Life Application Process

Transcription

1 General Discussion About Case With Marketer Preliminary Underwriting Preliminary Illustration(s) Meet With Client Informal/Trial Application APPLICATION Formal Application Obtain FIG HIPAA and Preliminary Inquiry Worksheet FIG Orders Pertinent Medical Records or Obtains Them From The Agent FIG Reviews Medical Records, Provides UW Summary and Assessment FIG Orders Medical Requirements FIG Submits Application to Carrier FIG Scrubs Application Obtain FIG HIPAA and Formal Application Offer Negotiation Tentative Offers will be Communicated to You by Your FIG Life Team Informal File is Shopped to Appropriate Carriers Any Additional Medical Records will be Ordered Formal Offer Received From Carrier Offer Negotiation Move to Formal Application Policy Mailed Policy Issued Revised Illustration Offer Acceptance **Click on the text to find out more information. Red Box - Agent Grey Box - FIG Agent Delivers Policy to Client Any Delivery Requirements Sent to Carrier Policy In-Force Commissions Paid

2 GENERAL DISCUSSION ABOUT CASE WITH MARKETER This is the starting point for any case a discussion with your dedicated life marketer regarding what you and your client are trying to accomplish. FIG LIFE QUOTE REQUEST LIFE NEEDS ANALYSIS

3 PRELIMINARY UNDERWRITING This step is crucial in order for your life team to assist you with any medical or financial underwriting hurdles we need to overcome. Any and all information you can gather about your client is very helpful. We have several pre-underwriting tools to assist you in gathering this information. FIG HEALTH PROFILE NAILBA IMPAIRMENT PACKET LINK TO XRAE This is also the time where FIG may send quick quote requests to the underwriting contacts at our carriers. Quick quotes give us a very tentative underwriting assessment and allow us to narrow down the list of carriers to whom we could potentially send the formal case. We will make this determination on a case by case basis. Not all cases require the quick quote procedure.

4 PRELIMINARY CASE DESIGN / ILLUSTRATION(S) Your FIG Life Marketing team consists of product and design experts in all areas of life insurance. Once we ve established what you and your client are looking for and we have a better picture of the underwriting background, we can begin designing the optimal solution(s) for you and your clients. If there are specific carriers / products you want (OR DON T WANT) to see, let s discuss them at this point in the process. These illustrations and sales tools are designed to assist you in positioning life insurance to your client in order to motivate them to take action. These are preliminary illustrations only and are subject to change nothing is set until a policy is approved and in-force. If you would like to run some or all of these illustrations yourself, feel free to use these tools provided to you by FIG. LINK TO IPIPELINE TERM QUOTE WINFLEX WEB During this step, if required, we can engage with Linas Sudzius and his team at Advanced Underwriting Consultants to discuss any potential advanced strategies, concepts and technical issues involved with the case.

5 MEET WITH CLIENT(S) At this point, the agent and client decide whether or not the client is going to move forward with an application formal or informal. As a rule of thumb, most applications are formal applications. You would use the informal / trial application process for larger cases ($1mil Face, $10k Target) with complex medical histories. In both formal and informal cases, we will need the FIG HIPAA form. FIG HIPAA FORM

6 INFORMAL/TRIAL APPLICATION Trial applications are intended to provide a tentative indication of your client s level of insurability, with perhaps multiple insurance carriers. You and your client are submitting a trial application because of the size of the case or the complexity of underwriting. Although there is some variance from case to case on the trial app process, below you will find a general outline of what goes on when you submit the application. The main source of information that is reviewed during the trial process is the client s medical record file. FIG will gather as much information about the client from their medical file as we feel is necessary for a carrier to provide a tentative offer. As it relates to ordering paramedical exams during the trial process, this is something that we would prefer NOT to do, and it would be a major exception if we did. We do understand there are special circumstances that occur, however, they are few and far between.

7 OBTAIN FIG HIPAA AND PRELIMINARY INQUIRY WORKSHEET This is a requirement in order for FIG to begin the trial application process. We would prefer that you use FIG s version of these forms, however, if you have something else you use, please provide it to us in advance so we can review it for compliance purposes. FIG TRIAL APP & HIPAA FORM

8 FIG ORDERS PERTINENT MEDICAL RECORDS Case Support will order pertinent medical records (APS) based on doctor information and medical history information provided on the trial application. We use a third-party APS retrieval company called Medi-Connect to assist us in gathering the records. Once we ve made our request to Medi-Connect, Case Support will follow up regularly until we ve received the records. Occasionally it can be difficult to obtain the records from a particular facility. If this is the case, we will notify you so that you and your client can work with the facility to provide an additional push so they release the records to us. Obtaining records could take anywhere from business days depending on the number of APS and the cooperation of the medical facilities.

9 FIG REVIEWS RECORDS, PROVIDES UW SUMMARY & ASSESSMENT Once we ve received records, your marketing consultant and UW consultant will review what we have and complete the following within hours: Summary of medical history Underwriting cover letter At this point, it may be necessary (from reviewing the primary physician s records for example) to order additional records that may be required. If we need to do this, your marketing consultant will let you know. Occasionally we will shop the case to several carriers WITHOUT these additional records to see if one or more carriers will provide an offer without needing the additional records. Again, we will communicate our game plan to you on a case by case basis. It is also to be noted here that any Financial Underwriting information that can be provided will help in framing the case with the carrier underwriters

10 FILE IS SHOPPED TO APPROPRIATE CARRIERS The marketing consultant will come back to you with a plan for the 4 or 5 carriers where we will shop the trial application. We DON T want to send the full trial application to more than 5 carriers if we can avoid it. First, we don t want to flood the market and cause carriers and our internal staff more work than what is necessary to receive a tentative offer. Second, because of our expertise with upfront underwriting, we should be able to narrow the carrier list down to a few by familiarity with carrier guidelines, niches and relationships with carrier underwriters. Third, there are carrier standards for trial applications. INFORMAL SPREADSHEET Case Support will be sending the file electronically to the carriers chosen by you and the marketing consultant. The turnaround on informals/trials from a carrier perspective can range from a few days to several weeks, but rest assured we will be communicating with you as frequently as possible to let you know where the case stands.

11 TENTATIVE OFFERS WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO YOU Case Support will diligently follow up with the carrier underwriters to check status on the informal/trial offer. Your marketing consultant will also be involved to a high degree checking on the status. We will communicate to you once offers are made. If necessary, your marketing consultant or marketing assistant can run revised illustrations if you need to see how the numbers look due to the offers.

12 OFFER NEGOTIATION If we cannot move the case forward with the offers we ve received, OR if we have a specific reason to push particularly hard with the carrier underwriter, your marketing consultant and underwriting consultant will negotiate with the carrier to obtain the desired offer. It s important to know going into the negotiation process the offer required to win the case so that we are best prepared to negotiate.

13 MOVE TO FORMAL APPLICATION If you and your clients are comfortable with one of the offers provided by the carriers, it is now time to move the case to a formal application. At this point, you will be required to complete additional paperwork (carrier s formal application) and the application will follow normal protocol with one exception the case will be expedited due to the trial offer made and the significance of the case. The areas that can hold up a case that started as a trial are: Financial Underwriting Information found during the paramed / MD exam Potential Phone Interview Motor Vehicle Report MIB Report Other than those, these cases move along the formal process relatively smooth.

14 FORMAL APPLICATION OBTAIN FIG HIPAA & FORMAL APPLICATION HIPAA regulations are expanded and updated regularly. A HIPAA form that does not contain the most current regulations or verbiage can result in denials from vendors and providers. Because the FIG HIPAA is kept current and compliant, submitting one with the application assures that HIPAA-related delays are avoided. FIG HIPAA As it relates to the application itself, you can obtain most of these forms from our website ( It is highly recommended to make sure you have the most recent application forms in order to prevent delays and the possibility of having the client re-sign / re-date an application. In addition, some states require carrier appointment prior to soliciting or taking a formal application. If you are unsure of your current status, please ask your life consultant.

15 FIG SCRUBS APPLICATION Each application is scrubbed twice. Both the Case Support and the Case Manager scrub every application to assure that it is submitted in good order. If the application is NOT in good order, and if there is pertinent information missing, your dedicated case manager will reach out to you to let you know about what is needed. Depending on what is needed, this could hold up the underwriting process, however we will try to work with what we have in order to minimize any unnecessary delays.

16 FIG ORDERS MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SUBMITS APP TO CARRIER When a formal application is received, the Case Support identifies any medical requirements needed and begins the process of obtaining those. FIG works directly with the carriers approved vendors to assure that medical requirements meet the standards set forth by the carrier. Case Support follows up regularly until requirements are received and submitted. We prefer to order the paramedical exam, however, if you wish to handle this aspect of the process, please let your Case Manager know this in advance. Occasionally it can be difficult to obtain the medical records from a particular facility. If this is the case, we will notify you so that you and your client can work with the facility to provide an additional push so they release the records to us. Most applications are submitted the same day we receive them. Applications with checks are submitted via overnight. I-pipeline provides an up-to-date summary of the underwriting requirements with most carriers. LINK TO IPIPELINE

17 ANY ADDITIONAL MEDICAL RECORDS WILL BE ORDERED During the underwriting process, the carrier might determine that additional records are required. If so, we will obtain them (via our third-party vendor) from the respective facility. However, if the Case Manager feels we can move forward without them, we will try and negotiate with the carrier to do so. If necessary, the Case Manager will involve the Marketing Consultant and/or the Underwriting Consultant.

18 CASE MANAGER COMMUNICATION AND FOLLOW UP PLAN Your Case Manager will notify you by when your application is received and submitted. Any current requirements will be listed, and any missing forms will be attached for your convenience. Your Case Manager will provide a status update once a week. However, in the event of additional requirements or new information, you will be notified right away. Because FIG represents your client and you in the case management process, s are our communication of choice. They provide written documentation of the constant exchange of information that passes between you, your case manager and the carrier. There may be an occasion when you feel that a phone call with your Case Manager is necessary. In that case, we may request a follow up from you for documentation purposes. Your Case Manager s contact information will be at the bottom of every communication.

19 FORMAL OFFER RECEIVED FROM CARRIER Once the carrier has provided their formal offer, your Case Manager will provide you with the details of the offer. In addition, your Marketing Consultant will be made aware in case his or her involvement will be necessary (ex. Revised illustration).

20 OFFER NEGOTIATION If we cannot move the case to issue with the offer we ve received, OR if we have a specific reason to push particularly hard with the carrier underwriter, your Case Manager and Underwriting Consultant will negotiate with the carrier to obtain the desired offer. It s important to know going into the negotiation process the offer required to win the case so that we are best prepared to negotiate.

21 OFFER ACCEPTANCE This is the time to advise your Case Manager (if you haven t already) of any policy changes you and your client would like to make (ie: payment mode; face amount; policy term, etc.). Addressing changes after policy issue causes delays that are frustrating and time consuming for everyone involved. Once you ve indicated to your Case Manager in writing that you and your client have accepted the carrier s offer, the Case Manager will let the carrier know and provide you with any outstanding items required to move the case to issue. If a 1035 exchange is involved, this is the point in the process that Case Management will send (typically overnight) the 1035 paperwork to the carrier for processing. We will confirm this with you, again, in writing before we proceed with this. Keep in mind that some carriers will initiate 1035 only after a policy is delivered, while most will initiate upon underwriting approval. The transfer of funds can take from 30 to 45 days to complete (occasionally longer). If the actual transfer amount is different than originally estimated, a new illustration may be required. Your Marketing Consultant or Marketing Assistant can supply this. Your Case Manager will keep you updated throughout the exchange process and subsequent policy issue.

22 REVISED / FINAL ILLUSTRATION If a revised or final illustration is needed for issue, your Marketing Consultant or Marketing Assistant can run the illustration and provide it to you for review. LINK TO WINFLEX WEB LINK TO IPIPELINE QUOTE ENGINE

23 POLICY ISSUED Generally speaking, during this step, policies are printed (or prepared in the case of e-delivery), along with any delivery requirements necessary to place the policy in-force.

24 POLICY MAILED Generally speaking, carriers mail policies directly to you for your review. Most carriers do not overnight policies to you, however if it is a time-sensitive case, let your FIG case manager know and we ll do what we can to accommodate the request. You are responsible for reviewing the policy for accuracy, and of course if you have questions, you can call your FIG Case Manager

25 AGENT DELIVERS POLICY TO CLIENT Most agents deliver policies face to face, while others prefer to mail them. In either case, this is an opportunity for you to answer any final questions your client may have about their policy, and it gives you a good platform to ask for referrals or additional business.

26 DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS SENT TO CARRIER We suggest that you send delivery requirements directly to the carrier, simply for speed purposes, but on occasion we will ask that you send these to FIG first. In addition, we recommend that you or your office always keep a copy for your records.

27 POLICY IN-FORCE Once all delivery requirements are received by carrier, they mark the policy in-force and the case is complete.

28 COMMISSIONS PAID Typically commissions are paid once the delivery requirements have been received and the case has been marked complete - you get paid based on the carrier's commission cycle. COMMISSION CYCLES