This document provides an overview and update on Sircon, a company that provides compliance and licensing solutions to various stakeholders in the insurance industry. The key points are: 1) Sircon has partnered with all five major stakeholders (producers, carriers, securities firms, agencies, and regulators) to more efficiently connect people and streamline business processes. 2) Product updates include improvements to licensing and compliance tools for individual producers, carriers, securities firms, and agencies. 3) The document provides industry news on recent regulatory changes regarding suitability standards for annuity sales and discussions around "just in time" producer appointments.

1. What’s New with Sircon
Sircon: Complete. Connected. Compliant.
What does it mean to be Sircon connected?
With over 20 years in the industry, our customers have taught us that removing roadblocks to get and keep selling professionals
compliant depends on getting all stakeholders in the producer lifecycle communicating more efficiently. That’s why, unlike
any other organization in the industry, we’ve partnered with all five stakeholders to connect the industry to streamline those
business processes. It’s not just about connecting with technology; it’s just as much about connecting people for a better, faster
agent/adviser experience. As a Sircon solutions user, you are part of these connections. Click here to learn more.
Product Updates
Individual Producers
It is easier than ever to sign up for ProducerEDGE with an updated
simpler, streamlined process. The Colorado Division of Insurance
has also partnered with Vertafore to promote ProducerEDGE to
streamline producer license management processes. Click here
to learn more.
Carriers
We’ve made the following improvements to our carrier-focused
products:
• Florida County / South Carolina Category Automation
º One of the most frequently requested customer items
• Producer Database Data Normalizer fix for Louisiana leap years
• Reporting - upgrading the reporting infrastructure
º First six delivered 8/22, remainder Q4/Q1 ’16
º Improved user experience when exporting to Excel
º Easier to sort, filter, manipulate data
º New statistics overviews on summary
º Results consistency - always show NPN, preferred external
system ID, business units
Please note: You can also find Producer Manager and Producer
Express release notes in Producer Manager.
Securities Firms
Vertafore now offers an enhanced Sircon solution to monitor
financial and character issues for producers/advisers. The Sircon
Financial and Character Alerts service accesses federal, state,
and local court dockets to offer reporting of civil and criminal
actions, as well as financial events (liens, bankruptcies, etc.). This
service allows for proactive compliance with FINRA Rule 4530
for timely reporting of disclosure events, and SEC Rule 204-3 for
updates of ADV brochure supplements due to material changes.
These capabilities enable securities firms to avoid costly late
disclosure fees and other penalties, mitigate reputation risk, and
protect consumers from potential fraudulent activities. Please
contact an Account Manager for more information.
Agencies
AgencyEDGE is now better than ever. Manage agency licenses,
complete licensing transactions, and connect with producers
through ProducerEDGE. Premium members can also now receive
renewal reminders as well as a billing report for connected
agents. Click here to learn more about the advantages of going
premium today!
Best Practices and
Industry Updates
• 5 Things You Need to Know
About Recent Regulatory
Changes
• 10 Questions with ACORD’s
Director of Life & Annuity
Implementations, Sandy
Hampel
–– Part 1
–– Part 2
• 10 Questions with NIPR’s
Executive Director, Karen
Stakem Hornig
–– Part 1
–– Part 2
• Budget Season: 3 Ways to Clean
Up Your Producer Data without
Breaking Your Budget
• Why Carriers Should Attend
NetVU16
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
FAQs
Sircon Solutions
Training Videos
• Are you sure you’re using your Sircon®
solution to its full potential? Click here to
access our video library of training videos
to get the most out of your investment.
• Please contact support at 877.876.4430
or submit a request via self-service portal
for your individual password.
Sircon®
Quarterly
Newsletter
Q4, 2015
Background: American Enterprise’s structure includes
multiple companies and Kathy Lee, Underwriting Director,
is in charge of managing all agency
administrative responsibilities
including agent’s appointments for
each of those companies. She is also
responsible for production tracking
and processing renewals.
Problem: American Enterprise had
an objective; to grow their company
and agent base without adding staff.
Their original model required multiple temps and tedious
processes to ensure that each agent was authorized to sell.
Tracking regulatory changes was also becoming burdensome
because employees were spending countless hours visiting
each state website for compliance information.
Solution: American Enterprise has now been with Vertafore
for four years. They integrate Sircon Producer Manager with
their homegrown system to manage agents and use Sircon
e-PAL for their regulatory reference needs. Today, American
Enterprise has eliminated the need for temporary employees
and saved time from visiting multiple state websites for
regulatory updates.
“With Vertafore you go to one place; it’s
just so much faster and their team is
very responsive. It’s a lot easier for our
folks to do their jobs.”
Kathy Lee
American Enterprise, Underwriting Director & Agency
Administration
EVENTS
Recap
Industry Day 2015: The Sircon
Vision Revealed
Over 100 Vertafore staff who work on Sircon solutions
learned how six customers leverage our offerings to
deliver benefits to their business, as well as how we should
enhance our solutions. This year, our customers focused on
producer/adviser experience, as well as how a connected
future would improve their business even more. Click here
to learn more about Sircon connections.
SIRC Summit Recap
The State Insurance Regulators Consortium user group
(SIRC) met in East Lansing to learn about and share Lean
practices for government, collaborate with Vertafore staff
on new capabilities including reporting and user experience
enhancements, as well as to share ideas on how to optimize
the capabilities in Sircon for States across the various
functional areas. Karen Hornig, NIPR’s Executive Director,
also presented to the SIRC attendees how Vertafore and
NIPR collaborate to deliver expanded solutions to the
industry and regulators. Click here to see what we learned.
Drive Growth by Optimizing the Agent
Experience webinar
Based on the results of a 2015 Celent report, we hosted
a webinar to show carriers how to improve the agent
experience and get ahead of the competition.
Data Cleanup 2015
Learn more about best practices for ensuring accurate
producer credential data to avoid compliance risks, lengthy
onboarding time, delayed sales, and audit failures.
Producer Manager
Tips & Tricks
Producer Manager is a data repository
that houses license, education, and
appointment data in sync with the
Producer Database (PDB) for up to
date management of producer and
adjuster compliance information.
Think compliance made simple—in one
location. Are you taking full advantage
of the benefits of your PM investment?
PDB scheduled syncs: Did you know
that Producer Manager provides PDB
syncing capabilities to automatically
keep producer credentials up to date?
• Benefit from systematic maintenance
of producer records and quick, easy
data clean up. Producer Manager can
help you ensure compliance by closing
the gaps.
Mass jobs: Does your Producer
Data need to be updated due to an
acquisition or lack of production?
• Our Professional Services Organization
can process mass appointment or
mass termination projects on behalf of
our customers.
• Click here to learn more about
industry best practices in producer
data updates to improve the efficiency
of your sales and agency services.
Additional questions? Please contact
your Account Manager.
Not a current Producer Manager
customer? Click here to receive more
information on how Producer Manager
can help your business.
Web Updates
New things are happening at Sircon.com!
You can now access Sircon solution related
content in our resource library or on our blog
for best practices, case studies, white papers,
and more.
Get Sircon Connected at NetVU16
Did you know that as a Sircon solutions user, you’re automatically a
member of NetVU? NetVU is the Vertafore industry user group that helps
users connect with each other to exchange ideas and best practices, learn
how to better leverage Vertafore’s solutions, and discuss technology
innovation in the insurance and securities industries. Click here to learn
why you should attend NetVU16 March 3-5 in San Antonio, TX.
NetVU16March 3-5
San Antonio, TX Learn More
We’re celebrating you - our customer! Join the conversation.
#FueledByOrange
Industry News
Suitability in Annuity Transactions: New States Added
Accelerated growth and an expanding annuity market continues to trumpet a call to higher ethical standards for
producers and insurers when it comes to the sale and marketing of annuity products. Regulators are concerned
about this market problem and are taking steps to assure agents are well supervised in annuity transactions and
trained in products and marketing to not mislead consumers and policy holders when making presentations about
an annuity’s performance. The NAIC has recommended legislative actions and many states have adopted the
model. The most recent states to adopt this suitability in annuity transactions are Tennessee and Maine; which
includes a minimum of four hours of approved course and product specific training.
JIT Appointments
At the August meeting of the NAIC in Chicago, several hot topics were discussed by regulators and industry
representatives at the Producer Licensing sessions. The Producer Licensing Working Group heard the industry
perspective on “just in time” appointment practices from SILA, representing their carrier members. A question
about what triggers the requirement for a carrier to appoint was raised at the SILA national conference in 2014. After
conflicting interpretations of the PLMA language and FAQs developed by the PLWG were presented, the topic will
continue to be discussed by the regulators until agreement can be reached. Click here to learn more.
Producer Licensing Task Force Update
At the Chicago NAIC National meeting in August, FINRA and the NAIC Task Force reviewed the next steps for sharing
information about “bad actors” identified in FINRA actions. Existing applications and processes will be leveraged
for the initial coordination for those who want to operate in both the insurance and securities arenas.
The Task Force was also made aware of a bill that was introduced in July, H.R. 2998 or the CLAIM Act, which is
intended to force uniformity and reciprocity for adjusters. The bill only addresses independent adjusters. If within
four years of enactment a state does not comply with the law as determined by the Department of Treasury, the
adjuster would be able to apply through the National Association of Agents and Brokers (NARAB). As of early
October, there were ten co-sponsors of the bill. No other action was taken since Congress returned from summer
recess.
Mark Your Calendars
November1–4,2015
NSCP National Conference
National Harbor, MD
The most comprehensive educational offering
within the financial services industry covering 80+
topics encompassing Broker-Dealer, Hedge Fund/
Private Fund, Investment Adviser, Investment
Company, and Municipal Advisor compliance issues.
Be sure to touch base with the Vertafore staff!
November2–4,2015
ACORD2015
Boca Raton, FL
Network with others in the industry through
thorough conversations on ACORD Standards and
Architecture, continuing education, professional
development, and the latest on technology and
industry innovations. Attending? Don’t forget to
connect with our Vertafore attendees!
November11–12,2015
FINRA Small Firms Conference
Santa Monica, CA
Best practices and tips for complying with
FINRA rules directly from FINRA staff. Be sure
to touch base with the Vertafore staff!
November19–21,2015
NAILBA
Network with industry experts in workshops
to discuss the latest information and product
updates for the brokerage community. Don’t
forget to schedule a time to connect with our
Vertafore attendees!
Read all here
The SILA Foundation announced
Blaise Muluh as the 2015 Vertafore
Scholarship winner. Along with
being a Staff Sargent in the Airforce,
Blaise attends the University of the
Incarnate Word and is a volunteer at
the Concho Valley Rape Crisis Center.
Vertafore Giving Back
In addition, he contributes to the Air Force Drug Education for
Youth Program to educate young men and women about the
negative effects of drug use. He also builds wheelchair ramps for
low-income disabled citizens. Blaise demonstrates exceptional
dedication to helping his community and we’re proud to assist in
his endeavors.
Customer Spotlight
American Enterprise: Growing Business
without Added Staff