Our Positions | Electronic Policyholder Communications
Several states have enacted laws allowing insurers to send documents essential to an insurance transaction through electronic forms of communication. The concept, known as e-delivery, provides many benefits to the insurer including eliminating the scanning and printing of paper copies, increasing the number of renewals, and reducing printing and mailing costs. The policyholder also benefits by e-delivery as the transaction process time is dramatically reduced and enables them access to their insurance information online.
A similar advancement that technology has brought to the insurance industry is the ability for insurers to fulfill delivery requirements by posting policies and endorsements on their website. E-posting, as it is called, is also being monitored by state authorities.
NAMIC Position
As regulators and legislators work to introduce and amend language addressing e-delivery, NAMIC encourages them to produce policies clarifying that, if the policyholder and his/her insurer have agreed to communicate and exchange insurance documents and notices via email, any notice that legally requires proof of delivery by the insurer to the policyholder may be evidenced by electronic communication conformation of delivery. The law must specify that an insurer and its policyholder may be able to effectuate all their required communications, including the legal documentation of proof of delivery of notices and forms required by law, via the agreed upon electronic communications medium.
NAMIC supports the concept of e-delivery because its members are committed to providing their policyholders with what they want and need – timely, convenient, and cost-effective access to their insurance policy language and insurance notices. NAMIC also supports the use of e-posting but discourages any effort that would require insurers to use web posting for policy forms and endorsements, as different companies have different business models, and e-posting may not address every insurance policyholders’ desires.
