Policy binding

Usually, binding a policy in Appulate consists of several steps:

1. Request to bind (RtB): an agent's request to a carrier for issuing a policy. This request is sent after the insured has confirmed that they will purchase the insurance policy on the offered conditions and the price.
2. Binding: the market's action confirming the deal, which results in issuing the policy. The policy will come into force from the first second of the specified effective date.

Buttons

There are several buttons on the Quote request page that perform policy binding. Their availability is as follows:

• The Request to bind button is available only to agency users and only if the market uses the Appulate submission type. 
• The Bind button is available to agency and market users if the market supports binding via the external service and a quote is generated by the external service.
• The Mark as bound button is always available on the quote (indication) level, even if the Bind or Request to bind buttons are also displayed. If the quote request status is Requested to Bind, the Mark as bound button is displayed in the kebab menu for agents and as the main button for markets.

Request to bind

The Request to bind button initiates policy binding on the part of an agency. However, it can be inactive (orange) due to the reasons below.

The Request to bind button may open the Request to bind dialog or a Market Smart Q&A if the market supports it. In this case, you'll see binding requirements in the Policy binding section.

Appointment

If your agency hasn't secured an appointment with the market you're binding a policy with, the Request to bind button will be inactive. Clicking it opens the Appointment Status Notification dialog, from where you can initiate the appointment.

Once you get appointed, the Request to bind button will become active and you can proceed.

The Request to bind button will also be inactive if there are some requirements you need to meet to bind a policy. When you click the button, you will see a dialog with these requirements.

Policy binding requirements may be default or custom.

Default policy binding requirements

Default requirements usually include:

• signing an ACORD or supplemental form or asking the insured (the applicant) to do it;
• uploading documents on the insured's claims history on the Loss Runs tab.

In the Request to bind dialog with default requirements,

• clicking Upload opens the Loss Runs tab.
• clicking Send to sign opens a Send Form for Signature dialog. The signers you've selected will get an email with the link to sign the document via an electronic signature service.

If one or all of the signers haven't signed the form yet, the dialog will display "Pending the agency representative's (or applicant's) signature".

• Clicking Remind to sign will send an email reminder to the signer.
• Clicking Cancel signing will cancel the signing procedure. The button is available if the document is pending another signer's signature.

When you complete a requirement, it will be ticked off in the dialog. When you complete all the requirements, the Request to bind button will turn green and you can request to bind a policy.

Custom policy binding requirements

In addition to the default requirements imposed by most markets, the dialog might display a market's custom requirements you'll have to meet. For example, you may be required to:

• Sign multiple forms or other types of documents. This is done via the Send Form for Signature dialog as shown above;
• Upload other types of documents. This is done by clicking the Upload button, which opens the Document Markup dialog with the preselected document type.

The dialog might also display some Additional requirements you'll need to comply with. 

Mark as done button

You may be unable to fulfill all the requirements, for example, if you've already signed and scanned the required documents and just need to upload them to Appulate.

For this reason, some markets allow submitters to mark requirements as done. Clicking the Mark as done button for a requirement will tick it off in the dialog.

Selecting a payment plan

You'll have to select a payment plan when requesting to bind and binding a policy with AmTrust Financial. This is done in a dialog that opens when you click Request to bind or Bind.

Depending on the payment plan you choose and whether or not you're submitting directly, the dialog may contain different fields. The following fields are always present:

• Billing type. Options include Agency and Direct. If only one billing type is available for this quote request, it will be selected by default. If both types are available, you'll need to select one manually. 
• Payment plan. Payment plan options are determined by the selected billing type.

After requesting to bind

After you have requested a market to bind a policy:

• The Request to bind button is replaced with the Cancel binding button. Its purpose is to withdraw the request.
• This event is logged on the Activity tab of the Quote request page and on the Activity Log page of the Appulate site.

Binding

Mark as bound button

If you click the Mark as bound button, you'll first see the Mark as bound dialog asking you to confirm the binding action. The dialog text slightly differs depending on whether you've clicked the button on the quote (example below) or market level but the action performed is the same.

Marking an indication as bound 

If a market allows it, you can mark its and its submarkets' indications as bound. Clicking the Mark as bound button opens the Mark as bound dialog. Clicking Mark as bound there performs policy binding within Appulate:

• you will be redirected to the Policy interface.
• the indication's premium will be displayed as the policy's premium.

Bind button

If you click the Bind button, you'll move from the Quote request page to the Policy page. The record status becomes Active Policy.

The Bind button may be inactive if you're not appointed with this market. Clicking it opens the Appointment Status Notification dialog, from where you can initiate the appointment. Once you get appointed, the Bind button will become active and you will be able to proceed.

The Bind button will also be inactive if there are some requirements you need to meet to bind a policy. When you click the button, you will see a dialog with these requirements. You may also be asked to select a payment plan.

Binding on a market's website

You may be asked to complete policy binding on a market's website. This will be indicated in the Mark as bound dialog which will open after you click the Mark as bound button. The Open quote in {ExternalSystem} button will open the quote on the market's website.

Binding via external services

Policy binding can be carried out using an external service implemented for some markets.

Only generated quotes can be bound by markets with the implemented external binder for the selected insurance line. For uploaded and internally generated quotes, only internal binding is possible.

After a policy has been bound

After policy binding is complete, you'll see the following changes:

• the quote request page will turn into the Policy page;
• the record status will change to Active Policy.

The users of other markets the quote request has also been submitted to will see the Quote request page with the record status Quote Declined by Insured.

Reverting a policy to a request

After a policy has been bound, you can revert it to a quote request, for example, for requesting to bind a different policy. To do this, click the Revert to request for quote button on the Policy page (available via the More actions menu on the Policy tab or the Q&A tab).

Once it's clicked,

• you'll be redirected to the Quote request page;
• the status changes from Active Policy to the status that preceded the binding for all companies that worked with this quote request;
• a status change notification will be sent out;
• the event will be logged.

Disabled policy binding

If a problem occurs during policy binding, you'll see one of the following messages. The Request to bind and Bind buttons may be unavailable. Mark as bound is only unavailable where specified.