company interface initiatives, as well as existing carriers that have implemented electronic transaction capabilities in new areas like commercial lines and claims. The number of agents using claims downloads, according to the vendor's data, more than doubled in the past year.