Eliminating Errors

With Agents' growing reliance on the online channel for policy pricing, application submission and claims filing, more than ever, insurers must make sure that their Web sites are up to the task. But, when Fairfield, Ohio-based P&C insurer Ohio Casualty ($145 billion in annual premiums) started to add capabilities for agents to its Web site several years ago, glitches began to proliferate.

Since the carrier depends on independent agents for sales, it became critical that it improve the agents' online experience. As independents, the agents typically represent several insurers, explains John Kellington, Ohio Casualty's CIO. An agent is not going to wait a day for the insurer to fix a glitch that prevents the agent from obtaining a quote - instead, the agent will get a quote from another company.

"We were looking for a way to quickly capture the experience an agent had while using the Web site," says Kellington. "We wanted to find out how quickly an agent could ... get a quote. We wanted to find out where any difficulties might be."

At a financial services conference in 2004, Kellington relates, the insurer found TeaLeaf Technology's (San Francisco) RealiTea Web monitoring application, which captures users' online experiences in real time. The vendor developed a proof of concept for Ohio Casualty that ran for two weeks in November 2004.

During the test, RealiTea quickly identified a glitch. "When agents used the back button on the browser [rather than the application's back function], sometimes the application behaved oddly," Kellington says. Though agents reported having this problem only a few times a day, the test showed the glitch was actually happening hundreds of times a day. As a result, Kellington's staff was able to correct the problem.

Without considering other solutions, Ohio Casualty licensed RealiTea at the end of 2004. The solution was installed in early 2005 in just five days. The carrier purchased an Intel-based server to host the application and configured security keys so RealiTea could access and monitor the agent applications.

RealiTea provides Ohio Casualty with detailed metrics about how long it takes a Web page to load, how the user navigates each page, and what happens as a user clicks from page to page and from process to process. "It allows you to see the user experience so you can proactively see if customers are having difficulty with the site," says Kellington. The software even can play back an entire Web session, enabling technicians to determine where a failure occurred and what caused it.

By eliminating such technology glitches, Ohio Casualty has been able to speed up the time it takes for agents to deliver quotes to prospective customers, adds Kellington. In fact, the solution works so well that three months after the implementation, the insurer started using the application on its consumer-facing site.

Now, the insurer is considering expanding its relationship with TeaLeaf. Ohio Casualty is examining an add-on product that would provide various trend reports (e.g., increased abandonment rates), which could help determine if changes in application use are due to technology or business reasons.

Case Study Profile

Company

Ohio Casualty (Fairfield, Ohio; $145 billion in annual premiums).

Lines Of Business

Property and casualty insurance.

Vendor/Technology

RealiTea Web monitoring solution from San Francisco-based TeaLeaf Technology.

Challenge

Identify and correct glitches on agent-driven Web Site.

RealiTea "allows you to see the user experience so you can proactively see if customers are having difficulty with the site," says John Kellington, Ohio Casualty.