According to a survey conducted by Professional Insurance Agents associations in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York, members in those states used real time transactions and comparative rating more in 2008 than in 2007.
• In the 2008 survey, 432 respondents said they used real time; only 157 did in 2007.
• Real time users reported using the technology with at least half of their companies (see chart) for policy view (70 percent), claims status (64 percent), billing inquiry (76 percent), endorsements (60 percent) and single-company quote (63 percent).
• The use of comparative rating increased more than other transactions, up to 44 percent compared to 2007’s 31 percent.
• 52 percent of respondents reported “some accuracy issues” with comparative raters, down from 2007’s 58 percent. Reports of “big accuracy issues” fell from 8 percent to 4 percent. In 2007, 35 percent called their raters “very accurate,” which rose to 44 percent for 2008.
• Nearly nine out of 10 respondents said they are either “much more likely” (66 percent) or “somewhat more likely” (18 percent) to quote with carriers that enable comparative rating.