A broker wants to trade with you
Your business development team finds a broker who wants to place your product. Then the setup begins. The broker is sent an agency application form as a PDF. They return it with some documents. Your team checks their regulatory status and other details your process requires, asks for what is missing, and sends the terms of business. Signed terms come back by email.
Someone then sets up the agency in the policy administration system, adds commission terms to the commission spreadsheet, creates portal users for each broker staff member, and sends login details. The broker waits weeks, and by the time they can quote, the client they had in mind has been placed elsewhere.
Why broker setup drags
Each step is simple. The chain is slow because nothing connects them.
- Application forms are PDFs, filled in and returned by email.
- Checks on the broker are done by hand and recorded in a spreadsheet.
- Terms of business are sent and signed separately.
- Commission terms are held in a spreadsheet, apart from the agency record.
- Portal users are created one at a time by an administrator.
What checks you carry out on brokers, and what terms you agree, is for your process, your agreements with capacity providers and your advisers. The build carries them out consistently.
What slow broker setup costs
Brokers judge you on how easy you are to trade with, and setup is the first test. Business development's work is wasted when brokers lose interest. Your team spends time on data entry across several systems. Inconsistent records, such as commission terms that do not match the signed agreement, cause problems later in statements and bordereaux.
A broker onboarding flow
What we build runs broker setup from application to first quote.
- The broker applies online, entering firm details once and uploading the documents your process requires.
- Public data, such as the firm's register entry, is looked up where an API or data source exists, and shown alongside what the broker entered.
- Checks your process requires are listed on the application, with results recorded and anything outstanding requested from the broker through the same page.
- Once approved, terms of business are generated with the agreed commission and sent for e-signature.
- On signature, the agency is created in your policy administration system through its API, commission terms are written to your commission engine or spreadsheet, and portal users are invited.
- The broker's staff set up their own logins, and the broker lead can add or remove users later.
- Each agency has a record showing its checks, terms, users and when each was completed, with review dates for anything your process says must be checked again.
| Setup step | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Application | PDF by email | Online form with uploads |
| Checks | Manual, spreadsheet | Listed on the application, results recorded |
| Terms of business | Sent and chased by email | Generated and e-signed |
| Agency and commission setup | Typed into several systems | Created by API on signature |
| Portal users | Created one by one | Invited, then managed by the broker |
A broker's first week
The broker applies, uploads their documents and follows their own progress. Your team works through checks on a single screen. Terms are signed electronically. The agency, commission and users are set up automatically, and the broker can quote soon after approval. Every agency record is complete and consistent, which makes statements, bordereaux and audits simpler.
When a broker's details change later, such as a new office, a merger or a staff member leaving, the broker lead updates them through the same place, and the change is recorded against the agency with a date.
Is broker setup slowing your growth?
- New brokers wait weeks to start quoting.
- Application forms are PDFs returned by email.
- Checks and terms are tracked in spreadsheets.
- Agency setup is typed into several systems.
- Portal users are created by hand.