Insurance Journal Forums

Yes it is possible and financially feasible to go completely paperless there are some things to consider:

Front end vs back end scanning
Implementing dual monitors ( lowest I have found $179 each )
hardware if any needed

Many document management companies not only give you the means but also provide integration with current management system giving you flexibiity on setting up file cabinets etc. and processes to be implemented without any impact on your current system.

From the clients that use our product I have found over 98% are completely paperless and were able to free up office space by removing filing cabinets and placing additional desks. With the time saved they are able to increase customer services and spend time expanding their accounts.

Check out our web site

etfile.com

Linda Tajik
Account Executive
etfile
ltajik@etfile.com

You'll need a good agency management system and a good scanner. Don't think you can get by with one of the $99 scanners from an electronic store.

If you're planning on being paperless, you're going to have to be able to find the information that you don't have paper copies of any longer.....so you're going to have to scan it and a lot of companies are down;oading info to your agency management system to eliminate a LOT of the necessary keystrokes/data entry.

There are some pretty expensive management systems out there for a new agency but there are some inexpensive alternatives out there as well. Check out Agency Advantage and Hawksoft, just to name a couple.

Hope this helps and good luck.

We just moved our office to a new location Sept. 1st. Prior to the move, we signed on with ImageRight in March. There was a tremendous amount of files that needed to be backscanned, close to 5000 files. There are alot of cost in going paperless, but I picked up at least 20% efficiency and we're still discovering new things the system can do. The Wednesday before we moved, with the blessing of our E & O law advisors, we shredded all 5000 files. In our new office space, we have NO file cabinets or file storage. use of the system is non-optional. We are far more organized now then before, with access to policy info at all our fingertips. No more looking for lost files, lost quotes, etc. If it comes in, it gets scanned & indexed and sent to the appropiate person. We hold scanned items 30 days, then into the shredder it goes. To date, we have nothing has been lost. More importantly, not having a paper file has not been an issue. Terry Flood The Flood Group, LLC

I like paperless because its really easy to back up everything you have and store it at an additional location in case of a fire, etc. Anyhow, here is the method I use:

Central File storage of some kind - server, network storage appliance or just one PC and everyone can just use it to look up existing files.

Scanner - Multipage scanners that have the ability to write directly to a PDF document. This is important so that you can group entire packs of documents together instead of having to manage each page as a jpg or other format.

Tablet PC - Have your customers sign directly on the PDF application! Use PDF Revu for signatures etc, it works great!

Organization:

I organize my accounts by type such as commercial or personal lines then create a file for each client by name and drop PDF document packs into the folder. I use excel or notepad to make ongoing notes on the client files. You can also use your tablet notebook to write notes and save them.



Benefits! You can use an encryption program like TrueCrypt and lockdown your files in case of break-in or theft. That way you dont have to send a letter to all your clients saying there was a security breach and they are exposed to identity theft. You also do not have to worry about managing and storing paper files as well as losing them in a fire or theft.

well, all i can say is that when you get to three monitors you will be surprised that the efficiency will increase again.......