Insurance_Survey_Justification_A[1]

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

INSURANCE SURVEYS

OMB 2900-XXXX

1. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection of information.

The Insurance Service program uses surveys to determine the level of satisfaction with existing services among its customers. The surveys are: (1) Beneficiary Survey, (2) Cash Surrender Survey, (3) Correspondence Survey, (4) Insurance Claims Survey, (5) Interactive Voice Response Survey, (6) Missing Check/Account Survey, (7) Policy Loan Survey, (8) Insurance (S-DVI) Application Survey, (9) Waiver of Premiums Survey, (10) Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) Survey, (11) Telephone Service Survey (Insurance Claims Division), and (12) Telephone Service Survey (Policyholders Services Division). The surveys solicit voluntary opinions and are not intended to collect information required to obtain or maintain eligibility for a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program or benefit. The Insurance Service program is constantly striving to improve the service we provide to our nation’s Veterans/beneficiaries.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purposes the information is to be used; indicate actual use the agency has made of the information received from current collection.

VA conducts customer satisfaction surveys to advance VA’s progress toward the goal of improving customer satisfaction. If the surveys were not conducted, Insurance Service would not have the specific information needed to further practices that support the best possible customer-focused service. The Insurance Service goal is to provide an experience to Veterans/beneficiaries that meet the needs of a diverse Veteran community. Insurance Service seeks approval for this information collection that will allow Veterans/beneficiaries an opportunity to provide feedback. Insurance Service will use the feedback to improve the process and to determine where and to what extent services are satisfactory, and where and to what extent they are in need of improvement.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

A cover letter and the survey will be mailed to Veterans/beneficiaries inviting them to participate in the survey. This will be an ongoing survey that will be offered to approximately 40 Veterans/beneficiaries a month per survey (total of 480). The probability of Veterans/beneficiaries having access to the public Internet is unknown therefore the Veterans/beneficiaries will receive a paper copy of the survey to complete. All surveys will be distributed through U.S. Mail.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why all similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

Insurance Service will use its internal review process to examine each information collection to prevent duplication of effort or redundancy in all information collected. The information to be gathered from the surveys as a whole is unique and not available from any other sources with the appropriate level of specificity required.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

No small businesses or other small entities are impacted by this information collection.

6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

The customer satisfaction surveys will be recurring so that Insurance Service can create ongoing measures of performance and determine how well the agency meets customer service standards. The results of these information collections should lead to improvements in the quality of service and delivery by helping to shape the direction and focus of specific programs and services. If these surveys were not conducted or conducted less frequently, VA would not be responsive to the needs of the Veteran, be able to correct issues or respond quickly to improve service.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted more often than quarterly or require respondents to prepare written responses to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it; submit more than an original and two copies of any document; retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years; in connection with a statistical survey that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study and require the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB.

There are no special circumstances that require the collection of information to be conducted in a manner that is inconsistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the sponsor’s notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by sponsor in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

The Department notice was published in the Federal Register on February 10, 2010, page 6792-6793. There were no comments received in response to this notice.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents.

The information collected is supplied by the respondent. No remuneration is made.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statue, regulation, or agency policy.

The customer surveys are anonymous and do not contain any identifiable information of the respondent.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private; include specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimate of the hour burden of the collection of information:

Beneficiary Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	22.4	269
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Cash Surrender Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	25.2	302
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Correspondence Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	22.3	268
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Insurance Claims Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	19.7	236
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

IVR Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	15.6	188
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Missing Check/Account Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	7	94
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Policy Loan Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	20.6	247
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Insurance (S-DVI) Application Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	12.6	151
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Waiver of Premiums Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	14.5	174
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	12.1	145
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Telephone Service (292) Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	20	240
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

Telephone Service (295) Survey	One Survey	Twelve Surveys
Number of respondents is:	40	480
Frequency of response is:	Monthly
Number of responses is estimated at:	19.8	238
Average estimated response time is:	6 minutes	72 minutes
Annual burden is estimated at:	4 hours	48 hours

We arrived at this estimate by initiating a trial with a VA staff member unfamiliar with the survey.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information.

This submission does not involve any record keeping costs.

14. Provide estimates of annual cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operation expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

VA will incur minimal internal administrative costs in developing, printing, and mailing the small low burden survey instruments, and in data analysis and reporting results. The costs are easily outweighed by the benefits gained.

15. Explain the reason for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of OMB 83-I.

This is a new data collection.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

The results of the customer surveys are tabulated monthly. Insurance currently uses a Top box and Bottom box method to measure customer service satisfaction. This method focuses on the percentage of the highest and lowest responses as compared to the total number of responses. In order to effectively use this method, management determines performance targets for the highest achievable goals, as well as low limit margins (i.e. “satisfied” 97% or higher; “not satisfied” 3% or lower). Top box and Bottom box reporting focuses on performance goals achievement and offers easy to understand statistics.

The high ratings of returned responses are a weighted calculation based on the number of responses and end products in each category of service sampled. The category with the most end products has a heavier weight than a category with fewer end products. For example, the high ratings for Telephone Survey carries a greater weight than the high ratings for Missing Check/Account Survey because we receive more telephone calls than replace missing checks.

The Insurance Service reports the “High Rate of Customer Satisfaction” in two VA publications; the “Performance & Accountability Report” and the “FY2011 Budget Submission.” Both of these VA publications are reported annually.

17. If seeking approval to omit the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

VA seeks to minimize its cost to itself of collecting, processing and using the information by not displaying an expiration date. VA continues to seek an exemption that waives the displaying of the expiration date on the VA forms.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB 83-I.

There are no such exceptions.

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