New York’s Circular 20, and subsequent supplement, from the NY State Department of Insurance seems to be raising eyebrows and causing concern amongst agents, brokers, and carriers. Circular 20 requires that between the insurer and the producer there is a 30-business day window in which to deliver the contract to the policyholder (consumer). The reality is that quick delivery of policy contracts seems to be the exception, rather than the rule, for most agencies and brokerages.

Although the insurance industry might complain about such bureaucratic intrusion, think of the customers. How many of you would order an item, whether it be furniture, automotive product, medical test, or professional service, and contentedly sit back and wait for a month, two months, or three months for the actual delivery of that product? I don’t believe the average consumer is that patient, so why should insureds be treated in such a manner.

I realize that policy checking prior to delivery is a serious backlog in many organizations. I recently met with CSRs and Account Executives from a midwestern agency without a delivery time directive from their DOI. It was June and some January renewals were still sitting on desks for policy checking prior to delivery. When I questioned them about the backlog and the delays, they indicated several justifications:

1. When policy checking, they were continually interrupted with other work.

2. After an interruption, most said they had to go back to the beginning of the policy and begin anew – they had lost their focus and concentration.

3. They also stated that management didn’t make this a priority – in fact, management didn’t even realize there was a problem.

4. Finally, they didn’t really like policy checking.

As an industry that prides itself on personal relationships and customer service, it is sad that regulators need to prompt us to deliver product to our clients on a timely basis. That should be a primary focus regardless of the regulatory requirements. If we truly are a customer-focused industry, let’s begin to process policies effectively and efficiently. Perhaps the solution is as simple as managerial directives. Perhaps the solution might require a workflow consultant to assist in streamlining the process. Or perhaps such routine processing tasks as policy checking should be outsourced, rather than having seasoned insurance service professionals spend hours of their time doing something they don’t like to do. Could those hours be spent in more productive tasks to benefit both the agency and the client?

In today’s market, it is not a time to complain about Circular 20. Now is the time to treat our valued clients in the manner they deserve and demand – or they’ll be someone else’s clients next year. For a truly client-centric organization, Circular 20 is not an issue!