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.

Charlie and Tonya introduce us to Joe Agent, who discovers how the SinglePoint real-time features can help overcome the aches and pains of Managed Competition.P.S. Can you identify the Boston Software staffers making cameos?

We’ve run a BIG number of real-time transactions:

· 365,000+ The number of quotes calculated through SinglePoint in real time.

· 150,000+ The number of new business Apps submitted through SinglePoint in real time.

· 45,000+ The number of credit reports (for HO renewal scoring) retrieved in real time.

· 5,000+ The number of CSRs registered to SinglePoint software.

And that’s just from January through October of this year!

· Upgraded WinRater to version 6.0 to support enhanced requirements for real-time rating.

· Upgraded Web products from .Net 1.1 to .Net 3.5 platform.

· Added “manufactured” rates to WinRater: Preferred Mutual, Harleysville, Private Client Group

· WinRater feature improvements, including better integration with RMV’s Virtual Private Network, printing of RMV1 forms approved for all printers, automated database maintenance/backup utility.

· SinglePoint feature improvements including batch deleting, eliminating undeliverable emails, etc.

· Upgraded and added more servers in our server farm to support increase in real-time transactions (we now have 9).

· Encryption of personal data to protect privacy.

· Various efficiency improvements including streamlining of database structure, SoftSync deployment of updates, tracking and resolving bugs, etc.

Thanks to suggestions from agents, we added a new feature within real-time submitting called “Submit Now” that gives you more flexibility and speed when submitting new business to your carriers.

The Submit Now feature allows you to gather 100% of the policy submission data (including all carrier-specific required information) from right within WinRater and transfer it to your carrier web site. Agents can now “skip” the SinglePoint App and proceed immediately to validation and issuance on the carrier web site.

But don’t worry, if you want to access the App for viewing, editing, emailing, or printing, you still can just as you always have.

All Boston Software products, services, and procedures will be compliant with the new Massachusetts privacy regulations. This includes WinRater and SinglePoint software for all lines of business we currently support.

Boston Software in conjunction with our corporate attorneys are hard at work finalizing our written Information Security Plan that is comprehensive in scope and detail. In addition, we have begun implementing a number of measures to ensure the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal information. These measures include, but are not limited to:

· thoroughly identifying the internal and external risks to personal information currently within our control;
· training Boston Software employees on new internal security requirements;
· upgrade of all Boston Software servers and firewalls;
· building high level encryption of personal data on our desktop and web products including WinRater and SinglePoint;
· utilizing login/passwords where necessary;
· evaluating the ability of each of our third-party service providers to protect private information;
· working with our third-party service providers to implement appropriate security measures.

Given the type of data collected and stored during the rating process, Boston Software is extremely sensitive to this privacy issue. We do not take the responsibility lightly. We are making every effort to protect against any anticipated threats and/or unauthorized access to or use of personal information.

Please contact Charlie Walsh or Tom O’Connor if you have any specific questions at this time.

As of September 1st, MAIP/CAR will require your MAIP ID to be included in the information sent by SinglePoint during submission. This ID is the same one that you use to log into the MAIP website.

In accordance with this new requirement, Boston Software has released an update for WinRater which adds a new “MAIP ID” field on the SinglePoint Settings screen’s “Carrier Credentials” tab (as pictured below). This field is in addition to the current “CAR Assigned Agency Number” and “CAR Assigned Sequence Number” fields which will remain the same.

Please visit: www.bostonsoftware.com/update and click on the ENTER button to download the available update. Once completed, WinRater will prompt you to enter your MAIP ID into this new field along with any other missing credentials for other carriers.

You will be able to “Ignore” the prompt and successfully submit to MAIP without having entered your ID until September 1st. However, WinRater will continue to prompt you upon startup and upon all attempted MAIP submissions until the field is filled. After September 1st, you will no longer be able to submit to MAIP unless you have entered the MAIP ID under the SinglePoint Settings tab.