Prepare Now for a Disaster

Every independent agency needs disaster planning. Nearby construction can take out your electricity or sever your Internet connections, putting your staff out of commission for several days. A computer virus can bring your systems down, resulting in costly down time and an inability to service your customers as they expect to be serviced.

Has your agency taken the proper precautions to handle these disasters, let alone a fire, flood, hurricane, tornado or earthquake? Does your staff understand what you expect of them to safeguard against disasters and what their role will be if a disaster occurs? The following checklists, based on recommendations in ACT’s reports, are designed to assist agencies in updating their current disaster plans:

The Key is Pre-Planning

• Think through different contingencies and how the agency will respond, develop a written plan and test it.
• Train each employee on his or her roles both to prevent disasters and to help the agency and its customers deal with the aftermath.
• Conduct an annual network assessment of your disaster plan and your security plan, and update as needed.
• Maintain valuable papers and agency records off site in a secure facility.
• Include specific triggers in your plan that will set it into motion as foreseeable disasters approach.
Technology Positions Agencies to Handle Most Disasters More Effectively
• Move from paper to electronic files wherever possible. Implement download for commercial lines as well as personal lines. The management system is the go-to place for client information.
• Portability provides a great advantage so you can reach your agency management system, e-mail and other systems anywhere and any time.
• Have a substantial agency Web site with needed agency and carrier contact information. This is where customers will look first after a disaster. Host your Web site off-site in an area that will not be affected by the disaster.
• Claims download will start to become available in the next year. Implement it as soon as possible and encourage your vendor and carriers to offer it promptly.
• Customer claims inquiry on the carrier Web site is an important tool in handling the surge in customer inquiries following a disaster. The industry needs to work to extend this functionality out to the agency Web site as well.
Agents should implement real-time claims inquiry from their agency management system wherever possible to cut the time to handle these inquiries to under a minute.
• Give customers and agents the capability to file claims online. This can be more efficient than filing the claims by phone when phone service is intermittent and unreliable.
• Implement real-time claims inquiry, real-time rating and the other real-time capabilities so you can service customers in as little time as possible and continue to write new business in the aftermath of a disaster.

Take Advantage of Third-Party Resources to Keep Your Agency Functioning in the Aftermath

• Consider 24/7 remote telephone service to handle customer inquiries if the agency’s communications are down, as well as the tremendous spike in claims that is possible. These services possess a mirror of the agency’s database.
• Consider engaging a firm to provide emergency equipment and facility replacement if needed.
• Consider remote hosting of agency management system.
• Consider remote service for back up of your data, in addition to your tape back ups.
• Consider having a technology firm provide emergency services, help desk, on-site assistance and equipment.
• Pre-arrange to have a temporary office at branch or “buddy” agency.

And that’s just the start. You’ll also need to consider how to communicate with employees and customers, as well as your carriers. For more information, visit the ACT Web site.

Jeff Yates (jeff.yates@iiaba.net ) is executive director of the Agents Council for Technology. This article reflects the views of the author and should not be construed as an official statement by ACT.