Proformex is a great tool for requesting policy documents from carriers. Learn more about how we do it below!
1. Proformex must have a few bits of key info: Proformex can be configured to automatically request policy documents from insurance carriers annually on behalf of either the policy agent, the policy owner, the entity such as a trust. In order to do this Proformex must have:
a) The signature on file of the Authorized Signee for the policy and the ability to verify the Authorized Signee with the carrier
b) Proformex must also provide verification information with the request to allow the insurance carrier to authenticate the person or entity making the request. Proformex uses the last 4 of SSN and NPN for agent authorized requests TIN for owner and trust authorized requests
c) Agent, Insured, and Owner names
Proformex can include other information such as a corporate resolution or trust certificate for authorized requests on behalf of a trust owned policy. Contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss these additional options.
2. Once Enabled Requests are sent Annually. When you enable the Scheduled Document Request option, Proformex will automatically requests documents from the carrier on the date you set as the Next Request Date for a policy. Once the documents in the request are received and uploaded, the Next Request Date will automatically reset to the same date the following year.
3. A follow-up request for outstanding documents is automatically sent 30 days following the initial request. Once a carrier request is sent, Proformex will re-request after 30 days, unless all the documents which were requested are uploaded. If you have not received anything from a carrier after both requests have been sent, reach out to the carrier directly to determine the cause, as no more requests will be sent to the carrier that year.
The screen shot above shows the Document Requests page, accessible under the Servicing option. You can see that each request has been sent once. Hover and click on the Action menu to the left to view a copy of the letter which was sent. The Documents Requests page is only visible to Firm Admins.
A carrier won't accept the document request letter- why not?
There could be several reasons a carrier is refusing to send the requested documents, including:
- the Authorized Signee (agent, policy owner or owner entity) is different from what the carrier has on file
- the carrier has an internal policy which requires policy info to be sent only to the Policy Owner
- the carrier is a 'captive' carrier and has re-routed the request to the selling agent
- the carrier is unable to find the policy with the info provided
Please contact the carrier directly to understand why your request is being rejected- Proformex is not authorized to do this on your behalf.
4. Requests are 'smart'. Proformex asks for a combination of the Annual Statement, an inforce illustration and sometimes a projected illustration, depending on the policy/product type and type of request. When a request is automatically re-sent, Proformex is 'smart' and only requests the outstanding documents.
In the screen shot above, from the Document Processing screen, the Policy Statement has been uploaded. If a new request is sent out for this policy, it will no longer include language asking for the Annual Statement and will only ask for the illustration.
If the carrier has rejected your request, you may go into the Document Processing table and use the Action items to Abandon the request. If you have received all the documents you want processed, and some are still marked 'Upload' then use the Action items to Complete the Request and the policy will leave the Document Processing Table.
5. What about a Request which I design myself? Proformex has many standard templates that we use to request documents. These templates change depending on the policy type and Authorized Signee. Users can create and send their own letters using the Design option on the Document Requests section from the Policy Detail page.
When you click 'Design' the letter template will pop up and you can change the text of the request letter. The letter you design will be automatically sent to the carrier on the Next Request Date and will be resent once unchanged, regardless of what is uploaded. This is different than the standard letters Proformex sends.