| COMMITTEES’ CORNER |
AGENCY MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY
Text Message Practices
The importance of keeping text
messages well documented and
favorable for workflow procedures.
exting is everywhere and is one of the most
common forms of communication. Personally, I
text at all times, if possible, unless I am driving.
Don’t text and drive people! It is event to the
point where big cities are installing lights in the ground,
at crosswalks, so people staring down at their phone will
know if they should cross.
T
For agencies whose customers use texting as a form of
communication, the big question is “are we sure that
each text is being properly documented and following
our processes and procedures?” It’s vital that we
track professional text correspondences to avoid the
complications that may arise otherwise.
Here are a few examples of issues that may occur:
• What if your staff member is on vacation where their
phone is not functioning or they are just too busy to take
care of an issue via text?
• What if your staff member is ill and not able to pay
attention to incoming messages on a real-time basis?
• What if the individual is actually no longer a staff
member and you’re unable to access their past work-
related texts?
• What if the individual says they will take care of the
request and does, but doesn’t document in the system and
something is not correct?
Texting shouldn’t cause any additional E&O exposures.
You have the same risk as with a face-to-face conversations
or emails. It is all about how you document the message.
Weighing the Options
Let’s look at some possible solutions. You could choose not to
allow any correspondence through text messaging. However,
you want to accommodate your clients and make doing
business together easier. Let’s face it, texting is probably
going to happen, especially if clients are also friends.
There’s always the tried and true method: take a
screenshot of the conversation and then email it to
yourself. It is the simplest way but takes a few steps. When
taking a screen shot, you need to make sure that you have
captured enough information to hold up in court, should
12
Lucas Raleigh
Agency Managemant &
Technology Committee Chair
something go wrong. When taking a screen shot, be sure
you have the clients name and/or phone number, date
and time of communication, as well as all other pertinent
information on the screenshot.
Utilizing Your AMS
Most agency management systems (AMS) offer some
type of text support. Most require you to set up a generic
agency text address to use and will require you to know
what cell phone provider your customer uses. If you collect
that information, the conversations can simply be added to
your AMS. Each AMS is different, so be sure to check with
your provider.
Recently, I came across an iPhone app called iExplorer,
which is used to export messages, photos, files and
everything else from an iPhone to a Mac or PC computer.
This program allows you to plug your phone into your
computer and sync with your computer. Once on your
computer you can then pick which text messages you would
like to exported to a PDF file. The downside: It is a program
that you have to pay for and only works with iPhones.
Members of the Agency Management & Technology
committee will continue to explore software solutions
and agency management systems that have text message
capture available. As we continue to learn more we will
share with our members. If you have a solution that you
would like to share with us please don’t hesitate to email
me at [email protected]
What I learned the most when going through this
discussion and research with our committee is that you
can move forward with technology, but you have to be
prepared to work with it and not against it. Be sure to
add processes and procedures to your workflow and keep
procedures consistent for everyone on staff.
In addition, the Agents Council on Technology (ACT) has
recently provided guidance on client texting compliance,
including a one-page sample opt-in form. This form is
designed to be easily posted on an agency’s website and
sample text messaging terms and conditions are also
included. Visit bit.ly/TextingOptIn to access these resources.
KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | May - June 2018 |