- Provide your agents with quality download functionality and maintain the download program as updates to carrier and vendor systems occur. Continue to expand the transactions (for instance, claims download), lines of business and vendors through which you offer download, following ACORD implementation guides where available. (Note: Contact ACORD for access to these guides.)
- Thoroughly test any new download product with a number of agencies prior to releasing it to the general agency population.
(Testing guide at na.iiaa.org/ACTDownloads/CL_Rpt_5-22-05.doc)
- Re-certify your download with vendors to be sure it meets current standards, especially when making major changes or replacing the entire system. Notify agencies of changes they will see in download as a result of system updates.
- Include industry-recommended items, such as remarks that indicate who requested a change or the fact that all coverages are included in the policy contract, in your download.
(Recommendations at na.iiaa.org/ACTDownloads/ACTFinalDownloadReport.pdf)
- Do not remove download options once you have made them available. Doing so creates a hardship for agencies that have taken the time to implement.
- Provide agents specific documentation spelling out what is and is not downloaded (such as standard coverages or driver lists) and whether this policy detail meets or exceeds ACORD minimum data recommendations (Contact ACORD for access to the commercial lines implementation guides for general liability, commercial auto, workers compensation, commercial property and BOP ). Also provide agents a visual guide mapping each specific data element downloaded to the appropriate field of the ACORD standard application.
- Work with vendors to provide mixed-case download. See Appendix A for a list of fields.
- Provide agencies and vendors with a well trained, knowledgeable download help desk that responds quickly.
- Inform your marketing reps/execs about the benefits agencies derive from download. During agency visits or at other times, have these individuals actively encourage agencies to adopt download.
( Carrier checklist and discussion points at www.acord.org/augie/augie-productive-agency-visits-guide-2nd-edition-march-2008.pdf
)
- Promote the Real Time/Download Campaign prominently to your agents through your Web site, e-mails, print and print and electronic newsletters, trade ads, agent meetings and other agent communications. Promote agency adoption of download at agent association and user group meetings.
(See creative
materials for the campaign.)
- Provide agencies information on how real-time functionality works hand-in-hand with download. Show them workflows that use both functionalities, using all the capabilities you offer. (For example, the claims process uses real-time functionality for inquiry and FNOL reporting, download for updating the database and activities for quick notifications.)
- Display download information prominently on your Web site. Include a “How to Get Started” guide, solutions to frequently encountered problems, your standards for downloading, directions to obtain prompt help from particular vendors or the carrier, download functionality offered by vendor and a link to additional industry information at
getrealtime.org.
- Actively participate with vendors, ACORD, user groups, associations and the industry to continue to expand download and its efficiency.
- Do not use a proprietary method for sending download files. Instead use one that is available to multiple carriers. Before making any changes to the way download files are delivered, poll your agents to be sure they agree with the workflow change.
- Provide your agents with regular reports on your new download lines of business. Continue to update ACTtech.org
(www.acttech.org) and ACORD’s OARS database with your download functionality.
- Review the ACORD standards to be sure you are implementing all that is available. (For example, changing policy number and/or writing company. This standard allows the carrier to tag the old policy number to the new policy number so the policy will not go to suspense when the agent receives the download. This is a big time-saver for agents.)
- Check the ACORD Standard Coverage Codes when adding coverage codes to your download records. This enables you to be sure you are not using existing standard codes for different coverages or creating a proprietary code for a coverage code that already exists.
- Make the resend capability as simple and efficient as possible for the agent for individual policies or the daily batch. This can be done via third-party vendors that administer download and/or on your Web site. An ACORD standard for an XML resend message is being worked on at this time.
- If you send renewal offers for certain lines, review the process to be sure something is being sent if the renewal is not paid and the policy lapses.
- Read ACT’s “Turning off the Paper” articles to be sure download is as efficient as possible before turning off paper.
( Reference points at na.iiaa.org/act/downloads/paperlessjune2004.doc
)
- Submit annual usage numbers to ACORD each year for the ACORD download awards.
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