Receiving Payments – FAQ

 

Q. How Do we get started?
A. Contact sales at ClearPay at 888-440-8790 or Visit us at clearpaycanada.com to learn more about how to activate your insurance company

Q. What is involved in implementing this solution?
A. MGA signs agreement, provides banking information, customize MGA settings including desired reporting format for payment data from ClearPay.

Q. How is this different than standard EFT or direct bill?
A. Consolidated centralized clearing solution that transfers the money electronically with an insurance specific reconciliation report for payees while maintaining authorization and segregation of duties. (transfer the money and the reconciliation data without leaving the BMS and without re-keying the data, the carrier does not have to divulge their bank account info to all parties).

Q. Is ClearPay secure?
A. Yes, your financial institution and your recipient’s financial institution transfer funds using established and secure banking procedures. ClearPay follows all bank level security procedures with SSL security certificate and 256 bit encryption.

Q. How long will it take to set up?
A. All we require for set up and activation is for the carrier to sign the agreement and provide us with the required information. (i.e.. Bank account info and requested file format to receive reconciliation data)

Q. Does our IT department need to get involved?
A. No, all we really need, besides the signed agreement in the bank account details and the type of file format you would like to receive your reconciliation data in.

Q. Can we pay the brokers with it?
A. Not at this point in time… but we would love to hear from you if this is something you would like to implement.

Q. How are the funds moved/transferred, what is the workflow?
A. The funds are transferred from the Brokerage’s Trust account directly to the carrier’s account, using the established banking EFT platform. The carrier will receive a notification upon the payment being posted by the brokerage (along with the reconciliation report) and receive another notification on the day the money actually transfers to their account.

Q. My brokers are currently set up to pay 30 days in advance, so we can reconcile?
A. None of your existing broker workflows or timing need to change. Your brokers will still be responsible for submitting payments based on your pre-existing agreement with them. You will receive a notification alerting you when a Broker submitted a payment and when you will receive the funds. A reconciliation report is also provided upon submitting a payment.

Q. Can the Broker submit a payment and then change it?
A. We can provide a “lock down” option for the carriers, so that once a payment has been submitted, the brokerage needs to contact the carrier to “unlock” the payment to make any changes to it.

Q. Does any information/report come with the payment?
A. Yes, you will receive a full “Reconciliation Report” with all accounting and policy data required. You can receive this data in any file format you would like, including a direct web services feed.

Q. What is the Reconciliation Report that comes with the payment?
A. The “Reconciliation Report” is the document that Brokerages send to the carriers with the pertinent accounting and policy data required to reconcile. This can be done in an automated fashion and the carriers can receive the standardized report in any file format they would like, including a direct web services feed.

Q. Can the Broker submit a note/memo with the payment?
A. Yes, the information in the description field on a physical cheque will be electronically transferred to the carrier in the reconciliation report.

Q. How do we know when payments are made and funds are transferred?
A. Carriers will receive an email notification as soon as a payment has been submitted to ClearPay, this includes the payment details as well as the “Reconciliation Report”. Carriers will also receive a notification the day the payment has been posted to their account (transferred).

Q. Can it handle multiple accounts?
A. Yes, ClearPay can be set up to send money to multiple accounts. The brokerage can then select which account the funds are to be transferred too.

Q. Can it be used for NSF or one off cheques?
A. Yes, any time a Brokerage needs to send money to a Carrier, ClearPay can be used.

Q. What if my brokers don’t use a supported BMS or any BMS?
A. ClearPay has an manual version of the solution as well. This allows Brokerages to log into the ClearPay portal and set up and submit payments directly from it. This allows any Brokerage regardless of BMS to utilize the ClearPay solution.


 Sending Payments – FAQ

 

Q. How Do we get started?
A. Contact sales at ClearPay at 888-440-8790 or Visit us at clearpaycanada.com to sign-up/activate your brokerage.

Q. What is involved in implementing this solution?
A. MGA signs agreement, complete banking requirements, set-up users, set-up CSIO standard company codes, customize MGA settings. Install connectivity tool that translates data to ClearPay.

Q. How is this different than standard EFT or direct bill?
A. Consolidated centralized clearing solution that transfers the money electronically with an insurance specific reconciliation report for carriers.  Funds and data are transferred without leaving the BMS or logging into a bank website.  As well, brokerages or carriers do not need to task yourselves with obtaining bank account information.  ClearPay maintains this information.

Q. Is ClearPay secure?
A. Yes, your financial institution and your carrier’s financial institution transfer funds using established and secure banking procedures. ClearPay follows all bank level security procedures with SSL security certificate and 256 bit encryption.

Q. How long will it take to set up?
A. Brokerage activation and set-up has been designed to be easily implemented in an automated fashion. Once all details have been collected, the process itself should only take approximately 60 minutes.

Q. Does our IT department need to get involved?
A. To a very limited degree.  Most of the sign-up process is wizard driven, but there may be some limited involvement by the brokerage’s IT support.

Q. Do I control the amount released?
A. Yes, the brokerage determines the amount and timing of the payment.

Q. What if we do not have a supported BMS?
A. Don’t have a supported BMS, or any BMS… No problem! ClearPay has been designed with a “manual” application, which will allow brokerages to log into ClearPay and submit payments and data directly from our web based solution.

Q. What if we already have a set process/workflow that we use?
A. ClearPay has been designed to be customized to each Brokerages internal workflow and set up. You are not required to change any aspect of your process.

Q. Will we need to send any notifications/emails or reports/data?
A. No, ClearPay will take care of all of it for you. You simply need to submit a payment and all appropriate notifications and data will be sent automatically and electronically for you.

Q. What is the Reconciliation Report that goes with the payment?
A. The “Reconciliation Report” is the document that Brokerages send to the carriers with the pertinent accounting and policy data required to reconcile.

Q. Can we submit the payment with a note/memo for the carrier?
A. Yes, the information in the description field on a cheque will be electronically transferred to the carrier in the reconciliation report.

Q. Can you work with our bank?
A. Yes, ClearPay can work with any financial institution the Brokerage works with.

Q. Do we need to set anything up with our bank?
A. No, you will simply need to go through the ClearPay activation process and sign the ClearPay agreement and we will take care of the rest.

Q. Can it handle multiple accounts and/or office locations?
A. Yes, ClearPay can be set up to transfer money from multiple accounts.

Q. Can it be used for NSF or one off cheques?
A. Yes, any time a Brokerage needs to send money to a Carrier, ClearPay can be used.