Real-Time Submission of MA Auto and Homeowner Apps from WinRater/SinglePoint to Peerless is temporarily unavailable. Both Boston Software and Peerless are aware of the situation and are working diligently to get the functionality back up and running.

Agents who attempt to submit an app to Peerless’ website, PLIQ, will receive an error message stating that the submission failed. For the moment, agents wishing to place their business with Peerless will need to enter their clients’ information directly into PLIQ. Real-Time Submission in WinRater/SinglePoint for all other carriers is unaffected.

Last month was truly a stellar one for SinglePoint and the processing of Real-Time Rates. On Tuesday June 29th, agents ran over 11,000 quotes through SinglePoint –  a record for the number of Real-Time Rates in one day!

And the year-to-date numbers are really beginning to add up. Last week, we passed the one million mark for Real-Time Rates. That’s right, SinglePoint has run more than one million Real-Time Rates so far this year and that’s just for MA Auto.

With the addition of Arbella, Commerce (soon to be available, we hope!), and a few other carriers on the SinglePoint platform, we believe we will pass the 2.5 million mark by the end of this year. Pretty impressive.

Tower Group has fully acquired OneBeacon’s Personal Lines. To handle this change, Boston Software has made a few simple but important modifications to your WinRater program.

• All OneBeacon names and logos within WinRater and SinglePoint have changed. OneBeacon Auto is now labeled as Tower Group and OneBeacon OneChoice Home now appears as Tower OneChoice.
• WinRater Auto -  Underwriting Tab: WinRater uses prior carrier information in order to determine if a quote is new business or renewal. If the prior carrier was OneBeacon you will need to select “Tower” from the dropdown.
• WinRater Home - Credit Reports: you will be able to retrieve credit information within WinRater while performing home quoting as you always have. However, you must change your old OneBeacon password to your new Tower Group password.*

*You should have received a new Credit Retrieval password from Tower Group and instructions on how to update it in the Tower Agent Portal. Once this is done, see the instructions below on how to update the new password in WinRater so your credit retrieval workflow will not be interrupted.

Once a quote is opened, this is how to update your password in WinRater:
1) Click “Credit Reports Tab”
2) Click “Settings”
3) Enter your updated password
4) Click “Apply”

Please Note: only the password is changing for the Credit Retrieval. The producer code and User ID will remain the same.

I can’t remember much but it may have begun with hacking the Circus Circus sign…

…then Tom decided to try his luck as Elvis…

…while Danny and I tried to recruit new Boston Software employees…

…and then there was the wedding chapel incident.

Please, don’t ask.

The RMV will now accept electronic stamps and signatures for RMV-1 Forms.  We have developed an e-Stamp feature to take advantage of this.  It’s integrated within WinRater and meets the approval of the RMV and certain carriers.  Here’s how it will work:

• Carriers will be able to create a WinRater “eStamp” for each of their agents containing the agency name and carrier ID number.
• Carriers will deliver the eStamp to agencies.  (Delivery methods will vary, depending on the carrier, including download, email, etc.)
• Agents, in turn, will import the eStamps into their WinRater.
• While in a RMV-1 Form, agents will be able to select from their list of carrier eStamps (accessible from a dialog box) and “paste” it in the appropriate place on the Form. CSRs will be able to type their names on the “signature” line.
• The RMV-1 Form can be printed or emailed as a PDF file.

This is should help make the quote-to-issue workflow even easier for you.  There is no cost for this feature upgrade.  Our aim is to release this to agents in the next 4 weeks for any carrier choosing to use our solution.   We intend to utilize this same functionality for RMV-3 forms in the near future.  Look for more details about release dates and instructions in our monthly Rollout Report.

By now you should have received a SoftSync update from us containing upcoming Rate Changes with additional New Customer discounts. We thought it would be helpful to list the details of your carrier(s) changes. See below:

Arbella - Auto
Updated Rating Factors effective 4/1/2010.

Commerce - Auto
Rate Change effective 4/1/2010.

• Added a Smart Driver discount. To find it, go to the DRIVER’S tab and choose the DRIVER COVERAGES/MOTORCYCLES tab.

MAIP - Auto
Rate Change effective 4/1/2010.

• Added Low Frequency Eligible discount. To find it, go to the DRIVER’S tab and choose the DRIVER COVERAGES/MOTORCYCLES tab.

• Added Operator Continuous Coverage discount. To find it, go to the DRIVER’S tab and choose the DRIVER COVERAGES/MOTORCYCLES tab.

Quincy Mutual - Auto
Rate Change effective 4/1/2010.

• New Good Student discount. To find it, go to the DRIVER’S tab.

• New Student Away from Home discount. To find it, go to the DRIVER’S tab.

• Added Continuously Insured discount. To find it, go to the DRIVER’S tab and choose the DRIVER COVERAGES/MOTORCYCLES tab.

• Added Good Driver discount. To find it, go to the DRIVER’S tab and choose the DRIVER COVERAGES/MOTORCYCLES tab then select the LOW FREQUENCY ELIGIBLE option.

• The Loyalty Credit has been renamed Preferred Operator discount.

MA Fair Plan Rate - Home
Change effective 03/31/2010.

• Base Rate Change

• Endorsement Changes

Bunker Hill - Home
Rate Change effective 4/1/2010

• Introduced two new Homeowners credits: Super Preferred and Agency Loyalty Factor Credit.

• The plan Bunker Hill 1775 has been renamed to Bunker Hill 1775 (HO5).

• Underwriting Guideline changes.

Various Carriers – Dwelling Fire and Umbrella

• Minor rate changes, updates and corrections.

Today is the official date that all MA companies are required to comply with new privacy regulations. Rest assured Boston Software is committed to safeguarding the personal information that we receive, store, maintain, and process. We are in compliance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapters 93H and 931 and 201 CMR 17.00 (the “Regulations”) that govern the security of personal information.

With these security measures in mind, Boston Software:

• has developed and implemented a written information security plan (WISP) that complies with the regulations;
• maintains and monitors its WISP in accordance with the regulations;
• determines if third parties receiving personal information have the capacity to comply with the terms of its WISP and the regulations;
• continues to protect all personal information in the manner required by the regulations;
• only uses personal information for the purposes for which it is provided and not for any other use.

Today we sent out our very first Rollout Report which details the latest features Boston Software is working on for you. We are excited to start this year off with so many new and exciting features which will simplify the quote to issue process. Each month we will be sending out a new Rollout Report with the intent of keeping you in the loop.

Didn’t get the Rollout Report? Check your spam folder and if you don’t see it there, contact us to be added to our email list.

Read February’s Rollout Report

For agents quoting with Travelers, One Beacon and any CGI carrier:
To be sure you are quoting accurately for drivers that were previously licensed in other states, you will need to fill out both the “Priv Pass First Lic” field AND the “Curr Lic Dt” field in WinRater’s Driver’s Information tab.

It is imperative that you fill out both these fields:

• Priv Pass First Lic: The date the insured was FIRST licensed (could be any state).
• Curr Lic Dt: The date that the driver was issued a license in MA.

Click Here to review the WinRater Driver’s Information tab.

Travelers Premier agents are now experiencing the benefits of Real Time Rating in WinRater via SinglePoint for Massachusetts auto policies. After releasing this new feature to agents, it looks as though we are off to a great start.

Agents that write business with Travelers Premier now have the ability to:

• Real Time Rate – Obtain a registry verified quote that is generated by Collaborative Edge.
• Real Time Submit NOW! - Upload the WinRater/Real-Time Quote data, as well as the Travelers Specific Data Requirements directly to Collaborative Edge.

That means literally 100% of the required data is completed in SinglePoint. This is the end of hunting and pecking in the carrier website!

Click here to review Travelers unique requirements that you should be aware of to ensure accurate rating and successful submitting of Massachusetts auto policies.

If you have any questions regarding the SinglePoint workflow and/or setup, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also obtain information regarding which carriers are on board SinglePoint, training materials, etc, by visiting our SinglePoint Learning Center.

We would like to give a very special “Thank You” to all of the agents who vigorously tested the Real Time Rating for Travelers Premier as well as the staff at Travelers Premier and Collaborative Edge. We consider this a partnership and none of this could be possible without everyone involved.