How Esignatures can help reduce your time to market
- 2 Comment
In the current electronic age, the traditional paper-based business transaction systems are moved online. But these electronic transactions have a few concerns like knowing whom you are dealing with (identification), who is authorized to access what information (entitlements), and how individuals will be held accountable for their online commitments (digital accountability). eSignatures are being widely recognized as a best practice for ensuring digital accountability for electronic transactions. eSignatures are the most effective, secure, and easy-to implement method of providing accountability while enabling electronic transactions. eSignatures deliver e-business advantage. Apart from enabling new business processes, moving existing transaction systems online offers compelling advantages. This gives the following benefits :
• efficiency
• lower costs
• stronger partner/customer relationships
• personalization
• tighter integration of supply chains
There are online business processes which involve visiting a Web site, filling out an application form, then printing, signing, and sending a paper copy by courier or fax. But these processes are not fully automated as manual signing involves printing the documents and then signing them and then forwarding them for further processing. The use of eSignatures allows the final step in an otherwise online process like this to
be automated. The fundamental technology that enables security and accountability for electronic transactions is the eSignature. In today’s business environment, organizations must be aware of security and privacy issues, including regulatory issues such as national and international legislation on privacy and digital signatures, as well as industry-specific regulations for selected broad verticals.
How eSignature can be useful in Insurance sector?
Often, the agent electronically generates the insurance application / policy with the prospective customer, ideally at the customer’s office or home. However, in order to complete the transaction, the customer must sign the agreement, which involves printing the policy.
Therefore, the agent has to return to the office to print and mail the application to the customer for signing. The requirement of a handwritten signature prolongs application-processing time, involves paper handling and significantly increases costs. An e-signature solution can be applied to sign the documents, using which both the agent and the customer can instantly sign electronically -anywhere, anytime.
Using e-signature online insurance applications can be developed which’ll enable applications to be completed and approved online, improving customer service options.
eSignature technology can also be smoothly integrated into business transactions such as -auto financing agreements, new bank account openings, health-related paperwork, sales contract execution, mortgage and other loan applications etc.
Like to know security related threats associated to it. How secure is this? Can you please elaborate on it.
Full disclosure: I work at an Electronic Signature Provider, eOriginal and this comment is just a very high-level non-tech explanation.
Amit
Electonic signatures are very secure, even more secure than their paper predecessors. Through a simple authentication process, similar to what any site would do to verify your identity (username and password) you can verify the signer’s identity. To make that process even easier, some providers applications can simply be embedded into any existing web-site so any current authentication processes already in use can be used to access online documents and execute a signature. Once a document is signed a digital tamper seal is applied to the document to track changes to your documents. Access to the document can also be tracked and limited accompanied by a detailed audit trail which will display a complete history of the document. Essentially, electronic documents are more secure in the fact that the authentication process is more secure than shipping documents and the ability to track, store, and manage your documents is far more sophisticated than just filing a document in a cabinet. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes, but this is just a general overview.