We talk a lot about big-picture technology. Industry disruptors like mobile-first servicing and driverless cars paint a bright picture of where the future of insurance is headed. It’s important to keep an eye on the tech pipeline and be intelligently designing service offerings to meet the evolving demands of consumers. That said, insurance agency professionals often face tech challenges in their day-to-day. Figuring out smart, fast solutions to daily challenges can make a world of difference for one employee or even a whole agency workflow.

One topic of discussion that has caused some consternation in the Applied Client Network community is how to handle policy documents in Applied CSR24/Applied Mobile. In February, Applied Client Network hosted the webinar “Peer-to-Peer: Using Applied CSR24 and Applied MobileInsured to Save Time and Retain Clients.” One of the speakers, Patricia Talley of WE Walker Lakenan, shared some key pointers with us for handling client-accessible policy documents in a variety of situations. Keep reading for her tips on how to attach documents from edocs, websites and mail.

Attaching Client-accessible Policy Documents

If the document came from…

• Edocs — Your document has already been attached.

Go to “Actions” > “Edit Attachment Detail,” then check the “Client Accessible” box in the lower right corner.

• A company website — These documents typically need to be saved to a local folder, then attached to the client. 

Whether your workflow is to “Attach and Add” or “Drag and Drop,” the “attach to” screen will generate. In the bottom left corner, check the “Client Accessible” box.

• Documents received by mail — If these same documents are available on the company website, then from both a time management and cost-effective standpoint, these documents could be pulled from the website and the paper copies destroyed.

Any paper documents that cannot be found on the website should be scanned to a local folder, then follow the same procedure for “Attaching/Drag and Drop,” then checking the “Client Accessible” box.

Best Practices for Client-accessible Documents

Your agency or brokerage should have a written procedure available for what documents will be made accessible. For example, will you make audits available due to the confidential nature of the information? This could be made adaptable by a client. 

Incorporate the “Client Accessible” checkbox as a part of your written workflow. Your client’s confidence in both the CSR24 program and the agency will depend on your consistency in making every document available that you have authorized for them.

Will you advise your client when a new document is available? Again, this should be an agency decision and incorporated into your written workflow. This could be done by adding a document template that requires no additional editing for specificity. An example is: “A new document has been made available on your CSR24 portal.”

Interested in learning other great best practices from your Applied Client Network community? Discover more peer tips from the webinars and forums!