Problems of Library Automation in Africa Essay

In 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer (PC) for use in the home, office and schools. Prior to that time, there had been several MS-DOS compatible personal computers that ran DOS programs. As computers became more widespread in the work sic (ie. an independent agentive roles office), newways to unleash their potential developed. As smaller computers became more powerful, they could be linked together, or networked, to sh be memory space, software and information, and communicate with from severally integrity other.So where does the insurance constancy enter the mechanization picture?A word from our sponsorWhats so difficult about combining personal and commercial umbrella coverage? Not much. bewilder a quote online nowIndependent agents deplete stupefy a long way in utilize technology over the past 20 years. From the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, independent agents for the intimately part used PC-based automation systems to boost efficiency and cut be.Since 19 70, ACORD, a not-for-profit standards-setting association for the insurance industry, has been knobbed in automation. The association is comprised of carriers, agents, vendors, resultant role providers, associations and other interested parties. We arent the ones who built the automation system, said Carolyn Cal Durland, managing theatre director of Standards for ACORD. What we did and still do is provide standards-Forms and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) upon which the vendors or declaration providers base their automation systems. She explained that to find out how the industry became automated, one must look to the vendors and solution providers.In 1972, the first ACORD form, a property loss notice, went into use. Today, ACORDs standards include Forms, AL3 (Automation Level 3), XML, OLife and ObjX. The Forms are point of sale, data collection vehicles, AL3 is ACORDs EDI standard (or machine-to-machine, business-to-business, data transmission formats or components), OLife i s a data integration standard and ObjX is much more than EDI.In the 1980s-when the number of PCs in use increased dramatically-ACORD members asked for standardized electronic transmissions between the agentscomputers and the carriers computers.The industry has come to ACORD to consolidate driving forces to eliminate duplication of work, Durland said. For example, without one approved, countrywide ACORD application, all of the 2,400-plus insurance carriers would have to have their take form. And the vendors or solution providers who automate those forms would have to customize each form.Now that ACORD and the industry are whole kit hand-in-hand, there is one form accepted and used by many of those carriers. In supplement, the vendors or solution providers have the option to become licensed by ACORD to redistribute the Forms. ACORD provides them with toolsto print the ACORD Forms, Durland said. ACORDs Forms efforts have unornamented the costs out of this distribution channel.Acco rding to Durland, in the same manner that the industry came together with ACORD to do Forms, they have also worked to develop EDI Standards. Through our subcommittee process and strict compliance to anti-trust guidelines, we bring together carriers, agents, vendors, solution providers and other interested parties to discuss what is needed to transmit the data collected, she said.Change is goodThe industry on the whole, according to Durland, is slow to make changes, although there are some carriers that have the resources to be on the stellar(a) edge of technology.The beginning was a bit archaic. Carriers realized the benefits of automation and developed proprietary systems that they placed in the agents offices, Durland said. This resulted in the agents having to physically go from one terminal to another to interface with the carriers automating their process.With the inception of the agency concern vendors and ACORDs standards implemented in those systems, the agents were concep tually subject to eliminatethose proprietary terminals and work through one system. This concept called SEMCI, Single Entry Multiple Company Interface, allowed the agents to keep the data in one place and transmit it electronically to any of the carriers it was licensed to represent, Durland explained.One step forward, two steps back x years ago, when Durland joined ACORD, there were many agency management systems attempting to enable SEMCI. Today, due to acquisitions and mergers, there are three primary vendors and a few smaller ones, she said. SEMCI is still the goal for the agents and the carriers. However, with the inception of Web enabled processes, the carriers-in an effort to streamline their costs-reverted back to proprietary applications.Those leading edge carriers put up Web sites that required the agent to go to the site and enter the information. So instead of going to a separate terminal in their office, they now had to connect to a Web site and rekey the data that was already in their databases.This resulted in the sufferance of the new standard XML. XML is a standard that enables connectivity between Web applications and agency management systems, in addition to business-to-business, business-to-customer, etc., Durland said.The goal to secure SEMCI, according to Durland, can still happen with the carrying into action of XML. Plus it broadens the trading companion base to be more than the agent to insurance carrier, she said.A push for implementationIn the 1990s, implementation guides were written and a certification process was developed. Today, there are more than 12,000 upload and 40,000 download implementations using AL3 standards. AL3 continues to evolve and there are new implementations every day, including using AL3 standards over the Internet.Ever since the dawn of the industrys automation, forms standardizationcontinued and still continues to be an important focus for ACORD as the standards-setting association works with many differe nt trading partners within the industry.Today there are roughly 400 ACORD forms. And although its important to note how many forms there are, what is even more important to note is the fact that these ACORD forms have eliminated or prevented 80,000 proprietary forms-saving the industry millions of dollars.Communicating on a global basisAccording to Durland, ACORD has round dedicated to building relationships with other standards-setting organizations. The fact is, the industry handles business on a global basis, so it just makes sense that the goal is to be able to communicate on a global basis.As an example, Durland pointed out that carriers write coverage for properties owned by people all over the world. In turn, these carriers work with other carriers or reinsurers to portion out the exposure.When asked why it is so important for the industry to be automated, Durland said, Automation strips costs out of workflows. Simply put, to only have to go to one place for information and to be able to service customers quickly and efficiently is key.For example, the agent and carrier agree to indemnify the customer if they have a loss which is covered under their policy. The customer pays a fee based on that promise. When the loss occurs, they trust someone to handle it promptlyto be given information on the progression of the resolution and be paid or have the item replaced ASAP, Durland said.Automation makes it possible.With the technology and automation available to us today, the opportunities to share information are unlimited, Durland said. The industry realizes that and is working together to figure out how to communicate electronicallywith each other.