Following the adviser ecommerce research study in May, the expanded project group analysed the results and committed to the second phase of the project, aimed at measuring, monitoring and stimulating ecommerce adoption across a representative ‘focus group’ of adviser firms.
Rory Curran, executive chairman of 1st, explains: “From our initial research project we were able to identify many of the barriers to ecommerce adoption. Through further discussion and analysis, we are now going to test possible solutions in a live working environment, working with 10-15 real adviser firms, as ‘case-studies’. At our user conference in July we invited firms to join this study and from the firms volunteering we have selected a representative sample, based on their size, regulatory status and business areas.
“Each firm will be closely measured and monitored before any external ecommerce support is given and then at regular intervals over the study period, during which they will receive ecommerce training, support and consultancy from providers on the project and some of our own 1st staff members. We are obviously very interested to look at the levels of ecommerce adoption, but will also be looking at the financial and resource benefits the firms experience as usage changes.”
Friends Provident has become the seventh member of the Adviser E-Enquiry Group and brings with it an excellent reputation in the adviser ecommerce industry as some of its key facts show:
- 75% of term business is written online (5% in 2002)
- 20% of online valuations done via contract enquiry services
- 42,000 individual registrations on the Friends Provident adviser extranet
- 99% product coverage – for policy servicing on the extranet
- 100% of all unit-linked products have online valuations live
Dave Mace, head of eBusiness at Friends Provident, explains: “We are delighted to give our support to the Adviser E-Enquiry project as it directly supports our own goal of providing ecommerce facilities that are useful to a broader adviser community. We see ecommerce as an increasingly vital part of the business process, rather than just a ‘technology thing’. It is an enabler which, used properly, can significantly drive down costs, reduce errors and deliver great savings to adviser firms. Working with 1st and the other partners on the project will really help us to share experiences and work together in moving forward this important initiative.”
