1. Carriers
Producer Manager & Producer Express
Optional Social Security Numbers
As you may be aware, Vertafore is making changes
within our Sircon carrier solutions to help further
protect your producers’ personal information.
This initiative will ultimately allow carriers to
create producer records without requiring Social
Security Numbers (SSN) within Producer Manager
and Producer Express, and instead utilize National
Producer Numbers (NPN) to personally identify agents
and advisors. This quarter, SSN has been removed
from the appointment processing Confirmation page
of individual appointment and termination requests.
What’s next for SSN? Additional changes will be seen
in Producer Manager and Producer Express in 2017.
Stay tuned for more detailed communications !
Coming soon: DocuSign Integration
With the technology of today, modern agents expect
to conduct business anywhere, anytime, on any
device. With Vertafore’s new DocuSign integration
capabilities, you’re able to do just that. DocuSign is
the leader in eSignature technology and with this
new partnership, you will be able to streamline more
workflows and onboard producers faster than ever.
Stay tuned for more information!
If you encounter any problems or have additional
questions, contact Sircon Customer Support at
877.876.4430 or e-mail us at sirconsupport@vertafore.com
Sircon®
QuarterlyNewsletter
EVENTS
Mark Your Calendars
November9-10,2016
FINRA Small Firms Conference
Phoenix, AZ
In the securities industry, being up with date with FINRA rules is extremely
important to stay ahead of compliance and new requirements. This
conference allows small firms to learn practices and tips for compliance
directly from FINRA. This year, the conference will be focused on business
model trends, the DOL Fiduciary Rule, OBA supervision, cybersecurity, and
more! Click here to learn more about how your business can benefit from
the conference and be sure to stop by the Vertafore booth!
November17-19,2016
NAILBA 35
Dallas, TX
The National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies
(NAILBA) hosts a conference for members to discuss important topics for
the brokerage industry. Click here to read more and be sure to stop by
and see us!
Culture of Compliance: The $300 Billion Challenge for
Compliance Staff
Did you know that fines and litigation costs to securities firms, or their parent companies related
to cultural failures have resulted in over $300 billion since 2010? That’s right, according to a study
by the CCP Research Foundation, the total cost of litigation between 2010 and 2015 spilled over the
$306 billion barrier. This is why it’s extremely important to establish, communicate, and implement
cultural values that mirror compliance best practices and effectively guide business conduct.
Becoming Sircon
Connected: A Benefits
Guide
Find out how to quantify and explain the
benefits of leveraging the latest in Sircon’s
licensing and compliance solutions to others
in your organization.
Learn More
10 Questions with NAIC’s Chief Technology
Officer, Scott Morris
Agencies
AgencyEDGE
Keeping Up with Regulatory Change
Changes in state regulation are one of the top obstacles
for insurance agencies aiming to keep agents selling.
We’ve removed that obstacle for you with our new
enhancement to AgencyEDGE Premium: Quick Guides.
Quick Guides provide 50-state summaries of state
regulatory rules and procedures, including summaries of:
• Producer licensing requirements
• Renewals and reinstatements
• Pre-licensing, continuing education, and product-
specific training requirements
• Licensing & appointment fees
• State insurance department contact information
To access QuickGuides, simply click the QuickGuides link
in the Regulatory Information section on the home page.
All available QuickGuides are listed on the left side of
the page, or you may search for specific information by
clicking the Home link in the upper left corner of the page.
Read More
Read More
Best Practices for Secure Agency-Carrier Communication
Recently we have had agencies voice concern with issues submitting producer onboarding forms
to carriers. The concern is that when sending requests via email, some carriers are rejecting forms
because the “producer information is not secure.” Vertafore’s Patrick Masi clarified the issue at the
2016 SILA National Education Conference:
“Since our industry is a high target for hackers, carriers are taking extra precautions to keep
personally identifiable producer information safe.”
The issue for agencies is that they already have difficulties obtaining information from producers,
and when carriers start asking for additional steps and little direction on how to mend the issue, the
process becomes more burdensome.
So how can you securely transfer these documents? Check out our blog series on Best Practices for
Secure Agency - Carrier Communications (Part 1 & Part 2) to learn how!
Carrier Adjuster Licensing Best Practices Pt. 3: Education and CE Fun Facts
As we continue to discuss adjuster licensing, Pt. 3 discusses Step 2 in the process which includes
completing all education requirement for the state that the adjuster is managing claims in. By
addressing certain items revolving around education up front, you can avoid road blocks that could
arise.
Click here to learn more about what questions you should be asking your adjusters up front to take the
easiest, and cheapest road to obtaining and maintaining licensure.
Carrier Adjuster Licensing Best Practices Pt. 2: Understanding licensing and
designated home state requirements
Last quarter, we kicked off our adjuster licensing series by introducing some of the complexities of
managing adjuster licensing. One of the greatest difficulties in managing adjuster licensing stems from
the lack of uniformity between the states. Currently, on 34 states have adjuster licensing requirements
for independent adjusters. So, what does this mean for an adjuster who doesn’t reside in one of those
states?
In this case, the adjuster needs to claim a “designated home state” (DHS) to obtain a DHS license,
which works similarly to a resident licenses for continuing education and reciprocity. But what state
should your adjusters claim?
A designated home state can be strategically selected to help make yours and your adjuster’s lives
easier in the future. Learn more about DHS selection and licensing for adjusters from our Licensing &
Registration Services team of experts!
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
Sircon in the News
Vertafore Launches Enhanced Sircon
Solutions Website
East Lansing, MI—Vertafore, the leader in
modern insurance and securities technology,
today announced the launch of an enhanced
Sircon solutions website — www.sircon.com.
The enhanced website offers an improved user
experience while maintaining the ability to quickly
and easily conduct regulatory transactions in any
state.
In addition, visitors now have access to more
resources than ever to find answers to their
pressing questions and to better understand
Sircon solutions and how Vertafore services the
insurance and securities industry.
Continue Reading
“Our website provides an important
opportunity for us to connect with the
Sircon customer community. We’re always
looking for new ways to improve our
customers’ experience and this enhanced
website is one major way that we’re able
to do just that. ”
Kip Karwoski
Vice President of Sales at Vertafore Sircon solutions
Webinars
Quarterly Carrier Release Update
WHAT’S UP WITH SIRCON?
STUFF WORTH READING
BEST PRACTICES AND INDUSTRY UPDATES
REGULATION CORNER
Q4, 2016
Read More
Sircon AgencyEDGE Webinar:
Keeping Up with Regulatory
Change
Continue Reading
Secure Agency - Carrier Communications
PRODUCT UPDATES
SIRC Summit 2016
Every year, the Sircon team at Vertafore hosts the SIRC Summit, an annual
conference for members of the State Insurance Regulators Consortium
(SIRC) in Lansing, Michigan. SIRC is a user group for Vertafore’s Sircon for
States (SfS) regulatory management system. At the summit, the Sircon team
and the user group are given the opportunity to collectively pave the future
path for SfS and its industry related portal solutions.
By providing feedback, discussing potential enhancements, and sharing
best practices, our state partners can get the most out of their investments.
SIRC Summit is crucial to the success of SfS as we receive valuable feedback
directly from our customers on how we can make their business more
efficient.
Click here to read more about this year’s summit and the coming
enhancements for Sircon for States.
Did you get a chance to check out the
AgencyEDGE webinar from Q1?
In this webinar, Sr. Product Manager,
Scott Gillahan, discussed what’s new
with AgencyEDGE and cleared up some
questions that our attendees had regarding
pricing, the difference between a Premium
vs. Basic subscription, and even gave a live
demo on how to onboard a new producer
with the Connections feature.
Do you have any questions about
AgencyEDGE? They’re sure to be answered
in this webinar!
Continue Reading
Learn More
2016 NSCP National Conference
The NSCP National Conference offers
unique opportunities to further the
professional growth of compliance
professionals. Workshops, labs,
and forum discussions were lead by
experienced industry veterans sharing
implementation of compliance policies
and procedures. This year, there were
several sessions covering various industry
topics, but the conference focused
heavily on the impacts and implications
of the DOL Fiduciary Rule. And if you
haven’t seen, the DOL has since released
FAQ’s to clarify some items that were
addressed at the conference. Click here
to learn more!
The Hanover Insurance
Group employs
approximately 700 licensed
professionals across the
United States. As the
Hanover continues to grow,
maintaining compliance for
their licensed professionals
became more involved
and time consuming. With
this in mind, the company
began searching for an
efficient and reliable license
management solution
coupled with expertise
“I had to renew my Louisiana license last week
and I was impressed with how smoothly it
went. They sent me the form they needed
me to fill out and within hours of completing
the form, I got word from them my license
was renewed.”
Timothy T. Meade, J.D.,
The Hanover Insurance Group, AVP Liability Strategy
Customer Spotlight
The Hanover Insurance Group
that could provide timely
responses to license
questions. Based on the
Hanover’s specific business
needs, the company decided on a fully managed service with adjuster
license compliance management from Sircon Licensing & Registration
Services (LRS).
The Hanover Benefits from Sircon
• Dedicated team of license management professionals that are up to
date on state license rules and regulations
• Timely adjuster license renewal reminders
• Adjuster assistance in finding and scheduling ongoing CE courses and
tracking of course completions
• Central repository of adjuster licensing status that stays in sync and
current with the state Department of Insurance information, mitigating
compliance risk
• Payment of license fees on behalf of the employees, eliminating the
need to pay upfront and submit for expense reimbursement
Click here to read their success story!
In the short span of one month, approximately 100,000 agents and advisors are onboarded by carriers across the
country. This process usually consists of agencies contacting their producers for personal information such as social
security numbers, demographic information, personal history, etc., and that information is then shared between agency
and carrier partners. All of this must be done before a producer can sell and service customers. When the onboarding
processes is halted or complex, it can cause business delays and ultimately hinder your sales. Recently, we have had
agencies voice concern with the process because their onboarding requests are being
rejected by the carriers for information security reasons.
From a carrier’s perspective, producers and their business’ reputation is at risk when
the producer information is sent in an unsecure way, therefore, they must reject these
requests to protect the producers from the dangerous hackers that have been targeting
the industry. But, some carriers fail to provide agencies with an alternative method of
secure communication.
Don’t worry, we’re here to help both carriers and agencies improve this process. Follow
our Best Practices for Agency-Carrier Communications blog series to discover ways to
improve your agency-carrier relationships!
Every so often, we’re able to connect with
industry leaders to discuss their roles within
their organizations, business objectives,
challenges, current projects, and upcoming
initiatives. This quarter, we worked with
NAIC’s Chief Technology Officer, Scott Morris
to discuss their top 3 technology initiatives
over the next year, collaboration with the
NIPR and Vertafore, their mission moving
forward, and more! Click here to get a
direct, inside scoop of what’s to come from
the NAIC.
Did you know?
Get the scoop!
It’s budget season — don’t forget about NetVU17!
What is NetVU?
The Network of Vertafore Users, more commonly known as NetVU, is a group that provides opportunities for users to connect
on industry topics. As an organization, NetVU specifically provides Vertafore customers a channel to exchange ideas, promote
education , and discuss technology innovation in the insurance industry. As a Vertafore customer, you have an instant and
FREE membership to NetVU!
What does NetVU17 mean to me as a Sircon solutions user?
As a Sircon customer, there are three main reasons YOU would want to participate in the NetVU community and attend the
NetVU17 conference:
1) Gain Sircon product knowledge — participate in a full Sircon product knowledge track highlighting best practices
from customers and product experts to get the most out of your investment - not to mention an opportunity
to view and give your input on what we are building for the future.
2) Network with your industry — agencies and carriers engage in open conversations about how to take the industry
to the next level.
3) Connect with Sircon thought leaders and leadership — whether you are engaging with our NCOM discussion
board, or talking directly with Sircon leadership at the conference, you can have direct access to our staff and
work with us to shape our direction for the future.
Click here to learn more about NetVU17!
Q3 2016 Regulatory Recap: What’s New and What’s to Come
State by state changes you should know, updates on NARAB II, the CLAIM Act, Fiduciary Rule, and more!
What’s New- Click here for a state by state list of updates from Q3!
Looking Forward: What we’re watching and pending legislations
NARAB II Update
While NARAB II became law in January 2015, the process of creating the Board of Directors is still in the works. Until
the Board is in place, answers to detailed questions about how the NARAB clearinghouse will be implemented and
managed will remain unanswered (Not familiar with NARAB II? Check out this blog post to catch up!).
Click here for our quick summary about the pending NARAB board.
The CLAIM Act
Often described as “NARAB for adjusters”, the CLAIM Act (H.R. 2998) was introduced in July 2015. Its goal is
uniformity for adjuster compliance from lines of authority to continuing education and designated home state.
No additional action has taken place since it was referred to committee and the original sponsor, Representative
Stephen Fincher, is not seeking reelection in 2016.
Fiduciary Rule Update
What is it?
The rule, passed by the Department of Labor (DOL), requires that brokers act in clients’ best interests when
providing retirement planning advice. Sounds simple, but implications are complex.
What does it mean for the industry?
The rule could change how advisors are compensated for investment related sales, like annuities, from commission
to a flat fee. We expect a few major things to come out of this:
• Product features (interest and cap rates, income benefit riders, etc.) and agent experience are going to be
more important differentiators for carriers.
• The channels selling these products may shift, driving insurance only annuity agents to align with broker
dealers or banks. Some insurance agencies and BGAs may exit the business if they don’t want to deal with
the additional compliance requirements or align with a broker dealer or bank.
• Access to good financial advisors who wish to sell annuities may decrease due to greater risk and burdens.
For more background information on the Fiduciary Rule, read this Sircon blog post!
Q3 Event Recap
Industry Day 2016
What constitutes a great business
partnership? Or better yet — what is
important to customers as they measure
the impact of their partnerships?
Return on investment is an indisputable
key measurement for success of any
organizational investment, but in addition
to ROI, what other factors are critical to the
success of a business relationship?
We heard insightful answers to those
questions and more at this year’s Industry
Day — an event where we invite a few of our
customers to our Michigan office to share
their thoughts on the industry with us. The
theme this years was all about building great
partnerships.
Click here to discover how we worked with
our customers to better integrate with them
as partners and to collectively strategize
a path to help our customers reach their
organizational goals.
Navigating the complex path for adjuster licensing can be an involved
process — and a critical one given how important it is that adjuster are
properly licensed. The varying state requirements create extra effort
for insurance companies to stay compliant. Which states require a
license? How do you identify a home state if your state doesn’t require
a license? What are the CE requirements for each line of authority?
Every quarter, Sr. Product Manager, Patrick Masi reports on the latest updates
and upcoming enhancements for our Sircon carrier products. This quarter,
Patrick went into further detail on some of our upcoming enhancements that we
mentioned in the last webinar including Optional SSN and DocuSign capabilities.
At the end of the webinar, we had some great questions from our attendees!
Q: Will you be able to make producer appointments without SSN?
A: You will be able to make producer appointments without SSN in all states that
do not require SSN. However, some states still require SSN in order to create
a producer record and in such cases, the user will receive an error message
indicating that SSN is required.
Q: Will you be able to sync with the PDB with NPN instead of SSN?
A: Yes! A producer record can now be created with SSN or NPN, since each will
still create a unique producer record to sync with the PDB. If your business does
not currently use NPN, there are free tools available to obtain NPNs for your
producers. For carriers that fall under this category, we will be working with you
to utilize these tools.
Interested in more topics from industry leaders? Check out our
two-part discussions with Executive Director, Karen Stake Hornig (Part
1, Part 2), and ACORD’s Director of Life & Annuity Implementations,
Sandy Hampel (Part 1, Part 2).
Advisor Disclosure Management: Early access is live!
Register for early access to our new solution
for small securities firms, and get your first
month FREE!
Learn More
View Webinar View Webinar