Last week, we heard an insurer's insights on 2012. This week, we hear from an agent and his views on the coming year.

Technology for Agents
Keeping up with technology and how the consumer wants to and will work with the agent is the prime issue for providers going forward to 2012, says Jerry D. Fox, a former agent who is vice president, Agency Operations, for Marshall and Swift/Boeckh (MSB). "I do not believe this is a new issue, but the speed of innovation is ever increasing and the independent agency system is already behind. It will need to make some quantum leaps to catch up."

If that is the case, how will agency budgets play into the technology strategy? "The agency will have to prioritize what they want to do," says Fox. "Fortunately, technology infrastructure (storage, computing power, etc.) is remaining static if not decreasing in price. What the agency will need to do is not worry so much about the hard line items, but more about how they want to be seen by the consumer. It is more about quick, mobile, 24/7/365 support than how fast their PC is. It is a major shift in thinking on how the 'relationship' is made and kept."

Still, according to Fox, "the independent agency system is way behind in almost all areas of technology. They have been worrying about whose data is whose and where it is stored when the whole system should have been thinking about who should have access to what and when. Since that infrastructure has not been built, they are struggling on presenting 'real data' to the consumer in real time. I think it will take some innovative thinkers to push the industry past the 'start and end in the management system' thinking to 'how do we share what data with whom?'"

Fox sees the consumer as the primary driver of IT spending decisions for agents over the next year. "When sales slow and move elsewhere because [someone else] does it faster and more accurately - the way the consumer wants to do business - the independent agency system will direct dollars where they need to be," he emphasizes.

Overall in 2012, says Fox, "It is all about getting the job done now accurately - and most consumers want that done on their mobile devices."

Next week, gain an analyst's view on 2012.

Ara C. Trembly is the founder of Ara Trembly-The Tech Consultant (www.aratremblytechnology.com), a writing, consulting and advisory practice focusing on technology for the insurance industry.