The insurance industry has been grappling with paper for over 100 years. Typically, employees in this industry spend more than 60% of their time filing, faxing, copying and pushing paper, yet are still expected to win their agency significant new accounts each month. A 2003 study indicates only about 40% of these organizations are actually using products that can instantly convert their paper into digital information both quickly and affordably. Relying on paper and manual filing systems to organize transaction files is both tedious and costly. Effectively managing, sharing and securing this important data can help agencies reduce administrative costs, protect client information and improve the responsiveness of their customer service representatives. Improperly managed information can become a huge drain on productivity as employees are forced to sift through an ever-increasing number of documents to locate critical information they need to do their jobs.

Simply scanning paper to create a digital file is not the answer. T- Files must be converted to an electronic format that makes the information stored within useful for an agency's CSRs. The Portable Document Format (PDF) has been accepted as the IT standard for image file support. PDF files are compact and easy to e-mail, universally viewable, and print just as they would from the source application. Utilizing PDF files ensures the future compatibility of your information. In spite of all the advantages PDF offers, many scanning solutions convert images into a proprietary format when placed on the desktop. Even if the file is not converted it's usefulness as a PDF file is extremely limited because the output of scanning devices consists of "Image Only" PDF files which don't have a text layer. As a result, they are a poor choice for managing information because they are not searchable. PaperPort, the world's most popular scanning and document management application, has successfully been used by insurance agencies for over a decade to manage T-files. It combines the power of creating PDF, the convenience of network scanning and the efficiency of document management, into a single, easy-to-use desktop application that onramps paper into electronic agency management and archive systems. According to Steve Anderson of the Agency Automation Report, "Installing PaperPort on every desktop will allow your agency to reduce administrative overhead costs, improve customer satisfaction and communicate more effectively with your clients and carriers."

PaperPort overcomes the limitations of hardware produced PDF files by delivering PDF "Normal" files that are fully searchable. PaperPort's robust set of document management and assembly tools make it easy for insurance professionals to organize, find and share all of their paper and digital documents with ease. No file conversion, file import or file export commands are required to effectively work with PDFs in PaperPort. Manage agency T-files on desktop PCs or export them to an agency management system with drag-and-drop ease - faster and more affordably than using antiquated paper files.