While a paperless office would be a dream come true for some advisers, others are still getting to grips with website technology. Lucy Quinton investigates a growing trend
One way to decrease the paper-based office is to use the internet instead, but just how efficient is it for advisers?
Back in January 2001, COVER reported that advisers were keen to work online, yet, two months later, COVER revealed research showing that advisers were "failing to embrace the web". However, by August 2002, COVER ran a story from a Swiss Life survey that found most advisers "are now online". This demonstrates that a guiding hand is needed for advisers when dealing with new fangled ideas and the key is time and patience. While many advisers are young and web-savvy, there are still some advisers trying to battle their way through the website minefield.
The importance of websites has clearly increased over the last few years, but providers need to ensure they are adequately supporting the principle and providing all the necessary information online for advisers. Alan Lakey, principal of Highclere Financial Services, admits conducting business on the web is getting better, but that "some providers make it unnecessarily difficult to deal with them" and "I still favour paper applications".
Searches through all the leading providers' websites reveal that all have a strong online presence, which is encouraging, with a variety of general information displayed before it goes into a password-protected area. Each major provider operates an extranet designed specifically so advisers can enter into a specific "zone", with options for reviewing quotations, proposals, proposal trackings, commission trackings and commission options.
However, despite providers' efforts, in Sesame's inaugural provider service index, launched in August this year, advisers identified problems such as there being too much use of email, difficulty navigating some websites and specific key services missing from some sites.
Keith Thomson, director of investment services at IFA firm Blackadders, says other problems arising include: "A lack of ability to miss certain questions on forms where the information is not available at the time of completing forms; and resetting and re-completion of forms if final save is unsuccessful."
Lakey says: "Providers are getting better at adding essential information such as product brochures and guides." But, he adds that some are "incredibly irritating in that they insist that you change your password on a regular basis", adding that Royal Liver is the most regular offender in this category.
While scoffing sounds can be heard from the industry at the prospect of a paperless office, providers will gradually close down their paper application routes, according to several IFAs. However, cynics remain sceptical as to what the resulting benefit would be. Thomson says his firm has been trying to become a more paperless office since 1991, but "there is, unfortunately, no such thing as a truly paperless office".
However, while advisers appear despondent, providers' intentions do seem to be well meant and they are fast realising just how important online propositions are for advisers. David Barr, e-market manager at Bright Grey, explains: "We have a culture that is increasingly reliant on technology. You can do almost anything online, so advisers expect to be able to do business online too. They are safe, secure and an easily accessible way to do business."
Stephen Crosbie, proposition development manager, protection at Aegon Scottish Equitable, agrees, saying it is necessary to offer an extranet for advisers because it is a secure site permitting advisers to enter private client information in a protected way. Online purchasing and services are growing areas of modern culture and adviser models are experiencing major benefits from using these to the extent that they are building models around them.
Agreeing with Crosbie, Bonnie Burns, product and propositions director at Legal & General, says its extranet is "a resource to support advisers and provide them with a central hub to help them do their job even better".
Showing this to be the case across the provider spectrum and not just at Legal & General, Peter Brutin, sales technology manager at Standard Life, says around 50% of all protection business was submitted online during 2006, according to its sales technology and e-commerce scorecard. Stuart Tragheim, director of intermediary business at LV=, adds that in excess of 75% of online protection business is conducted directly through its extranet. Not only is this, therefore, beneficial for advisers, but providers themselves are realising the potential for a faster and more efficient means of conducting business.
The wealth of websites available at the moment is not just restricted to provider extranets. Moneysupermarket.com is the major consumer comparison website in this country.
Emma Walker, protection sales manager at the site, explains one of the benefits is a product comparison table, which provides customers with a quote across a range of providers and intermediaries, explaining that it enables consumers to compare product prices across a big range of companies.
Walker also acknowledges the importance of advice, saying: "Throughout our site we have methods of seeking advice either by calling our team of advisers directly, request we call them or complete a lead form. For many, advice is the most appropriate way to go and we make it clear that this is available and the benefits of doing so," she adds.
There is a significant increase in the volume of traffic to the moneysupermarket.com website to compare protection products. Walker says the average daily visitor numbers to the protection channel increased 35% from 2005 to 2006 and, to date, in 2007 it has seen a further 40% increase on 2006 figures. She adds that there is no reason to think visitor numbers have peaked, Q3, at present, is showing a 35% increase on visitors compared with Q2.
In addition to moneysupermarket.com for consumers, advisers are also using web portals such as Webline to gain a broader understanding of what is available for their clients.
According to Paul Holland, chairman of Webline, the success and idea behind the portal was due to its ability "to support intermediaries' aspirations on the internet, namely presenting the capability to move a basic 'brochure-ware' site to one supporting interactive consumer quotations".
He explains: "Webline was the first portal to support this in an economical and scaleable fashion, allowing consumers to interrogate the intermediaries' website and obtain bespoke quotations set against the advisers' relationships with the providers."
Efficiency
Brutin says that, as more work is done to integrate processes from back-office software, portals and provider extranets, this enables advisers to work smarter. The ability to buy a product from portals like The Exchange, Webline and Assureweb means advisers can enter data once then reuse it for processing, which reduces the room for manual error.
The private medical insurance market appears very much at the same level as protection when it comes to what is available on provider websites.
Anthony Alsopp, director of Insurance Resource, says that, as an intermediary, its initial focus was on training before it moved on to looking at benefits, which are often seen as awkward. Other sites look at benefits, but they are often tick boxes and offer no real detail. The addition of being able to find quotes online too is something that was added as a result of customer demand.
When it comes to meeting advisers' needs in a fast-paced environment, providers are recommended to keep up with advisers' needs and think about also including pdf files of all applications, questionnaires, key features and in-depth product details and re-examining security issues, according to IFAs.
However, what is clear is that work is underway to improve offerings for advisers. Royal Liver has been vocal over the last few months about its new offering and Zurich admits it is in the process of developing its extranet to "provide advisers with greater functionality". Therefore, while providers should consider how to improve their offerings in order to attract advisers from their competition and keep them loyal, advisers should clearly be expected to execute a certain amount of patience. The test for advisers will be just how far they are willing to be pushed around by providers in a fast-paced, web-savvy age.
