Agents Council for Technology Releases Prototype Agency Information Security Plan

Agents Council for Technology (ACT) releases prototype agency information security plan, a free package that will provide agents with a customizable starting point for their own security plans and programs.

The Independent Agents & Brokers of America’s (the Big” I,” Alexandria, Va.) Agents Council for Technology (ACT) released a prototype agency information security plan to assist agencies and brokers in creating their own written security plans to safeguard the private information of a agency’s clients and employees, the agency’s proprietary and confidential information, the physical security of the agency’s premises and the integrity of electronic systems so that they function smoothly without interruption.

“Numerous state privacy and security breach notification laws, as well as several federal laws, require agents to have written security plans to protect their operations and the privacy of their clients’ and employees’ private information,” according to Steve Aronson, President of Aronson Insurance (Newton and Needham, Mass.) and chair of the ACT Agency Security Best Practices Work Group that produced the security plan for ACT. “Not only could a breach of clients’ private information devastate an agency’s reputation; it is likely to result in the agency’s having to undertake extremely time-consuming and costly actions on behalf of the individuals whose private information may have been compromised,” he noted in a press release.

“Having a sound written information security plan is an essential risk management tool for every independent agency,” added Jeff Yates, ACT executive director, in the statement. “We wanted to provide agencies with a free tool they could customize to fit the size and complexity of their own operations.”

ACT’s prototype security plan covers the protection of private information in any form, whether it is voice, electronic or paper and involves more than just the protection of the agency’s systems. The plan also contains a series of “notes” designed to point out additional tips agents should keep in mind as they customize the plan, along with links to various laws that may apply and additional resources that are available.

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio