Chapter 9 Express for Windows User's Guide  
 Claims Reports: A-Plus Personal

Claims Reports: A-Plus Personal

A-Plus (Automated Property Loss Underwriting System) personal claims reports are provided by the American Insurance Services Group (AISG). These reports provide claims history taken from a database of contributing company information about individuals who have filed claims with those companies.

A-Plus Personal reports cover the following policy types: Boatowners, Condominium, Fire, Homeowners, Inland Marine, Mobile Home, Ranch/Farm, and Tenant.

Note: The A-Plus option is only available to agents writing business with companies that contribute claims information to the AISG database. You must contact Express Customer Support to activate this option.

Working with A-Plus Personal Requests

The following section details procedures for processing A-Plus Personal requests using the Express system. The instructions show menu usage; however, most commands and options may be accessed quickly by using the Express toolbar (see ‘‘The Toolbar’’ in the Introduction).

 
   
Entering A-Plus Personal Request Information

All A-Plus personal requests must include policy information. Use the following instructions to begin A-Plus Personal processing.

Entering Policy Information

To begin A-Plus Personal processing

  1. Select the A-Plus Personal option on the View menu. This option must be checked in order to display the A-Plus Personal folder.

  2. Select New Requests from the Requests menu. The Policy Information dialog box displays.

Express for Windows

 
   
To enter policy information required for an A-Plus Personal report

  1. Enter request data for a policyholder using the field explanations as detailed below. As entry focuses on each field, the bottom line of the dialog box displays whether that field is mandatory or optional.

Reference
Enter the policy number associated with the insured and company for this request. This field is mandatory.

Comment
This optional field is for agency use. Enter whatever information is helpful. This field displays in Express list boxes and can be used to sort requests. A default response for the Comment field may be set in the User Info dialog box in the System Information option.

Last Name
Enter the last name of the insured (the policyholder) for which an A-Plus Personal report is requested.

Suffix
Enter any name identifier such as Jr., Sr., III, etc.

First Name
Enter the first name of the person.

Middle Name
Enter either a middle name or an initial.

 
   
Direction
This field must be used for street names which have a directional identifier such as North, Southwest, etc. This identifier must be entered here and not in the Street field.

Type
This field is used to further identify the location entered in the street field; i.e. street, avenue, boulevard, road, etc. This identifier must be entered here and not in the Street field.

House #
Enter only the house number in this separate field; enter the street in the Street field.

Street
Enter the name of the street where the person resides in this field; enter the number of the house in the House # field. This field is mandatory.

Apt. #
If a person lives in an apartment, enter the apartment number this field.

City
Enter the city where the person resides. This field is mandatory.

State
Enter the two-character code for the state. This field is mandatory.

Zip Code
Enter the ZIP code for the home address of the person entered. This field is mandatory.

 
   
User Reference

This optional eight-character field may be used for any useful information. It is often used by agencies acting as brokers who use it for a customer identification number.

  1. Click "OK". The Request Entry window displays.

    Express for Windows

  2. Continue with instructions for ‘‘Entering Request Information.’’

 
   
Entering Request Information

In addition to policy information, basic request information should be added.

  1. Click on the A-Plus personal tab if it is not already active.

  2. Click the down arrow at the Company field to select the company which has issued the insured a policy.

  3. Enter a Bill Code for the A-Plus Personal request. Select a direct bill code, if approved; or enter an internal billing code or enter ‘‘000 -Default. ’’ See ‘‘Direct Bill Codes’’ and ‘‘Internal Billing Codes’’ in the Billing Features chapter for details.

  4. Move to the Primary Insured section of the dialog box and enter the Date of Birth for the Primary Insured.

  5. Tab to the SSN field and enter the social security number of the Primary Insured.

  6. Move to the Policy Information section of the dialog box and enter any previous policy number.

  7. Move to the Secondary Insured section of the dialog box and enter the last name; any name identifier such as Jr., Sr.; the First Name; a middle name or initial; the date of birth; and the nine-digit social security number of the secondary insured.

  8. Continue with instructions for ‘‘Entering Optional Information if it is available or skip to ‘‘Saving A-Plus Personal Requests.’’

 
   
Entering Optional Information

In addition to basic policy and request information, optional information may be added to aid in the search.

  1. Click "More Data" on the A-Plus personal tab. The Additional Data for APLUS Personal dialog box displays.

    Express for Windows

  2. In the Current/Mailing Address section of the dialog box, tab to each of the following fields and enter the required information.

    House #
    Enter only the house number in this separate field; enter the street in the Street field.

     
   
Direction
This field must be used for street names which have a directional identifier such as North, Southwest, etc. This identifier must be entered here and not in the Street field.

Street
Enter the name of the street where the person resides in this field; enter the number of the house in the House # field. This field is mandatory.

Type
This field is used to further identify the location entered in the street field; i.e. street, avenue, boulevard, road, etc. This identifier must be entered here and not in the Street field.

Apt. #
If a person lives in an apartment, enter the apartment number this field.

City
Enter the city where the person resides. This field is mandatory.

State
Enter the two-character code for the state. This field is mandatory.

Zip Code
Enter the ZIP code for the home address of the person entered. This field is mandatory.

  1. In the Previous Address section of the dialog box, tab to each of the fields and enter the same type of information, if available.

  2. In the First Insured Also Known As section of the dialog box, tab to the Last, First, and MI fields and enter that information if the primary insured has used an alias.

 
   
  1. Move to Secondary Insured Also Known As section of the dialog box and enter the same type of information for the Secondary Insured, if applicable.

  2. Click "OK".

  3. Continue with instructions for ‘‘Saving A-Plus Personal Requests.’’

 
   
Saving A-Plus Personal Requests

Each time you add a new request or a group of new requests, you may assign a name or description to that request group. The entire group or batch of requests is then saved and ‘‘filed’’ in your user folder, ready to transmit to the iiX Data Center during the next Communications session. The following steps are instructions to save a request group.

See ‘‘Understanding User Folders/Request Groups’’ in the Introduction for details on organizing requests.

To save an A-Plus Personal request

  1. Click "OK" on the Request Entry window. The Group Description dialog box displays.

Express for Windows

 
   
  1. Enter any description to identify the group of requests just entered. This name labels the group in your user folder in the View/Edit Requests window.

Note: When you enter A-Plus Personal requests, the group name defaults to the contents of the Reference field but this description may be changed.

  1. Click "OK". If no other Express service options are checked on the View menu, the View/Edit Requests window displays the new request group under your User ID folder.

    If other Express service options are checked on the View menu, you are required to enter the corresponding request data prior to saving any requests or else you must first deselect that option from the View menu then save the requests.

  2. Click "Close" to exit the option.

    Editing A-Plus Personal Requests

    Express provides an edit option so that changes or deletions may be made before you transmit A-Plus Personal requests to the iiX Data Center. A request cannot be changed after it has been transmitted.

    To edit an A-Plus Personal request

    1. Make sure A-Plus Personal is selected on the View menu.

    2. Select View/Edit Requests from the Requests menu. The View/Edit Requests window displays.

     
   

Express for Windows

  1. Locate the group in your folder which contains the A-Plus Personal request you want to edit or you may edit requests in other folders by clicking on the plus sign (+) next to a User ID to show all the request groups entered in that user folder.

Note: You cannot edit a request if another user on the system is currently working with that request.

  1. Select the group which contains the request you want to edit and click "Edit" or double-click on the group description. The system loads the request group.

  2. Click on the A-Plus Personal folder if it is not already active. The Request Entry window displays.

 
   
Changing Personal Information

  1. Move to and change any field by retyping the correct data.

  2. Continue with steps to change Optional Info, if necessary.

Changing Optional Information

  1. Click "More Data".

  2. Move to and change any field by retyping the correct data.

  3. Click "OK".

  4. Continue with steps to change Policy Info, if necessary.

Changing Policy Information
  1. Click "Policy Info" at the top of the Request Entry window. The Policy Information dialog box displays.

  2. Go to and highlight the data for any field that needs changing.

  3. Retype the correct data.

  4. Click "OK".

Note: Changes you make to a request in the A-Plus Personal Request dialog box are not saved to the database until you resave the entire request group in the following step.

 
   
Saving All Changes

  1. Click "OK" on the request group window.

  2. If the changes require renaming the request group, retype the new group name.

  3. Click "OK" to save all changes. The View/Edit Requests window redisplays.

  4. Click "Close" to exit the option.

 
   
Choosing Selection Criteria for Requests

Before you print or purge A-Plus Personal requests, the following section explains how to choose request selection criteria. Because you must determine which requests you want to work with prior to working with them, this section is presented now. You will be referred back to it from the functional procedures which follow.

The Request Selection Criteria dialog box allows you to set preferences for which requests you want to display in Express list boxes prior to carrying out a print or purge function.

The Express default is to display all unsent requests; however, you (or your office) may decide to change what you see in list boxes based on selection criteria which may include, according to selected service, the following:

  • For A-Plus Personal requests----Requestor ID, User Batch, State, Last Name, User Reference, and All Requests (or only Unsent, Pending, or Received). The screen shown below is the Request Selection Criteria dialog box.

Express for Windows

 
   
If you choose to change selections based on selection criteria, those preferences remain in effect for all Express request functions and services until you change them or reset them to the default.

Because any user on the system may change selection criteria without another user knowing, a check box at the bottom of the Selection Criteria dialog box allows you to always (or never) display the criteria dialog box. This allows you to verify which requests are selected prior to carrying out a print or purge function.

Note: If you choose not to always display the Selection Criteria dialog box, be aware that all available requests may not be shown even though they do exist.

 
   
Printing an A-Plus Personal Request Listing

An A-Plus Personal Requests list may show either unsent requests, pending, or received requests, the state from which they are requested, the policyholder’s names, and any comments entered with the requests. The request listing also shows if requests are valid or invalid. Invalid requests are sometimes saved as a result of importing request data. By printing the request listing prior to transmission, you can pinpoint invalid requests and correct them; if not, they will not be sent.

To print an A-Plus Personal request listing

  1. Select Print from the File menu. Depending on user preference, one of two dialog boxes will display.

  • The Print Reports or Preview/Print Lists dialog box

Express for Windows

 
   
or

  • The Report Selection Criteria dialog box

    Express for Windows
  1. Refer to ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Requests’’ if you have not already read it.

    If the Report Selection Criteria dialog box is displayed on your screen now, it is because the default for the File...Print option is always set for Reports.

  2. Click "Cancel" to return to the Print Reports or Preview/Print Lists dialog box, select the Request List option, then click "Select". The Request Selection Criteria dialog box displays.

  3. Continue with Step 5.

 
   
If the Print Reports or Preview/Print Lists dialog box is displayed on your screen now, continue with the following instructions.

  1. Select the Request List option then click "Select". The Request Selection Criteria dialog box displays.

  2. Continue with Step 5.

  3. Click "Defaults" to select all unsent requests or move to each field described below and change it to set a different request list selection.

    Requestor ID
    Select a specific Requestor ID or select All IDs.

    Service
    Select A-Plus (personal) from the Service drop down list box.

    User Batch
    Enter a User Batch number. If you do not enter a specific batch, all batches are included.

    State
    Enter a specific state to include only requests from that state or select All to list requests from all states.

    Last Name
    Enter a specific Last Name.

    Request Options
    Choose Unsent, Pending, Received, or All requests. If you select Pending or Received, you may specify Date ranges.

     
   

Note: The Defaults pushbutton resets selection options to include all unsent requests. Any changes to the default criteria setting that you make in the Request Selection Criteria dialog box are saved for both the print and purge requests functions in all Express services----until you either change them again or reset them to the default setting.

  1. Click "OK" to return to the Print Reports or Preview/Print Lists dialog box.

  2. Enter a different number in the Copies field if you need more than one copy of the listing.

  3. Click "Printer" if you need to view and/or change the Print Setup options before printing.

  4. Select the Preview option button then click "OK" to first view and then print the listing or click "OK" to route the A-Plus Personal request listing directly to your printer.

 

Sending A-Plus Personal Requests to the Data Center

To send A-Plus Personal requests to the Data Center

  1. Print a listing of requests to be transmitted (see ‘‘Printing an A-Plus Personal Request Listing’’ in this chapter).

  2. Follow the instructions for ‘‘Sending Requests to the Data Center’’ in the Express Communications chapter.

Note: See ‘‘Resending Requests’’ in the Express Communications chapter for instructions to retransmit requests.

 
   
Purging A-Plus Personal Requests

To purge A-Plus Personal requests from your system

  1. Make sure you are the only user on the system.

  2. Follow the instructions for ‘‘Purging Requests’’ in the Utilities chapter.

     
   
Working with A-Plus Property Reports

The following section details procedures for processing A-Plus Property reports using the Express system. Even though A-Plus requests are entered as either Personal or Commercial requests, there is no differentiation when they are received----all are listed as A-Plus Property reports.

The instructions show menu usage; however, most commands and options may be accessed quickly by using the Express toolbar (see ‘‘The Toolbar’’ in the Introduction).

Receiving A-Plus Property Reports from the Data Center

To receive A-Plus Property reports from the Data Center

See ‘‘Receiving Reports from the Data Center’’ in the Express Communications chapter.

See the ‘‘A-Plus Property Reports’’ section of Appendix A----Sample Reports and Record File Layouts for explanation on how to read the A-Plus Property reports you receive from the Data Center.

 
   
Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports

Before you begin working with A-Plus Property reports, the following section explains how to choose report selection criteria. Because you must determine which A-Plus Property reports you want to work with prior to working with them, this section is presented before all others and you will be referred back to it from the functional procedures which follow.

The Report Selection Criteria dialog box allows you to set preferences for which reports you want to display in Express list boxes prior to carrying out a view, print, delete, or purge function.

The Express default is to display all unprinted reports; however, you (or your office) may decide to change what you see in list boxes based on selection criteria which may include, according to selected service, the following:

  • For A-Plus Property reports----Requestor ID, User Batch, State, Status, Name, and All Reports (or only Printed or UnPrinted). The screen shown below is the Report Selection Criteria dialog box.

Express for Windows

 
   
If you choose to change selections based on selection criteria, those preferences remain in effect for all Express report functions and services until you change them or reset them to the default.

Because any user on the system may change selection criteria without another user knowing, a check box at the bottom of the Selection Criteria dialog box allows you to always (or never) display the criteria dialog box. This allows you to verify which reports are selected prior to carrying out a view, print, delete, or purge function.

Note: If you choose not to always display the Selection Criteria dialog box, be aware that all available reports may not be shown even though they do exist.

 
   
Viewing A-Plus Property Reports

To view a specific A-Plus Property report

  1. Select View/Print Reports from the Reports menu. Depending on user preference, one of two dialog boxes will display.

  • The Report Selection Criteria dialog box

    Express for Windows

     
   
or

  • The View/Print Reports dialog box

Express for Windows
  1. Refer to ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports’’ at the beginning of the reports section if you have not already read it.

  2. If the Report Selection Criteria dialog box is displayed on your screen now, skip to Step 4.

or

  1. If the View/Print Reports dialog box is displayed on your screen now, click "Select" then continue with Step 4.

 
   

  1. Click "Defaults" to select all unprinted reports or move to each field described below and change it to set a different report list selection.

Requestor ID
Select the Requestor ID for the user who entered the A-Plus Personal request or select All IDs to display a list of reports requested by all users.

Service
Select A-Plus (Property) from the Service drop down list box.

User Batch
Enter a User Batch number or leave this field blank to include reports regardless of batch number.

State
Enter a specific state to display a list of reports from that state only or select All to show reports from all states.

Status
Select one of the following options: All Status Codes, Results Found, Clear, Error, or No Hit.

Name
Enter a specific Name (Last Name, First Name).

Print Options
Choose All, Printed, or Unprinted reports. Note that Unprinted is the default.

Date Received
Enter any date range for the time period when the report(s) was received.

 
   

Note: The Defaults pushbutton resets selection options to include all unprinted reports. Any changes to the default criteria setting that you make in the Report Selection Criteria dialog box are saved for all Express view, print, delete, and purge reports functions in all services----until you either change them again or reset them to the default setting.

  1. Click "OK" to display the View/Print Reports list box. Note the number of Reports Listed versus Total Reports (at the bottom of the dialog box) which reflects your selection criteria options.

Note: You may click on any column heading in any Express list box to sort the list accordingly (e.g. click on the DL Number heading to sort the reports by driver license number). The column heading which is displayed in italics shows the current sort order. The No. heading sorts the list in the order that the requests were received by the iiX Data Center.

  1. Find the A-Plus Property report you want to view in the list box.

  2. Select the report and click "View" or double-click on the entry. The View A-Plus Property Report window displays.

  3. Use the scroll bar to view the complete report on screen. Use the Next and Previous buttons to view other reports in the list box. You may also click "Print" to route the report to your system printer.

  4. Click "Close" to exit the view window.

  5. Click "Cancel" to exit the option.

 
   
Printing A-Plus Property Reports

Once reports are received back and loaded into a file on your system, you may print them at your convenience. Use the ‘‘Printer Setup’’ option first if you need to select a particular printer.

Note: Reports may be printed from either the View/Print Reports option on the Reports menu or from the Print option on the File menu. The File...Print option, however, does not display the list on screen prior to printing nor does it show the number of reports that will be printed.

To print all unprinted A-Plus Property reports

  1. Select View/Print Reports from the Reports menu.

  2. Refer to the previous sections, ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports’’ and ‘‘Viewing A-Plus Property Reports’’ to display only the reports you want to print in the View/Print Reports list box.

Note: Select A-Plus (Property) from the Service drop down list box in the Report Selection Criteria dialog box to print only A-Plus Property reports.

  1. On the View/Print Reports list box, note the number of Reports Listed versus Total Reports (at the bottom of the dialog box) which reflects your selection criteria options.

  2. Select the entire group of reports by using standard Windows selection procedures (i.e. Press the Shift key and click on the first report in the list box then, while still pressing the Shift key, scroll to and click on the last report in the list). The entire group is highlighted.

 
   
  1. Click "Print". The A-Plus Property reports are routed to your printer.

Note: When a report has been printed, it is designated and flagged as printed and a graphic is placed to the left of the Name field.

  1. Click "Cancel" to exit the option.

To print an A-Plus Property report listing

Note: A report listing may only be printed from the Print option on the File menu and the procedure is, therefore, similar to printing a request listing.

  1. Select Print from the File menu. Depending on user preference, one of two dialog boxes will display.
  • If the Print Reports or Preview/Print Lists dialog box is displayed on your screen now, select the Report List option then click "Select". The Report Selection Criteria dialog box displays; continue with Step 2.

  • If the Report Selection Criteria dialog box is already displayed on your screen, continue with Step 2.

  1. Refer to ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports’’ at the beginning of the reports section and determine what reports you want to include on the listing.

 
   

Note: Select A-Plus (Property) from the Service drop down list box in the Report Selection Criteria dialog box to list only A-Plus Property reports.

  1. Click "OK" to return to the Print Reports or Preview/Print Lists dialog box.

  2. Enter a different number in the Copies field if you need more than one copy of the listing.

  3. Click "Printer" if you need to view and/or change the Print Setup options.

  4. Select the Preview option button then click "OK" to first view and then print the listing or click "OK" to route the A-Plus Property report listing directly to your printer.

To print specific A-Plus Property reports
  1. Select View/Print Reports from the Reports menu.

  2. Refer to the previous sections, ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports’’ and ‘‘Viewing A-Plus Property Reports’’ to display only the reports you want to print in the View/Print Reports list box.

Note: Select A-Plus (Property) from the Service drop down list box in the Report Selection Criteria dialog box to list only A-Plus Property reports then select other criteria to help narrow the listing.

 
   

Note: You may click on any column heading in any Express list box to sort the list accordingly (e.g. click on the DL Number heading to sort the reports by driver license number). The column heading which is displayed in italics shows the current sort order. The No. heading sorts the list in the order that the requests were received by the iiX Data Center.

  1. At the View/Print Reports dialog box, use standard Windows selection procedures to select only the A-Plus Property report(s) you want to print.

  2. Click "Print". The A-Plus Property report(s) are routed to your printer.

Note: When a report has been printed, it is designated as printed and a graphic is placed to the left of the Name field.

  1. Click "Cancel" to exit the option.

Mailing A-Plus Property Reports

There may be times when you want to attach an A-Plus Property report to an e-mail message. If you have a 16-bit MAPI-compliant mail system installed, you may do this from within Express.

Note: If your mail client is 32-bit software (see your mail documentation), you will not be able to mail reports via Express.

 
   
To attach an A-Plus Property report to a mail message

  1. Select View/Print Reports from the Reports menu.

  2. Refer to the previous sections, ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports’’ and ‘‘Viewing A-Plus Property Reports’’ to display only the reports you want to mail in the View/Print Reports list box.

Note: Select A-Plus (Property) from the Service drop down list box in the Report Selection Criteria dialog box to list only A-Plus Property reports then select other criteria to help narrow the listing.

  1. At the View/Print Reports dialog box, use standard Windows selection procedures to select only the A-Plus Property report you want to attach to a mail message.

  2. Click "Mail". Express opens the mail composition screen of your mail software and attaches the selected file(s) with a .TXT extension according to the service report (e.g. A-Plus Property reports are attached as CLPrpt.txt).

  3. Complete the mail message as usual (add header information and body text).

  4. Click "Send".

Note: If you have questions pertaining to mail usage or if you experience mail problems, please contact to your mail administrator.

 
   
Saving A-Plus Property Reports to a File

The Express Report ‘‘Save to File’’ option differs from the ‘‘Export Reports’’ option in that Save to File copies a formatted viewable A-Plus Property report to a file named clprpt.txt in the \USER directory. The Export option copies ‘‘raw’’ unformatted data to a location you specify.

Saved A-Plus Property reports may be opened as ASCII files for viewing and printing.

To save formatted A-Plus Property reports to a file

  1. Select Print from the File menu.

  2. Refer to the previous sections, ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports’’ to select only the reports you want to save.

  3. Select the Save to File option button.

  4. Click "OK'.

If you have not previously saved reports to a file, the report(s) you selected are copied to the Express \USER directory on the drive where you installed the Express software. They are contained in the text file named clprpt.txt.

If you have previously saved report files on your system, respond to the ‘‘Delete Old Files’’ dialog box.

  • Press "Yes" to delete the old reports before writing the new reports to the report file.

  • Press "No" to keep the old reports and append the new reports to the existing report file.

 
   
Deleting A-Plus Property Reports

To delete specific A-Plus Property reports from your system

  1. Select View/Print Reports from the Reports menu.

  2. Refer to the previous sections, ‘‘Choosing Selection Criteria for Reports’’ and ‘‘Viewing A-Plus Property Reports’’ to display only the reports you want to delete in the View/Print Reports list box.

  3. Select the report and click "Delete" or double-click on the entry. A confirmation dialog box displays.

  4. Respond to the deletion prompt.

  5. Respond to the prompt which allows you to keep or remove associated requests then click "OK".

  6. Click "Cancel" to exit the option.

Purging A-Plus Property Reports

To purge A-Plus Property reports from your system

  1. Make sure you are the only user on the system.

  2. Follow the instructions for ‘‘Purging Reports’’ in the Utilities chapter.

 

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