Automation and workflow pose two of the biggest challenges tothe modern insurance industry. For the most part, the benefits of technology and workflow are thesame for insurance companies as they are for other organizations.The insurance industry, though, has been slower to adopt workflowtechnology and other key information technology systems. Some ofthat lethargy has to do with internal reluctance to adopt newsystems or learn new software. Other reasons for the delay are moreexternal and industry-wide issues.

Solving the IT issue with document managementsoftware

So how can insurance agencies start adopting new technologies toimprove their business process management and create bettercommunication and collaboration across the board? The first stepsare to embrace document management software and to make it readilyaccessible and usable for every employee—not just those in the ITdepartment.

Already, insurance companies are starting to use businessprocess management or document management software to automateindividual bits and pieces of their operations. For instance, manyagencies have set up automated workflows to process employeeinvoicing, social media posts, and more. However, the problem rightnow is that these uses of automation in the insurance sector arefew and far between and typically focused on only one or two partsof an organization. The result of this spread is what we call“silos.” Automation and workflow in the insurance world are mostlyisolated into these small, concentrated areas of use, instead ofbeing expanded across entire organizations.

Needless to say, this silo system makes DMS and BPM lesseffective than they could be overall. Ideally, document managementsoftware should be able to establish workflows that can span anentire company. For instance, a document management system allowsusers to design workflows that can send files automatically fromindividual employees to department heads, on to supervisors orcompany higher-ups for approval, and then finally to clients orcustomers. When automated processes are locked into these smallerclusters, there is inherently less they can do to improve acompany’s efficiency and quality of work.

3 ways DMS can improve the insuranceindustry

So how can document management software take the insuranceindustry to the next level? What can individual insurance firmsgain from investing in these types of programs? Here are just threeof the many ways that DMS can help to improve the insuranceindustry:

• 1. Going paperless: By not taking fulladvantage of IT solutions, many insurance agencies are still stuckin the era of paper files and physical file rooms. Not only does ittake a long time to find client policies or claims documents whendigging through a filing cabinet, it also costs a lot of money forcompanies to print and store paper documents. Adopting documentmanagement software makes it possible for insurance agencies togo paperless at last—thereby cutting costs andimproving efficiency.
  
• 2. Easy collaboration: With a good DMS, filescan be accessed anytime, from anywhere, on any device, making iteasier than ever before for multiple people to work on the samefile or case. One agent can access a client’s policy documents fromthe field while preparing an adjustment, while the other can getthe ball rolling on preparing the insurance claim for that clientback at his office. This easy collaboration aids efficiency andaccuracy and helps ensure that clients are getting the best servicepossible.
  
• 3. Better workflows: We already talked a bitabout workflow above, but it bears repeating. Without DMS, filesare typically either being faxed or sent via email—neither of whichare secure or efficient methods of communication. With DMS, afile’s path through an organization can easily be automated in asecure digital fashion. Whether the file in question is an invoice,a receipt, a claim, an adjustment, a policy document, or a report,you can set up a workflow to make sure that those documents getwhere they need to go for approval or reception. Add secure clientportal technology and e-signature capability, and every step of theinsurance claims process is made faster and more convenient byDMS.