How Agentsync Helps Insurance coverage Producers and Adjusters Handle Provider Necessities for Paper Licensing

This put up is a part of a collection sponsored by AgentSync.

Whereas trendy insurance coverage infrastructure permits insurance coverage carriers to entry to-the-day reporting for insurance coverage producers’ and adjusters’ licenses, many nonetheless require a paper copy of licenses.

At AgentSync, we’re agency believers that requiring copies of paper licensing is a factor of the previous, for just a few causes, not least of which:

• The paper license solely validates that the insurance coverage producer or adjuster was licensed on X day – a single time limit.
• The paper license doesn’t point out issues like a producer’s nationally reported compliance violations.
• If a producer didn’t obtain and print their preliminary license inside days of getting it, some states will cost them to obtain it afterward.
• Digital compliance choices can ship correct, present knowledge with out the paper!
• Paper licensing is a big threat for insurance coverage businesses, MGAs, MGUs, and carriers alike

Why printed licensing is a threat to your company, MGA, MGU, or provider

The aforementioned causes ought to be sufficient – out-of-date knowledge, errors, mistyped or smudged info all current their very own dangers to varied levels. However, as we see it, by not validating knowledge in opposition to a supply of fact just like the Nationwide Insurance coverage Producer Registry, you permit your self uncovered to unscrupulous actors.

The unlucky fact is, whereas nearly all of folks work in insurance coverage to ship on its promise of offering a security web to folks and companies, some people operate with broken compasses. Whether or not somebody is simply hoping to obscure their motives or historical past, or whether or not they intentionally intend to deceive for malevolent functions, leaving it fully as much as producers to enter their info precisely is a chance for errors and malfeasance.

In a best-case state of affairs, handbook processes lead producers to accidents and errors, from mistyped addresses or wrongly entered dates of delivery. In a worst-case state of affairs, they’re a possibility for dangerous actors to cowl their previous misdeeds, and, and not using a course of for validating that knowledge, you might end up in a long-term partnership with somebody who has a documented historical past of unethical habits.

So, if you happen to’re an insurance coverage agent, company, MGA, or different downstream distribution associate whose provider requires paper licensing, listed below are three tricks to get you thru what is usually a extremely handbook course of.

1. Printing particulars from AgentSync’s knowledge

Carriers can use an agent’s nationwide producer quantity and pull knowledge from the nationwide insurance coverage producer database. However even when a provider’s compliance processes don’t use that kind of course of, we’ve discovered that when businesses clarify how up-to-date and correct the knowledge in AgentSync is, carriers might permit producers to print their detailed abstract to make use of for verification. In any case, the explanation carriers ask for paper copies is usually to validate that the producer is licensed – however once more, that is much more precisely completed with present info than with a point-in-time picture of the unique license.

In case your provider is keen to simply accept a extra simple proof of licensing, you or your company can print your knowledge from AgentSync. Utilizing the “Printable View” button in AgentSync, you will get a PDF or printed copy of the to-the-day abstract of producer (or adjuster) license info to e mail or in any other case ship to your provider in the event that they’ll settle for this knowledge as an alternative choice to a paper license.

2. Obtain picture copy of file state and save PDF to AgentSync

In case your provider requires a picture copy of the bodily license and isn’t but keen to simply accept validated knowledge from AgentSync or different insurance coverage databases, it’s all the time greatest to conform.

All states have some model of the paper license obtainable totally free inside just a few weeks of acquiring your first license; you could have to request it, or they might mail you a paper license in just a few uncommon situations.

For many who remembered to request a obtain of their free copy of the paper insurance coverage license, utilizing AgentSync’s front-end producer or adjuster portal could also be a simple approach to retain a replica. Merely add the PDF to the portal and maintain it saved with NIPR’s Attachment Warehouse for these occasions that your company should ship it to carriers.

Once more, whereas the every day synchronized knowledge is much extra reliably correct than a static copy of a license, some carriers might insist that their inside protocols use a paper copy because the supply of validation.

3. Printing or downloading a paper insurance coverage license after the very fact

If you happen to didn’t retain a PDF copy of your preliminary state license (we don’t blame you) and your company is now working with a provider that requires one, you could have just a few choices left to you. States that use State Based mostly Providers will present a PDF at no extra value. Different states might use service suppliers that cost a price to acquire a replica of your unique license.

We have a roundup of which states use which procedures and what you can expect as far as costs here.

Or, if you happen to’d reasonably, you'll be able to use NIPR’s widget to find the very best supply to print or obtain a paper copy of your varied state licenses.

Convincing insurance coverage carriers to cease requiring paper licensing

Whereas AgentSync may help your insurance coverage company, MGA, or MGU retailer and validate paper licensing info, the very best plan of action is actually to persuade insurance coverage carriers throughout the business to cease requiring paper license verification.

Paper licenses are a factor of the previous. Most state departments of insurance coverage now not print and mail copies of producer or adjuster licenses for a motive: There’s a greater approach to do issues. Insurance coverage carriers have to confirm {that a} producer or adjuster has a legitimate, in-force license. However a paper license merely isn’t one of the simplest ways to perform this activity anymore!

To recap:

• Paper licensing penalizes producers or adjusters which might be licensed in a number of states by requiring them to manually request licenses from many state entities, usually at a value.
• Paper licensing requires digital space for storing and processes that always require extra steps and handbook enter.
• Paper licensing solely validates the point-in-time reality of the unique licensing and leaves the provider uncovered if the producer or adjuster has engaged in reckless or dangerous habits since acquiring a license.
• Paper licensing protocols don’t replicate any violations states have reported about that producer or adjuster to the nationwide database.
• Paper licensing ends in handbook delays, error-prone processes, and slower onboarding for producers and adjusters throughout your group.
• Paper licensing leaves you and your provider associate uncovered to threat from unscrupulous characters.

So, whereas AgentSync may help facilitate a paper-based license verification course of, we’d actually reasonably you didn’t have to try this; we’re crew digital knowledge synchronization all the best way!

If you happen to’re on the lookout for methods AgentSync can help your company’s processes, or if you happen to’re excited by how we are able to rework carriers from paper-based processes, schedule a demo today.

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