FILING PROCESS
Susan Coulter
Principal Consultant
Coulter & Associates
Elsie Andy
Principle Insurance Market Examiner
Virginia Bureau of Insurance
Betty Dabrowski
Vice President
McHugh Consulting Resources, Inc.
Mid-Atlantic Chapter E-Day June 2, 2017
Notice
The information presented is intended to provide
general information and discussion. It is based on filing
experiences and should not be relied upon without
independent research and consultation with legal
counsel. The opinions and positions discussed do not
necessarily represent common agreement or position of
the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals
or its presenters.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
OVERVIEW OF SESSION
 Summary of UETA and E-Sign
 Filing requirements by state for
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application/enrollment process
Typical state objections
Best Practices
Additional challenges when application includes
combined benefit coverages for life and health
Screen shots requirements
Administrative challenges
Q&A
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Summary of UETA and E-Sign
The legal recognition of electronic commerce is
provided by two federal acts, the Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act (UETA) and the Electronic Signatures
in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign). Both
were enacted to help ensure the validity of electronic
contracts and the defensibility of electronic signatures.
UETA has been adopted by 47 states along with the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. Illinois, New York and Washington have not
adopted UETA, however similar legislation that governs
how electronic transactions are handled has been
enacted in these 3 states.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Summary of UETA and E-Sign-Con’t
Items to note regarding electronic commerce:
 An electronic record and an electronic signature are two
different things that must be linked together in order to
remain enforceable under the law.
 An e-signature must be attached to or located somewhere
on the electronic document in order for the document to
be valid in a legal sense.
 Electronic documents that follow the UETA guidelines
must be available to all parties. If a consumer is prohibited
from printing a document or storing it electronically, then
that document will not be seen as legally binding.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Summary of UETA and E-Sign-Con’t
 The E-Sign Act confirmed that electronic signatures
have the same legal standing as pen-and-paper
signatures, and a contract or record of transactions
may not be denied legal effect or ruled unenforceable
simply because it is in electronic form.
 The E-Sign Act specifies that while state laws do not
have to conform exactly to the federal law, they must
provide equivalent protection for electronic contracts
and electronic signatures. Where there is a conflict
between the E-Sign Act and UETA, the state law will
govern.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Summary of UETA and E-Sign-Con’t
There are other requirements such as:
 Attribution and Effect of Electronic Record & Signature
 Effect of Change or Error
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Summary of UETA and E-Sign-Con’t
There are other requirements such as:
 Time and Place of Sending and Receipt
 Retention of Electronic Records
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
IIPRC Filing Requirements
 Statement in filing description of how the application
will be used, such as paper, electronic, and/or
telephonic. For electronic and telephonic uses, the
company needs:
 To describe the procedure that will be used to verify the
authenticity of the transactions; and
 Include a John Doe sample that shows additional sections and
questions that are required to be completed by the applicant,
including additional drop downs, scripts, questions,
questionnaires or supplements, if the applicant answers
questions in a certain way, such as a “yes” response.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
IIPRC Filing Requirements-Cont’d
 Applications that provide an authorization for the company
to act on electronic and/or telephonic instructions from
parties specified in the application shall also provide the
means for such an authorization to be rejected by the
owner, and in the absence of a positive authorization,
there shall be a rejection of the authorization. The
authorization may state that proper identification must be
provided and that the company will be held harmless for
any claim, liability, loss or cost, when it has used
reasonable procedures to confirm these transactions are
authorized and genuine and these procedures have been
followed.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
IIPRC Filing Requirements-Cont’d
 Applications that provide an authorization for the
electronic delivery of statements, prospectuses
and other documents shall also provide a means
for an electronic authorization to be rejected by
the owner and, in the absence of a positive
authorization, there shall be a rejection of the
authorization. Such authorization will include a
statement that the proposed owner has access to the
Internet for the purposes of accepting electronic
delivery of the documents and a means by which the
proposed owner can provide a current Internet email
address.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
IIPRC Reflexive Questions-what is required?
 Reflexive Questions- do you place them on the
forms tab or supporting documents tab?
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
IIPRC Reflexive Questions-Cont’d
 Forms Tab: If answers to the reflexive questions will
be included in the policy as part of the “Entire
Contract” provision of the policy or if the company
intends to use those answers to contest a claim, those
questions would need to filed and approved for use.
 Supporting Documents Tab: If the reflexive
questions are only being used strictly to provide
underwriting information, and will not be used to
contest a claim or be made part of the contract at issue,
they may be submitted as supporting docs
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Capturing all Reflexive Questions-IIPRC
Question:
There could be many different scenarios with reflexives
questions and sometimes it is almost impossible to
capture every type of scenario and sometimes the
questions are not static; so what is required?
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Capturing all Reflexive Questions-Cont’d
Answer:
Our experience with IIPRC has made it very clear that
the IIPRC standards require that all of the reflexive
questions need to be filed and reviewed. However, the
IIPRC has stated that you do not have to file every
scenario, as long as the drop downs questions are the
same. For example, there are 10 different medical
conditions asked in one main question and the drop
downs are the same such as what medications do you
take, how often, etc, those types of repetitive questions
would only need to be shown once.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
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Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
 Florida
 Regarding the application for the submitted form to
be used electronically, including over the internet,
please provide the following:
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A detailed description of any information to be
transmitted electronically.
Explanation of how any signature pad may be used.
Will the applicant be reviewing all the health questions.
Will the applicant see his/her signature?
Certify that the applicants signature will not be
transmitted to any other forms.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
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Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
 Florida
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How will the policy be delivered?
If the application is available on the Internet, the Office
needs to be provided with print outs of every screen used
in the application process, including all drop down
questions.
Explain how a replacement form is given to an applicant
who indicates a replacement is or may be involved when
taking the application based on a telephonic or internet
based process
Provide detailed explanation how compliance with
having licensed agents with insurer is achieved when apps
are taken electronically (628.428(1))
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
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Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
 Kansas- wants assurances that you follow K.S.A.
16-1601-Electronic Transactions Act.
 Montana-forms to be reviewed must be shown as they will
appear when ready to be used. Screen shots of print screens
of the forms as they appear on the Internet or electronically
will need to be submitted. Also, if the application is
submitted online through a website, show all screen shots of
what the consumer sees from beginning to end.
 If form is identical to its paper counterpart, then no new form
number is needed, if not, then its’ own form number.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
 Maine – requested screen shots and compared
applications and policy forms to ensure consistency.
 Maryland-wants to see the electronic application for
review and approval.
 New Mexico- requested screen shots and compared
applications and policy forms to ensure consistency.
 New Jersey - requested screen shots and compared
applications and policy forms to ensure consistency.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
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Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
New York
 New York State has enacted the Electronic Signatures and Records Act
("ESRA"), which establishes a legal framework in New York for the
conduct of electronic commerce. See N.Y. State Tech. Law Art. 1
(McKinney Pamphlet 2000). ESRA specifies five electronic signature
criteria that, if met, give the same validity and effect to an electronic
signature that is given to a signature affixed by hand. Insurance forms
may be electronically created, signed and transmitted provided that
the electronic methodology implemented meets the criteria imposed
by applicable law; all other statutory and regulatory requirements
must also be met. The electronic version of an insurance application
must be submitted to the Department for approval if the electronic
version differs from an already-approved form in text or other material
manner. Where there are no such differences, no separate approval is
necessary.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
New York-continued
 For a new filing, file screen shots and paper applications.
NY will compare screen shots to policy and application
forms for consistency. We also included the Ecommerce procedure as an informational document.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
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Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
 Ohio-wants confirmation that all the electronic records
and signatures are in compliance with UETA
 Utah-Required screen shots and compared the final
issued document from the on-line enrollment to the
paper application to ensure consistency.
 Also reviewed screen shots to ensure that information
related to product tracked with issued policy form. For
example, compared exclusions.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
Virginia:
 The filing must certify that the applicant’s signature will
only be used for the purposes of signing the application
form itself. The Filing Description should describe any
differences that occur in the electronic version from the
paper version. Screen shots should be provided as
supporting documentation.
 An electronic application must meet the same statutory
and regulatory requirements as paper applications. For
example, a form number must appear on the lower lefthand corner of the first page (14 VAC 5-100-40 1).
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Application/Enrollment Filing Requirements by State
Virginia-Continued:
 Challenges when Application has combined coverages
for Life and Health:
When a form is to be used for multiple purposes,
(i.e. life, accident and sickness), submit only one
filing and describe how it will be used. Virginia
requires that the application satisfy all
requirements for both Life and Health .
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Typical State Objections
 Ensure that the final document generated by the
electronic enrollment matches the filed paper
application.
 Ensure that no language in the screen shots conflicts
with language in the certificate
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Best Practices
 As the filer, always ask if the filing will have any kind
of on-line enrollment process.
 Recommend that some explanation of the e-commerce
process be included as a supporting document.
 Ensure document provided at end of application
process tracks with the paper application.
 Ensure that any language in the screen shots does not
conflict with policy language.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Best Practices
Virginia Best Practices
One of our biggest review concerns is variability.
This includes the
accurate identification of variable fields, and the description of variability. We
recommend that all fields intended to be variable be appropriately marked, and
that the statement of variability be consistent with the marked-up
application. All variable information must be bracketed and explained in detail.
A Statement of Variability should be provided in all cases where variable
information is presented. The Statement of Variability should be detailed and
specific. It should identify each variable field appearing in the forms and describe
specifically how that field will vary from the text as presented. For any variable
numerical information, please express the minimum and maximum values. Any
variable language must be defined sufficiently so that compliance with statutory
or regulatory requirements can be determined. If submitted, a separate Statement
of Variability should be placed in the “Supporting Documentation” section.
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Challenges when Application has combined
coverages for Life and Health
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Screen Shots Requirements
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Administrative Challenges
Programming time and expense for state specific requirements
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process
Questions
AICP 2017 Electronic Enrollment Filing Process