Applied ~ 411

Education Plays Key Development Role
By Sheryl Feminis

For most of its 25 years, Applied Systems has steadily scaled the information hierarchy slope identified in the 1980s by systems scientist Russell Ackoff. It lists the following components, from least- to most-valuable: data, information, knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think Applied had been using Ackoff ’s hierarchy as a guideline. Focusing on data and information let us provide the capabilities agents and brokers need to quote policies and manage accounts. But we knew that, to truly help customers sell more insurance and serve customers better, we eventually had to really understand the workings of agencies and brokerages.

We’re proud to claim the trifecta of insurance technology: Applied people have agency experience, understand industry issues and know agency management systems because we build them.

Last year, we began conducting the Program in General Insurance (INS) classes within our company, a facility certified for INS education by the AICPCU/IIA. At class time, education rooms are filled with employees whose regular responsibilities keep them beyond busy. Still, they sign up to spend 4 1/2 months per class to learn INS 21, Property and Liability Insurance Principles; INS 22, Personal Insurance; and INS 23, Commercial Insurance.

Why do they do it? “The ultimate purpose of the classes is to make us a better organization by building richer insurance solutions for our customer community,” says Greg Shiple, Applied Systems customer support vice president. “Individuals who take classes are building better systems and servicing customers more effectively than ever.”

Lisa Kearney, product testing supervisor, says the classes help her apply useful, real-life workflows to the crucial product testing function. “By understanding policy types, coverages, exclusions, exceptions, limits and forms, we can identify issues that really impact agencies,” she says. “It helps us focus on what everything really means versus entering meaningless data on a form. It also underscores the importance one enhancement can have on an agency.”

“Taking classes is not just about our people understanding insurance,” notes Kathleen Cox, Applied Systems product management director and INS instructor. “It’s about them understanding the needs of our clients.”

Students view Cox as the driving force behind the success of the program. Last year, the institutes recognized her as an outstanding instructor, noting that Applied’s INS student pass ratio far exceeds the national average. “Our participants are required to take a sample exam so we can measure their performance, but we don’t make the national exam mandatory,” Cox explained. “I’m amazed at the numbers who elect to take the national exam. These people are so committed.”

INS students at Applied benefit from a distinction not available in classes taught elsewhere: “We relate the insurance knowledge back to the product—the systems we know so well,” Cox explains. “We could have the world’s most talented group of developers, analysts and testers, but without a focus on industry and client needs, we could fail.

“This should instill confidence among agencies,” she adds. “The people who create your management system know how you underwrite, bring in new business and service customers.”

Sheryl Feminis (sfeminis@appliedsystems.com) is marketing programs supervisor for Applied Systems.