ITT Hartford Couples Digital Photography With the Pen

The ITT Hartford Insurance Group has a history of being an early proponent of and leader in deploying pen computing systems in the field. Now, the company’s loss control department is at it again by introducing a system by which field representatives can gather and process photographic images in electronic form.

As explained by Wayne Warwick, Hartford’s loss control department director of systems development, the department has two functions: to evaluate prospective customers, and to work with existing customers on an ongoing basis to help improve their operations and reduce their loss potential. Warwick characterizes this as a communication-intensive job, where several elements of the insurance process must constantly be kept in the loop. Of course, each has their own interests and language for describing things.

Using Pen and Paper

Without a pen computer, loss control representatives normally take notes on yellow pads, augmenting their record by means of instant photographs. These notes must be reviewed and reworked into finished reports following the customer site visit. Warwick notes that some representatives dictate their field notes into a handheld tape recorder for later transcribing.

All this adds up to a costly sequence of operations that introduces an artificial delay into the loss assessment process, of which, 45 percent of the time is taken by the report writing phase. Clearly, this situation calls for automation, but Warwick insists that conventional laptops wouldn’t do.

Warwick stated: “It would have destroyed the interview. If you can’t maintain eye contact, if you can’t explore what the interviewee is trying to say, if you can’t get them to open up, you’ve lost the value of going into the field. If you can’t establish customer contact, you might as well send a customer or prospect a checklist in the mail.”

Adding Digital Photography

Warwick described how instant photography has been used by field reps to document specific safety features in or around a customer’s building. These photos are then incorporated into a report, with a confirmation letter being sent to the client about ten days after the visit. By incorporating a Kodak digital camera and using electronic distribution to move the data and images around, Warwick estimates that the turnaround time will be reduced by about 50 percent.

The Kodak digital camera fits in the palm of the hand, and can hold up to 48 high-resolution color images using its internal 4 MB solid state storage. The camera, which costs about $1000, captures images at 768 x 512 pixels in 24-bit color. Moreover, the camera is powered by readily-available AA-size lithium or rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries.

Improving the System

Warwick also describes a number of new applications that are now feasible using the new technology. For example, representatives are now able to include photographic support for the recommendations that appear in their reports. He explained: “For example, when a blocked exit inside a building can be photographed, the image conveys conditions better than words.”

This was generally not feasible using instant photographs since it would have required the representative to take multiple snapshots in each instance for possible inclusion in future reports; a time consuming and costly process. Digital images, on the other hand, are inexpensive and can be reproduced on demand with little effort and no additional cost.

Summary

At the end of the day, meeting and conducting extensive interviews with customers is an expensive operation. The goal of any supporting technology is to be reliable, transparent, and cost-effective. ITT Hartford is implementing an innovative combination of digital imaging and pen-based computing, getting better performance from fewer representatives.