Creating a Prospect Carrier

Before you can configure your agency's carriers in HawkSoft, you must configure the states in which your agency does business, and create a Prospect Carrier. The Prospect Carrier is the carrier that all prospect policies are initially assigned to. The Prospect Carrier does not represent any real carrier; rather, the Prospect Carrier can be considered a 'placeholder' carrier to be used until a quote is accepted from a real carrier.

We recommend that you use the Prospect Carrier as a 'template' carrier for creating other carriers, by adding your policies' most common LOBs and coverages to the Prospect Carrier, and then 'cloning' these coverages to a new carrier. For more information, see Copying a Carrier.

This article covers how to configure your Agency States, and how to create a Prospect Carrier in HawkSoft's Carrier Setup.

This task is typically performed by an Owner/Administrator or Manager.

In order to complete this task, user permissions must be set to include:

Agency Setup > Carrier Setup

See User Permissions for more information.

To access Carrier Setup, click the Gear icon Setup menu at the top-right corner of HawkSoft, and then select Carrier Setup. An Agency Setup window opens to the Carrier Setup tab.

You can also access Carriers/MGAS Setup from your browser on any device. Just bookmark the following URL: https://myagency.hawksoft.app This enables you to make changes without having to log into the HawkSoft desktop program.

Alternatively, if you already have the Agency Setup window open, click the Carriers tab tab to open Carrier Setup.

Configure Agency States

By selecting Agency States, you can create policy forms that are specific to each state as needed, and configure carrier coverages differently for each state. on a state-by-state basis. For more information about configuring carrier coverages per-state, see Carrier Coverages and Lines of Business.

If, at a later time, your agency stops doing business in any of these states, or starts doing business in a new state, you can always change your Agency States from Carrier Setup.

Upon opening Carrier Setup for the first time, the only option that is available is Agency States. This is because you must first configure the states (as well as any US territories) that your agency does business in before you can configure any carriers.

  1. Click the Agency States button at the top of Carrier Setup.

    The Editing Agency States dialog opens.

  2. Check all of the states and US territories that your agency does business in.

  3. Click Close to save these states and return to Carrier Setup.

Create a Prospect Carrier

Before you can add your agency's carriers to HawkSoft, you must first create a Prospect Carrier. All prospect policies will use this carrier until a quote is accepted from another carrier. All lines of business and the most common coverages that your agency writes should be added to this Prospect Carrier.

  1. Click Create Prospect Carrier at the top of Carrier Setup.

    The Creating Prospect Carrier dialog opens to the Carrier Info tab.

    The Prospect Carrier will always be named "<Prospect>", and will always be assigned all Agency States. Additionally, there usually isn't a need to assign any Writing Carriers, NAIC Codes, Programs, or Contact Information to the Prospect Carrier. For this reason, we will skip the Carrier Info and Contact Info tabs, and go right to Policy Info.

  2. Select the Policy Info tab tab at the top of the screen.

  3. Ensure that the term lengths most commonly used by your agency's policies are added to the Terms table. By default, 12 Months, 6 Months, 3 Months, and 1 Month are listed.

    If any additional term lengths are needed:

    1. Click Add Term.

      The Add Term dialog opens.

    2. Add a numerical Value, and use the Time Unit drop-down to select whether this Value is for Days, Months, or Years.

    3. Click Add to save this new term length.

    Because the Prospect Carrier does not represent any real carrier, you do not need to enter any Agent Codes, Receipt Information, or Carrier Website information. For this reason, we will skip these sections and move straight to Lines of Business.

  4. Select the Lines of Business tab tab at the top of the screen.

    Application types

    The Lines of Business tab contains eight application type sub-tabs: Personal, Commercial, Agriculture, Life, Health, Surety Bond, Other, and Employee Benefits.

    Each application type includes:

    • A Policy Snapshot Override setting

    • A Custom Policy Titles list

    • A table of applicable Lines of Business (LOBs) and Coverages

    For policies associated with this carrier, the selected Application Type determines:

    • Which Policy Snapshot Override setting is applied

    • Which Custom Policy Titles are available for selection

    • The default LOBs and coverages that can be added to the policy

    Because the Prospect Carrier is the 'placeholder' carrier for all prospect policies, HawkSoft highly recommends adding all Lines of Business that your agency writes, and all Custom Policy Titles your agency may use, to this Prospect Carrier.

  5. Modify the following settings as needed for any of the eight Application Types under the Lines of Business tab:

    This option is only editable if Policy Snapshots are enabled in your agency's General Configuration settings.

    Policy Snapshots are attachments that record a policy's information at a certain point in time, and are intended to provide a historical record of policy changes for policies that do not download. For more information, see Policy Snapshot.

    The main Policy Snapshot setting for your agency is configured in General Configuration. If needed, the Policy Snapshot Override drop-down enables you to force a specific Policy Snapshot setting for all policies under the selected carrier and Application Type, regardless of the setting in General Configuration.

    Choose from one of the following four options in the Policy Snapshot Override drop-down:

    • Use General Configuration Settings - This is the default setting. Policies under this carrier and Application Type will defer to your agency's global Policy Snapshot setting in General Configuration.

    • Prompt users before creating Policy Snapshot - When a user makes changes to this policy's information and/or coverages, a prompt will ask the user whether a Policy Snapshot should be created.

    • Automatically create Policy Snapshot - When a user makes changes to this policy's information and/or coverages, a Policy Snapshot will always be created.

    • Do not create Policy Snapshot for this carrier - Policy Snapshots will never be created for this carrier's policies under this Application Type.

    The Policy Title is the label that shows on the policy's tab in the client (for example, AUTOP for Personal Auto policies). By default, policies will use the 3-5 letter code assigned to each line of business by ACORD. For a full list of these ACORD-standard codes, see ACORD Line of Business List.

    HawkSoft has the following default list of custom Policy Titles:

    Application Type Policy Title
    Personal ATV, Classic, Cycle, Golf Cart, RV, Snowmobile, Trailer, 2nd Home, Condo, Mobilehome, Renters, Vacant
    Commercial BOP
    Life Term Life, Whole Life, UNIV Life, VOL Life
    Health Dental, Health, HSA, LTD, STD, Vision
    Employee Benefits Dental-GRP, Health-GRP, Life-GRP, LTC-GRP, LTD-GRP, STD-GRP, Vision-GRP

    You can add, edit, or delete default custom policy titles for each application type and carrier as needed. Custom policy titles can have up to 10 characters and do not need to follow ACORD format. For example, you can create a custom policy title and set the policy tab to display Trailer instead of AUTOP.

    To add custom Policy Titles to an Application Type:

    1. On the carrier profile in Carrier/MGA Setup, select the application type you are creating custom policy titles for (personal, commercial, etc).

    2. In the Custom Policy Title section, toggle LOB Code Titles to Custom Titles (green).

    3. Type your custom policy title into the Add a custom title... text box, then press Tab on your keyboard to add the custom title and continue adding as many titles as you need.

      If you need to delete a custom Policy Title, click the X button next to the Title you want to remove.

    4. Click Save once finished adding Custom Policy Titles.

    You can use the Data Replace feature to update custom policy titles in bulk across multiple records. See Data Replace for more information.

    Once the carrier is saved, your agents can select a Custom Policy Title from the drop-down on the Policy Information screen when inserting a policy with the selected carrier and application type. The policy tab on the client will display the custom title. Carrier downloads do not overwrite the title — this is for your agency only.

    The Lines of Business table under each Application Type is where you will configure this carrier's LOBs. For each LOB, you can also configure which states each LOB applies to, any Policy Forms an LOB can have (such as HO3 or HO5 for Home policies), as well as the LOB's default coverages, limits, and deductibles. When creating a new carrier (including the Prospect Carrier), HawkSoft automatically adds common LOBs and coverages to each Application Type.

    Because the Prospect Carrier is the placeholder carrier for all prospect policies, all LOBs that your agency writes for this Application Type should be listed in the table. Review the LOBs for this Application Type, and add or remove LOBs from the table as necessary. If needed, you can also configure each LOB's Policy Forms and default Coverages.

    For full instructions on configuring a carrier's Lines of Business and Coverages, see Carrier Coverages and Lines of Business.

    1. Click the Assign Lines of Business button.

      The Assigning Lines of Business dialog appears.

    2. Check each LOB that applies to this Application Type from the table.

      You can search for an LOB using the Filter field, and quickly view which LOBs are selected by checking View Only Selected.

    3. Click Close once finished.

      The selected Lines of Business are now added to this Application Type.

    1. Click the Red trash can Remove button next to the Line of Business you want to remove.

      A confirmation dialog appears.

    2. Click Confirm to remove this Line of Business.

    1. Click the Edit button on the Line of Business you want to add Policy Forms to.

      The Line of Business Settings dialog appears.

    2. Click Add next to the Forms list.

      A drop-down appears listing the most common Policy Forms for this LOB.

    3. Select a Policy Form from the drop-down, or select "New..." to enter a custom Policy Form

      1. If you selected "New...", type in the Policy Form's name in the field that appears.

    4. Once finished, click Close to save changes.

      The Policy Forms are now available for this LOB.

    1. Click on the LOB you want to configure default coverages on, or click the Coverages button on the LOB.

      The Coverages for Line of Business dialog appears.

      To remove a coverage:

      1. Click the three-dots menu next to the coverage.

      2. Select Delete Coverage.

      3. Click Confirm on the confirmation dialog that appears.

      To add new coverages:

      For more detailed information on configuring coverages, limits, deductibles, and coverage states, see Carrier Coverages and Lines of Business.

      1. Click Add Coverages to [LOB code] at the top of the table of coverages.

        The Assigning Coverages to [LOB code] dialog appears, with a table of ACORD-standard coverages listed.

      2. Check the new coverages to add from the table.

        You can search for a coverage using the Filter field, and quickly view which coverages are selected by checking View Only Selected.

        1. If a custom coverage is needed, click the New Custom Coverage button and configure the custom coverage's description, states, limits, and deductibles.

      3. Click Close on the Assigning Coverages to [LOB code] dialog once you have finished selecting and/or adding coverages.

        The Coverages for Line of Business [LOB code] dialog opens.

      4. Click Accept to apply the coverages to the LOB.

        The new coverages are now added to this LOB.

    When configuring a Line of Business, you have the option to choose whether this LOB's default coverages should be listed directly under the LOB itself in the LOB Coverages table, or whether the default coverages should be added to each Location or Building on the policy.

    Example: For the HOME line of business, you can change the "Automatically add default coverages to" drop-down to Building to add separate Dwelling, Replacement Cost, Personal Property, etc. coverages to each Building listed on the policy.

    1. Click the Edit button on the Line of Business.

      The Line of Business Settings dialog appears.

    2. Click the "Automatically add default coverages to" drop-down, and choose whether to add default coverages to the Line of Business, or to each Location or Building on the policy.

    3. Click Close to exit the Line of Business Settings.

  6. Once you have finished configuring the Policy Snapshot Override, Custom Policy Titles, and Lines of Business/Coverages for each of this carrier's Application Types, click Save.

    The Prospect Carrier is now added to your agency, and you can begin configuring your agency's carriers.

    Continue onto the Adding a Carrier article to learn how to add carriers to your agency.

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