Improve customer service, cut costs, speed processes with ImageNow

For insurance and financial services organizations, manually processing paperwork causes numerous problems, including delayed customer service, slow business processes, increased storage and supply overhead and inhibited productivity. There are many document management products on the market, but some of these cannot solve these business challenges because they are difficult to use and maintain or only cater to the needs of one department. Document imaging or ECM systems that don’t integrate with business application or require costly and time-consuming programming to do so are also the wrong fit, as they don’t deliver timely return on investment (ROI) or connect users to the documents they need. 

ImageNow enterprise document management, imaging and workflow from Perceptive Software is different. Patented technology facilitates a fast and seamless connection between business system and ERP records and supporting documents, enabling users to access precise information with a single click. Rapid integration is part of a proven deployment strategy that delivers immediate and lasting ROI, and as ImageNow integrates with virtually any system in any department, expansion is also easy and cost-effective. ImageNow is as easy to use as it is to implement and maintain, so users and system administrators can get on with their daily tasks while ImageNow runs behind the scenes.

Insurance and financial services customers worldwide use ImageNow to achieve the timely customer service, rapid business processes, low storage and office supply costs and enhanced document security that aren’t possible when manually processing paperwork. To learn more about the impact of ImageNow, read on.

Illinois Mutual, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, is a premier provider of life insurance, annuity and disability insurance products. Founded in 1910, the company conducts business in 47 states through more than 17,500 independent agents. Through a conservative yet progressive financial investment approach, and consistent management of all aspects of the company, Illinois Mutual has more than $1 billion in admitted assets, indicating its financial strength, while AM Best recently reaffirmed Illinois Mutual's A- Excellent rating.

One of the six floors at the headquarters of Illinois Mutual is dedicated to file storage. The organization realized that managing its 30 million existing files and manually processing incoming paperwork was diverting employees away from other responsibilities and delaying completion of business processes.

Administrators sought a document management, imaging and workflow solution that would speed document access, minimize labor-intensive tasks and enhance information sharing between departments. After evaluating several options, they chose ImageNow.

“The professionalism, competence and enthusiasm of the Perceptive Software team impressed us,” says Bill Zimmerman, information systems manager. “The comprehensive workflow functionality of ImageNow was another key decision point.”

A standardized, proven deployment methodology enabled Perceptive Software to install ImageNow at Illinois Mutual in just two weeks.

“ImageNow implementation was virtually flawless – it’s the best software installation I’ve been involved with,” Zimmerman says. “Every stage of our ImageNow project has been completed on time.”

Using patented LearnMode™ technology, ImageNow integrated with Illinois Mutual’s proprietary host applications. Integration connects host system records with corresponding information in ImageNow, enabling users to instantly retrieve the supporting documents they need from their host application screens.

“The ability of LearnMode to integrate with new screens in seconds is amazing,” Zimmerman says. “Its flexibility makes ImageNow effective in every department.”

Achieving Vendor Independence
Participating in hand-on training classes prepared the Illinois Mutual Implementation Team to manage ImageNow in house. Since the initial deployment in sales administration, Illinois Mutual has extended ImageNow to underwriting, policy service and multiple other departments, with minimal input from Perceptive Software.

“The knowledge transfer that took place during ImageNow training classes was outstanding,” Zimmerman says. “It allowed us to take complete ownership of our document management solution, and we’ve been able to undertake enterprise-wide ImageNow expansion ourselves.”

User acceptance of a new software suite is crucial to the success of any IT project, as a company will only benefit from deploying a system that employees are able and willing to use. Zimmerman’s colleagues embraced Illinois Mutual’s switch to electronic document management.

“ImageNow has been very well received, even by employees that took a while adjusting to not having paper files in their hands,” Zimmerman says. “They like ImageNow because it gives them instant document access and makes tasks such as paying claims much less laborious.”

Enhancing Customer Satisfaction
Illinois Mutual’s policy service department deals with service requests concerning universal life insurance, traditional life insurance, annuities and disability income policies. Prior to ImageNow deployment, employees requested supporting documents and waited for colleagues to deliver the required files. Now, files are indexed and routed to the appropriate associates’ ImageNow workflow queues for immediate processing.

“Having files in ImageNow work queues instead of piled on desks helps employees better manage their workloads,” says Sue Steele, assistant vice president of policy service. “ImageNow has greatly reduced turnaround time.”

Illinois Mutual has internal standards for processing policies, including a time limit. ImageNow reporting features enable the policy service department to monitor every aspect of employee productivity, including the number of late files.

“ImageNow Workflow makes it easy for managers to review the time it takes to process each policy and to reassign duties when employees are out of the office,” Steele says.

The policy service department receives many phone inquiries each day. When relying on hard copies, associates called customers back once files were delivered from the storage area. ImageNow helps Illinois Mutual fulfill its commitment to exemplary customer service by enabling employees to pull up files while customers are still on the phone.

“ImageNow puts all the information we need to quickly answer inquiries at our fingertips,” Steele says. “The result is increased customer satisfaction.”

Eliminating Document Misplacement, Speeding Processes
Instead of Illinois Mutual associates taking documents to colleagues’ desks, they electronically route files in ImageNow Workflow. Managers can see who has accessed each file and what action they took with it, allowing them to identify and address bottlenecks. 

“Using ImageNow Workflow eliminates the risk of document misplacement and employees no longer waste time walking around the office delivering and picking up files,” Zimmerman says.

Zimmerman and his colleagues optimize ImageNow to suit changing business needs, without requiring a Perceptive Software consultant to come on site.

“We find it very easy to set up new workflows and have discovered new ways to use ImageNow that benefit our business,” Zimmerman says.

Powering Productivity
Prior to ImageNow implementation, retrieving a file was a labor-intensive task. An employee input the policy number and policyholder’s name on the host application, and printed a request for the file. A colleague on the mezzanine level retrieved the printout, walked to the storage area and pulled the file. He or she then delivered it to the requester’s desk and, after processing, returned the original copy to storage. 

Now, associates input policy information and print bar-coded sheets that have policy numbers and policyholders’ names on them. Colleagues on the mezzanine level scan the required jackets into ImageNow, and the data is immediately available to authorized ImageNow users.

“ImageNow reduced the time it takes to answer a policy request by 75 percent, greatly enhancing customer service,” Zimmerman says.

In addition to speeding information sharing, ImageNow boosts productivity by reducing the amount of time spent processing paper.

“ImageNow simplifies information retrieval, providing huge time savings,” Zimmerman says. “It enables employees to get more work done in less time.”

Illinois Mutual also benefits from integrating its existing fax server solution with Perceptive Software technology. A legacy system captures inbound faxes and ImageNow Import Agent brings them into the relevant ImageNow work queues, encouraging timely processing. For example, all faxes relating to the underwriting department are routed into an underwriting queue. 

“The combination of ImageNow Import Agent and our existing fax system reduces the equipment, maintenance and supply costs associated with fax machines,” Zimmerman says. “It has also freed up the time employees used to spend preparing, sending and retrieving faxes.”

Benefits such as expedited customer service, elevated productivity and reduced overhead validate Illinois Mutual’s decision to implement ImageNow. Zimmerman is confident that Perceptive Software will continue to meet Illinois Mutual’s evolving document management needs. 

“Document management and imaging is a natural fit for an insurance company such as ours that wants to grow, progress and work smarter,” Zimmerman says. “Now we’ve experienced the benefits of ImageNow, I can’t imagine going back to paper-based processes.”

The Challenges

• Slow document retrieval delays response to customer inquiries
• Associates spend hours manually processing paperwork
• Find a product that can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively
• Routing hard copies delays policy processing

The Results

• Instant document access enhances customer service
• Reduction in manual tasks increases employee productivity
• Non-programmatic integration contributes to rapid implementation
• Advanced workflow expedites task completion

Quick Facts
Name: Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Company
Founded: 1910
Integration: Multiple proprietary applications
Products in Use: ImageNow, ImageNow Fax Agent, ImageNow Workflow

To learn more about how ImageNow can help introduce time and cost savings across your organization and to schedule a free Web demo, visit www.imagenow.com/financial-services

For more testimonials on the impact of ImageNow at financial services and insurance companies across the globe go to www.imagenow.com/success