‘It’s not a big deal, Mike.’
Independent agencies face similar risks within our operations. One issue I’m especially tuned in to is the risk of using passwords and logons.
Each time an agency logs in to a carrier partner website, there’s a new risk to the technology security as an agency. Here’s why these simple actions create a combined threat to security:
- User might not be attentive to good security practices such as not logging off at lunchtime or writing down usernames and passwords to find easily on their desk.
- A user may leave the agency (on good terms, of course). I have to spend 15-30 minutes per carrier “deprovisioning” them and with 50 or so carriers this is time consuming.
- A user may share a username/password with a co-worker with the good intent of helping them. But that puts their sensitive information in the hands of someone else who isn’t entitled to have it or use it.
- A data breach at an individual user or agency level can mean customers’ private data is exposed to those unauthorized to see it. And even after an agency sorts that out, state privacy regulations can dole out punishment for your failure.
False sense of security
The fact is many agency owners are comfortable with passwords and logons. And face it: There are other issues to tangle with. And many users simply aren’t aware of these concerns and risks.
Most agency owners and information technology people are desensitized to password security and potential security issues. I have often raised this issue only to hear: “It’s not a big deal, Mike.”
I think it is. Time is a big deal. Money is a big deal.
A better system
Imagine an agency where you don’t have to ever worry about a password reset or credential error again. You can easily credential or deprovision any system user quickly and simply. You don’t have to wait six minutes for PINs and password reset emails or text messages to arrive.
But agency leaders have the power and capacity to save time (and money) throughout their agency.
ID Federation’s survey of 400 independent agents found that, depending on agency size, an agency must manage between 35 and 7,200 passwords for workers to access the systems of business partners.
For my agency, that credential work adds up to an estimated $50 a year per user per carrier. So an agency with 25 users and 40 carrier and/or managing general agent connections would tally credential management costs of up to $50,000 per year under the status quo.
But to do so we need the help of hundreds, even tens of thousands of unique agency owners like you, to rally the independent agency channel to action.
The pandemic has magnified cyber security, so password security has never been a bigger concern. As we deploy our staff to work from their homes — some indefinitely — we must take passwords out of our employees’ hands (or keyboards or sticky notes) and make them a thing of the past.
Just ask for it!
The good news is that SignOn Once by ID Federation makes this a reality. It provides fast, secure access to multiple sites and safeguards identity and passwords for all logins. Foy Insurance and MMG Insurance recently implemented SignOn Once and highlighted their experience in this case study. I encourage you to read about our experience and consider how you can urge your carrier partners to create a more secure experience for your agency moving forward.
SignOn Once is the federated identity management solution created only for the IA channel by ID Federation, a nonprofit coalition. Federated identity management means that each agency user has a single sign-on to access all of their carriers and solution providers who participate — which can reduce costs for agencies and carriers.
With federated identity, agencies don’t need to track all passwords and expiration dates for multiple carriers and users. For agencies, it works behind the scenes in the agency management system after carriers implement it.
There are way too many carrier leaders who aren’t aware of the SignOn Once solution to create a better customer experience for agency partners.
Please let your top carriers know about SignOn Once and how it can make workflows faster and safer for everyone: Visit IDFederation.org/get-started/agents today.
