Frank Schlupp

Happy Anniversary, Electronic Signatures Act!

On June 30th we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN). Signed into law by Bill Clinton, the act ensures the validity and legality of contracts entered into electronically. In those heady days some pundits heralded the demise of the paper form at the hands of Al Gore’s invention: the Internet. Boy were they wrong. Ten years later most companies still struggle with paper forms which are expensive to create and manage. Employees waste valuable time trying to locate information and correct mistakes. In many cases paper forms create long cycle times, lost revenue opportunities, poor service and high operating costs.

This week our company switched health insurance providers. I was not surprised to learn that the insurance company’s enrollment process was completely paper based. The form itself was confusing and difficult to use. The boxes did not provide enough space for me to neatly fill in my information. You might justifiably wonder why this process could not be done over the web. Understandably the insurance company needs the wet signature on the document for legal reasons and not everyone has a computer. However, there are options that marry up a paper based process with a web based system when a computer is available.

One way is to combine a web based form with a scanning process. To see a great example go to the State Department’s passport application website and check out form DS-11. You can fill it out online using a simple wizard driven interface. The web page prompts you to enter data into required fields and includes suggestions so it’s easier to understand what the form needs to allow you to move to the next section. When you are done entering information you simply print out the completed form and mail it. The trick here is that they generate a unique barcode onto the form so when you print, sign and mail the original the State Department can scan the paper and easily match the image to what you’ve entered online. People can still pick up the form in the Post Office if using the computer is not a viable option. Have you met my father?

Solutions like this save money because you’ve done the data entry they would normally have to do if you sent in a handwritten form. They can also archive the original image for compliance. Best of all your application is processed faster because accurate data hits their system even before the paper original arrives via snail mail. All this adds up to a smart way to process forms. Thanks for the Internet, Al.

To find out how MetaSource can help you process smarter, give us a call.

- Frank

1 Comment

• 01 Jennifer Eynon says...
  August 3, 2010

  As a commercial insurance broker I cannot overstate the importance of the electronic signature. The insurance industry has embraced this technology and consumers have seen the benefit in time and paper. Gone are the days of paging through 16 page paper applications, signing and snail mailing them back days later. Now a client can retrieve their application from their mobile phone, e-sign and be bound immediatly. Its a truly revolutionary concept. Jennifer Eynon/Premier Group Insurance

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