Electronic signatures gaining acceptance

Today was a first for me.  I received my renewal application for my professional liability insurance by email.  It was a PDF form, which is not surprising.  What was surprising is that the signature line was set to accept an electronic signature.  I had already set up my Acrobat program to input this, so it was easy to do with a click or two.  Once I signed it I was prompted to click a button to email it back in, which I did.  This was the first time I've been able to easily sign a form like this. 

I'll bet there aren't too many lawyers who signed the form in this manner.  But I'll bet that the number will be higher next year.  Have any of you had the opportunity to electronically sign a PDF form?

Comments

[Tristam Wallace]

It's so good to hear that more organizations are allowing for electronic signatures on forms. I'm curious, is the electronic signature that you used on this PDF form just a "stamp" of some sort, or did it have some type of additional authentication to go along with it?

[Ernie]

I did not use a stamp, but rather the true digital signature function of Acrobat (i.e. you have to enter a password etc.)

[Lambert Jemley]

The use of electronic signatures is accelerating rapidly. Our company recently passed the 7 million electronic signature threshold for our customers. We are seeing adoption inside more and more Fortune 1000 companies, including, to the poster's experience, a highly respected insurance company. We believe that electronic signatures are moving towards mainstream status for companies over the next two years, and if our traction and growh is an indicator, perhaps somewhat sooner.

[Jay Arrowood]

Consider the contract lawyer who deals with agreements. Can a pure paperless contract workflow be achieved without running in to the "sign here" roadblock? Usually, these guys have to print the contract, email/fax or have clients drive in to the office to sign, receive, and then scan back to PDF. There are several things wrong with that picture.

What do you do when you need a client's signature? Does the Acrobat function enable your clients to electronically sign, and if so, is it E-SIGN compliant?

[Retro Jordan]

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