Office Administration

Your brokerage's and/or offices’ information is located on the Brokerage Information tab, settings are located in the Settings tab, and contract codes are located in the Contract Codes tab. The Contract Codes tab enables you to manage access to existing contract codes and set default contract codes specific to your brokerages. Only the brokerages/offices you have permission to access display in the list. From the Office Administration screen, brokerages and offices can be added or deleted, you can define and manage brokerage settings that pertain to carrier permission for users, and pre-qualification questions that display when quoting, You can also manage access to existing contract codes and set default contract codes specific to your brokerages.

From the Desktop Navigation screen, click Utilities > Configure on the menubar, then click Brokerages > Office Administration on the navigation panel.

Adding a Brokerage / Office

1. On the Office Administration screen with the Brokerage Information tab selected, click the Add button.
2. Enter the Brokerage Name and Brokerage Code.

3. Enter the Branch Name (Optional).
   
   Entering a Branch Name becomes required, if the Brokerage Name you enter is the same as an existing brokerage. The system requires that the combination of Brokerage Name and Branch Name be unique.
   
   If defined, the Branch Name displays within Applied Rating Services only—it will not be included in your printouts. Click here to view the list of locations the Branch Name displays.

   • user Login screen

   • Brokerage Logo Assignment on the Brokerages / Offices administration screen

   • Brokerages and Carriers tabs on the User Administration screen

   • Add / Modify Client screen

   • Transfer Clients screen when deleting a brokerage

   • Report Underwriting Defect to Applied screen

   • Applied Rating Services Mass Deletion Utility (RSPurge.exe)

4. Enter all other applicable information, such as the broker/office's address and phone number.

5. Add a brokerage logo (see the Adding a Logo to a Brokerage / Office section) and/or define the settings for this brokerage on the Settings tab (see the Enable Carrier Permissions and Enable Pre-Qualification Questions sections) if necessary.

6. Click Finish to add the brokerage / office or click Add to add additional brokerages / offices.

Adding a Logo to a Brokerage / Office

1. On the Office Administration screen with the Brokerage Information tab selected, click the Add Logo button.
2. Locate the Logo file on your local computer, right click the file, and select Open.
   
   Note: The logo image can be no larger than 1000 x 1000 pixels, and the file must be a PNG, BMP, JPG, or GIF.
3. On the Broker Logo screen you can do the following:

1. • Load Image: Load a different image from your local computer
   • Clear Image: Remove the current logo
   • Scale: Change the scale. You can scale the image anywhere from ten to three hundred percent

4. Click OK to add the image as the logo for the Brokerage / Office, or click Cancel to discard changes.
5.  If you have multiple brokerages defined, the Brokerage Logo Assignment screen will displays. Select the brokerages you wish to update the logo for, or Select All or Unselect All.
6. Select OK to apply the changes.
7. Click Finish to save the changes.

Enable Carrier Permissions

The Carrier Permission setting, once enabled, allows you to grant each user access only to specific carriers. See the Carrier Permissions section in the User Administration article to learn more about restricting access to carriers.

Note: To edit the Enable Carrier Permissions for Users setting for a brokerage, the user must have the Edit Brokerage Settings permission under the Brokerages permission category on the Program Access tab in Utilities > Configure > Security > Users.

1. On the Office Administration screen with the Settings tab selected, select a brokerage in the list if the correct one is not already selected and click the Edit button .
2. In the Brokerage Settings section, select the Enable Carrier Permissions for Users checkbox.
3. Click Finish to save the changes.

Enable Pre-Qualification Questions

The Pre-Qualification setting, once enabled, allows assigned questions to display on the Pre-Qualification Question screen when a quote is launched. Click Utilities > Configure on the menubar from the Desktop Navigation screen, then click Workflow Definitions > Pre-Qualification Questions on the navigation panel to define pre-qualification questions. Click Pre-Qualification Question Assignments on the navigation panel to assign them to specific provinces and lines of business. To learn more about pre-qualification questions, see the Pre-Qualification Questions and Pre-Qualification Question Assignments articles.

1. On the Office Administration screen with the Settings tab selected, select a brokerage in the list if the correct one is not already selected and click the Edit button .
2. In the Brokerage Settings section, select the Enable Pre-Qualification Question on product launch checkbox.
3. Select the Allow collection of underwriting details when disqualified checkbox if you want to proceed with the quote to open Applied AutoRater or Applied PropertyRater even when a question is disqualified.
   
   Note: If a Disqualify answer displays on the Pre-Qualification Questions screen and the Allow collection of underwriting details when disqualified setting is not selected, the quote will not open; however, the quote and the answers to the questions are saved in the Quote Summary list on the Desktop Navigation screen.
4. Click Finish to save the changes.

Assign Contract Codes to a Brokerage / Office

The Contract Codes tab allows you to manage access to existing contract codes and set default contract codes specific to the brokerage. To define contract codes, click Utilities > Configure on the menubar from the Desktop Navigation screen, then click Workflow Definitions > Contract Codes on the navigation panel. To learn more about contract codes, click here.

To edit the contract codes for a brokerage, the user must have the Define Contract Codes permission, granted under the Workflow Administration permission category on the Program Access tab in Utilities > Configure > Security > Users.

1. On the Office Administration screen with the Contract Codes tab selected, select a brokerage in the list if the correct one is not already selected and click the Edit button .
2. The Assigned Contract Codes list displays all contract codes accessible to this brokerage.

To modify which contract codes this brokerage has access to, do the following:

1. Click the Edit button .
2. The Contract Codes window displays. Select the checkbox next to each contract code to add them as an assigned contract code or to remove them as an assigned contract code.
   
   Select the checkbox next to the Carrier column to select/deselect all of the contract codes displaying in the list.
3. Click OK.

3. The Default Contract Codes list displays the default contract code for each carrier that has a contract code accessible to the brokerage. Default Contract Codes that are assigned automatically by Rating Services are identified by the word System in the Assigned By column and default codes set by the user are indicated by the word User.
4. To modify which contract codes are the default for this brokerage, do the following:
1. Click the Edit button .
2. The Default Contract Codes window displays all contract codes assigned to this brokerage and allows for the selection of one default per carrier. If no default is selected for a carrier, the system default is used (the system uses the oldest contract code for that carrier that is available to the brokerage). Select the checkbox next to each contract code to designate it as a default contract code or to remove it as a default contract code.  
3. Click OK.
5. Click Finish to save your changes.

Editing a Brokerage / Office

1. On the Office Administration screen, select a brokerage or office from the list.
2. Modify the brokerage’s information, add/edit the brokerage’s logo, modify the brokerage’s settings, and/or modify the brokerage’s contract codes.
3. Click Finish to save the changes.

Deleting a Brokerage / Office

If you only have access to a single brokerage/office, you cannot delete it. You must gain access to another brokerage/office first before you can delete it.

1. On the Office Administration screen, select a brokerage or office from the list.
2. Click Delete .
3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
4. If clients/quotes and/or leads accounts must be reassigned, select the brokerage to which you wish to transfer the clients/quotes and/or leads accounts to from the To dropdown menu on the Transfer screen. If you do not wish to transfer clients and quotes to another brokerage, select the <Do Not Assign To A Brokerage> option from the To dropdown menu. If you wish to transfer leads accounts to all brokerages, select the <All> option from the To dropdown menu.
   Note: If you click Cancel on the Transfer  screen, the brokerage is not deleted.
5. Click OK.