Silver plume offers "Sage" advice

Rough Notes, Sep 2001 by Strazewski, Len

TECHNOLOGY

Silver Plume's new online information product gives producers the right advice

Where do you turn for Sage advice?

Most insurance buyers turn to their agent or broker. Most agents turn to whatever resources they have in the office-and hope they know where to look amid piles of manuals, binders and trade publications.

Craig Nelson, vice president and commercial lines producer at TJ. Adams Group in Oak Brook, Illinois, encounters tough questions and complex risks all the time-and he's supposed to be the expert on everything.

"We handle small to medium-sized commercial clients, but just because they aren't Fortune 500 companies doesn't mean they don't need sophisticated risk management. And they turn to me for answers," he says. "But no agent or broker can know everything about every kind of coverage. We have to do research-dig through manuals, read trade publications-anything we can."

Nelson also has another research option. His firm is one of 200 agencies that recently tested Sage, an online risk information resource developed by Silver Plume in Boulder, Colorado. Released in August, the new product is a research and analysis tool designed to support producers in growing and retaining their commercial lines book of business.

The new research product features a broad range of detailed risk and coverage analysis, available markets, industry profiles, special forms and general industry articles that can be delivered over a standard Internet connection and searched with a powerful Internet-based search engine.

Nelson tested the crime insurance information in Sage, a typical research question, he says. "Most commercial clients have some form of crime exposure, but the insurance needs and the endorsements can vary widely depending upon industry. A small financial company can have a big crime exposure. A retailer can also have an exposure, but not as big an overall risk.

"Unless you're a specialist, you can't possibly know all of the details, all of the alternative endorsements and markets for the coverage. Most producers need some sort of resource," he explains.

Nelson says that Sage saved him hours of research time, refocusing the search as the search engine produced results. He found the information he needed faster than ever before.

Nancy Lance, a risk management specialist who works with construction contractor clients, also tested the product, searching for SIC industry classification codes and related risk information. "This is information I use all the time, but it takes a while to look it up-even if I have the right manuals handy. The Sage product is user friendly and fast. It certainly has value in our office."

The agency tests provided the kind of feedback Silver Plume was looking for as it released an early version of the new product, says Silver Plume President and Chief Executive Officer Christina Herman.

"We came to the realization some time last year that we were not fully meeting the needs of the insurance industry in terms of providing all the right information," she says. "With our traditional Silver Plume data product, we have done a good job with information about rating, policy issuance, rules and forms. With Sage, we're providing information to agents that will help them better serve their customers by understanding their unique business needs.

"The information needs of the industry have evolved. And while we were meeting some key needs in terms of helping agencies process business, we weren't meeting the overall demand for detailed coverage and market information. Further, the use of technology in the industry was changing and as a result, there was an opportunity to expand what we could deliver-to move away from rules, rates and forms toward coverage analysis and market information."

The original Silver Plume library product was first released on CD and then migrated to the Internet on a subscription-access basis. Herman says the company's experience with Internet delivery revealed a growing preference for the fast and portable Internet access to information.

"Maturing insurance industry technology also helped create the need for the new product," she adds. "The proliferation of rating systems and proprietary transactional carrier sites has eliminated much of an agency's need for manual rating. Rules, rates and forms from the various bureaus are used to drive manual rating. This content was central in the original Silver Plume library product but is not the information that will give an agency the advantage over their competition. Having the information that builds understanding of a customer is.

"We have a great delivery system in Sage technology and access to the most useful content for a producer. The right content plus the right delivery system equals the right answer for our customers," she says.

Chris McMurray, director of marketing and new business development for Silver Plume, agrees. He says that Sage was developed in response to very practical agency needs, based on conversations with both Silver Plume client agencies and non-clients. "When we go into an agency and talk to producers, we try to ascertain what they feel they need right now, but we also focus on what they need in order to do their jobs more efficiently as they move their agency to the next level. Effectively serving both the insured and the underwriter is critical to an agent's success and to do that well, the agent needs the right information," he says. That's where Sage can help.