Panelists Cite Greater Direct Writer Inroads; Need For Agency System To Adapt Commercial Interface.

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DALLAS, Tex. -- Many aspects of small commercial lines easily lend themselves to electronic interface, according to a panel of independent agency insurance company executives as pan of 11th annual meeting of the Insurance Value Added Network Services (IVANS).

The executives noted that the need for the independent agencies and their companies to automate commercial transact ions, as they have been automating in the personal lines, is becoming more apparent as the direct writer insurers continue to invade the commercial lines market.

Interface is computer-to-computer transmission of insurance-related transactions between independent agents and companies. TV ANS reports there were nearly 24,000 agency/company interface pairs in 1993, up 40 percent from 1992 and more than twice the 1990 number.

Panelists included Robert L. Bailey, chairman, president and CEO of State Auto Insurance Co.; John F. Doyle, Jr., senior vice president, field administration and marketing. General Accident Insurance Co.; Philip L. Engel, president of CNA Insurance Cos., and P.T. (Pete) Standbridge, executive vice president, personal lines, Kemper Insurance Co. Each company is among the major players in agency interface on the TV ANS network.

While the progress in personal lines interface has been impressive, the industry is "going to get our lunch eaten (by direct writers) in commercial lines too if we don't do something there," Engel said.

Doyle added: 'The time will come when you' ll see commercial lines handled in much the same way as personal lines. Even a very sophisticated personal lines product can be handled the same way." Panelists agreed that interface would be the key to survival for both companies and agencies. .Insurers are working on ways to encourage producers to submit as much business as possible via interface.

Standbridge said 85 percent of Kemper's personal lines business is conducted via interface, and "the goal is to get the rest." Interface has reduced the company's personal lines expense ratio by 8 percent, he said. The company will conduct download via any major agency automation system vendor.

"We want to eliminate the redundancy in the worldlows in the system," Bailey said, noting that he expects State Auto to have 9 percent of its...