This publish is a part of a sequence sponsored by AgentSync.
Whereas fashionable 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 a number of 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 in a while.
- Digital compliance choices can ship correct, present information with out the paper!
- Paper licensing is a major danger for insurance coverage businesses, MGAs, MGUs, and carriers alike
Why printed licensing is a danger to your company, MGA, MGU, or service
The aforementioned causes must be sufficient – out-of-date information, errors, mistyped or smudged data all current their very own dangers to varied levels. However, as we see it, by not validating information towards a supply of reality just like the Nationwide Insurance coverage Producer Registry, you allow your self uncovered to unscrupulous actors.
The unlucky reality 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 folks function with damaged 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 data 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 start. In a worst-case state of affairs, they’re a possibility for dangerous actors to cowl their previous misdeeds, and, with out a course of for validating that information, you might end up in a long-term partnership with somebody who has a documented historical past of unethical conduct.
So, in case you’re an insurance coverage agent, company, MGA, or different downstream distribution companion whose service requires paper licensing, listed here are three tricks to get you thru what could be a extremely handbook course of.
1. Printing particulars from AgentSync’s information
Carriers can use an agent’s nationwide producer quantity and pull information from the nationwide insurance coverage producer database. However even when a service’s compliance processes don’t use that form of course of, we’ve discovered that when businesses clarify how up-to-date and correct the knowledge in AgentSync is, carriers could enable producers to print their detailed abstract to make use of for verification. In spite of everything, 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 data than with a point-in-time picture of the unique license.
In case your service is prepared to just accept a extra simple proof of licensing, you or your company can print your information from AgentSync. Utilizing the “Printable View” button in AgentSync, you may get a PDF or printed copy of the to-the-day abstract of producer (or adjuster) license data to e mail or in any other case ship to your service in the event that they’ll settle for this information as an alternative choice to a paper license.
2. Obtain picture copy of file state and save PDF to AgentSync
In case your service requires a picture copy of the bodily license and isn’t but prepared to just accept validated information from AgentSync or different insurance coverage databases, it’s all the time greatest to conform.
All states have some model of the paper license out there totally free inside a number of weeks of acquiring your first license; you will have to request it, or they might mail you a paper license in a number of uncommon cases.
For individuals 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 technique 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 each day synchronized information is way extra reliably correct than a static copy of a license, some carriers could 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
Should you didn’t retain a PDF copy of your preliminary state license (we don’t blame you) and your company is now working with a service that requires one, you may have a number of choices left to you. States that use State Based mostly Companies will present a PDF at no further value. Different states could use service suppliers that cost a price to acquire a replica of your authentic license.
Or, in case you’d relatively, you may use NIPR’s widget to find the perfect supply to print or obtain a paper copy of your numerous state licenses.
Convincing insurance coverage carriers to cease requiring paper licensing
Whereas AgentSync might help your insurance coverage company, MGA, or MGU retailer and validate paper licensing data, the perfect plan of action is actually to persuade insurance coverage carriers throughout the trade to cease requiring paper license verification.
Paper licenses are a factor of the previous. Most state departments of insurance coverage not print and mail copies of producer or adjuster licenses for a motive: There’s a greater technique to do issues. Insurance coverage carriers must confirm {that a} producer or adjuster has a legitimate, in-force license. However a paper license merely isn’t the easiest way to perform this job 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, typically at a worth.
- 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 truth of the unique licensing and leaves the service uncovered if the producer or adjuster has engaged in reckless or dangerous conduct 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 service companion uncovered to danger from unscrupulous characters.
So, whereas AgentSync might help facilitate a paper-based license verification course of, we’d actually relatively you didn’t have to try this; we’re staff digital information synchronization all the best way!
Should you’re searching for methods AgentSync can assist your company’s processes, or in case you’re involved in how we will rework carriers from paper-based processes, schedule a demo in the present day.
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