DEVK processes applications more quickly with signotec

The reformed Insurance Contracts Act has led to a flood of paperwork in application processing: as a result, DEVK’s full-time field staff had to print eight million pages a year and send them to the regional offices. To explore new, digital approaches to application processing, the insurer introduced a combined hardware and software solution from signotec. As a result, insurance applications are no longer printed out, but are signed electronically and linked to the data record in the application software.

Christoph Kempf, from the Sales Systems Division at DEVK: “With signotec, we were impressed, on the one hand, by the robust, customisable hardware and the simplicity of the signature software’s user interface. Added to this were the first-class customer service and the low costs.”

During the consultation, the DEVK employee still enters the contract details into the EAS quotation and application software, but now selects a different printer driver when it comes to the application. This generates a PDF on screen, into which the applicant adds their signature via the pen pad in a manner that provides verifiable proof. The PDF is then archived centrally and linked to the EAS data record. The result is a standardised process that is forwarded to the relevant regional office, where it is processed immediately. Each signature is inextricably linked to the relevant application document, thereby ruling out any misuse.

For local agents, the pads have significantly reduced their workload and saved time, as the previous processes of printing, faxing and scanning are no longer necessary. The printing requirements at the Brandt General Agency in Essen, for example, have been roughly halved as a result. Large advisory centres are saving up to five hours per week by using electronic signatures and automating processes that were previously paper-based.

DEVK intends to gradually transition to electronic case management within its back-office operations, including for processes beyond claim handling. This will result in ever-decreasing paper usage. The electronic signature is a necessary prerequisite for this.