It is no secret.  Most experienced computer users know it.  Many have found out the hard way.  It is not if, but when you will need your backup data.

If you have automated your insurance agency, then you probably have a reliable electronic back-up system and plan.  But when was the last time that you had a competent person verify that your backup system is actually doing its job?  It’s like those fire drills you had in school as a child.  They didn’t just tell you where and how to go in case of a fire, they made you go out and complete the drill.  The same principal applies with your backup.  Just because you complete a backup procedure everyday does not mean that your data is safe.  It may not actually get recorded.  If you do not periodically verify that you are correctly and completely backing up your data, then you might as well not have automated your insurance agency.

I speak on this issue out of personal experience.  When I was in the agency business, I lost all of my data more than once.  The first time was from sabotage by a disgruntled employee with a magnetic device placed on the hard drive.  This was before I had a backup system.  Next, our agency got struck by lightning.  When we attempted to restore the backup, we found that it had not been recording the correct data. 

Last month, an agent called who had just begun to automate his agency.  He had his system up and working with networking, agency automation software and comparative rating software.  He added a new computer to the network and hired a computer tech to come in and complete the project for him.  After getting the workstation up and running on the network, this computer person asked for the agency management software installation disc to install the software on the new computer.  Somehow, he actually reinstalled the software via the network to the server and wiped out all the stored data.

At this point, we verified that the data had actually been overwritten.  Since he had been advised to get a good backup system and backup daily, I asked about his backup.  “Yes, he had been backing up daily since day one.”  Great!  He would only have to recreate the work for one day.

Now comes the horror story. The last usable backup was from 30 days ago. I was stunned.  He had not done the one thing that we should all do as I stated above, verify the backup tape periodically.  This story does have a happy ending.  Since he had done everything correctly and had printed out reports, deposits, kept check stubs, etc., we were able to recreate the entire 30 days from the documents that he had transactionally filed and documents that he had scanned, but still had on hand.  He was lucky.  That was a lot of E&O staring him in the face.  It is now recreated and everyone has lived happily ever after.  You can bet that he is backing up daily and verifying that the backup is working properly.

I’ve seen many more backup nightmares.  I’ve also seen the backup save the day countless times.  Believe me it only takes one time to make a believer out of you, but backup always seems to be low priority until an agency has a need for the backup and it was not reliable.

When I was helping agencies implement automation one of my first concerns about the agency’s system was its backup capabilities.  When I would query the agency principal, the typical response was,  “Yes we have a wonderful Colorado Tape backup system and we rotate the tapes each day.”  Then I would say, “What time does the backup start?”  Answer: “I am not sure.”  Question: “who installed it and can they come in and tell us if the correct data is being recorded?”  Answer: “Sure, I will call Joe, the computer guy and find out.”  Tuesday and Wednesday pass and no Joe.  Question:  “Did you call Joe yet?”  Answer: “Sure, he said he would be here before you leave (which was Friday).”  After three days of converting to totally electronic paperless files and keying a lot of entries, I would push the issue on Thursday.  “You’d better get Joe over here and make sure this backup is working so we can verify it tomorrow.”

Joe finally arrives mid-day Thursday.  Since, someone else at Joe’s firm actually installed the network, Joe was not sure of the setting for the backup system.  So Joe goes into the computer closet and stays and mumbles for about 30 minutes, at this point I can tell there is a problem.  So, I ask Joe about the time the system is set to start, not wanting to have any conflicts with open files if someone is working late or calls into the system from home to check a file.  Joe finally admits that the backup software has never been installed and there has never been any backups.  Are you beginning to get the picture?

Here are the recommendations given by industry experts on back up systems:
1) If you back up to a single tape, disk cartridge, etc. you will probably overwrite the good data with the bad before you realize you need the backup copy. Always have three or more sets of backup media, and rotate them.

2) If you have never restored a backup set to another computer and tested it, you just think you are making backups!

3) One backup set should be stored off site in case of fire.

4) Make sure all workstations have all programs closed and there are no open files.  This could cause some data to be missed.   
It is best to have some sort of removable media that can be taken out of the building daily.  Whether your choice of media is tape, zip drive, or removable hard drive, get the latest copy out of the building or into a good fireproof safe daily.  I do not recommend using a write-able CD, since they are slower and the discs are not reusable.  With the increased use of high-speed Internet connections such as DSL, the reality of off site computer data back up and storage seems to be the new wave.  But again, make sure that your back up works and check it periodically for accuracy.

Until next month, keep automating those agencies; I really believe the only way that you are going to survive in the 21^st Century is automate or evaporate.