Big "I" Markets FAQ

BIG "I" MARKETS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do you offer Training?
Yes, we do. There are short half-hour training sessions conducted each Thursday at 2:00 ET. A member of the Big "I" Markets team will give you a virtual tour of the website and answer any questions you may have. Email your training request to bigimarkets@iiaba.net. If you are unable to make that training session contact us for an individual tour.

How do I register my agency?
You will need administrative rights to register your agency. If you do not have them you will receive an error message when you try to login. The link can be found on the login page under "Click Here to Register or Update Registration Online! " or by clicking Electronic Registration. For more information on how to register, click here.

I tried to register my Agency and was told I don't have Administrator Rights.
Agency information is initially entered with only one person authorized to register the agency. Send an e-mail to bigimarkets@iiaba.net and we'll update your individual profile with the proper authorization or let you know who already has it.

Why does each user need their own login?
One of the best E&O protections for your agency is the date and time stamp feature. It records the name of the person transacting the activity (author) on your customer's quote detail along with the date and time of the transaction. If you allow others to use your login then you can be held responsible for anything that person does under your name. A non-licensed user can be given the CSR role by contacting Big "I" Markets. The CSR role allows a staff member to enter a quote request or post messages on behalf of a licensed producer, and it accurately tracks who is creating the activity. Allowing other Producers to request quotes under your name means you receive the email notifications and phone calls that should be directed to them. A more detailed explanation can be found here.

How can others in my office get their User Name/Password?
They can click on the 'Need Your Password / Don't have a Login?' link on www.bigimarkets.com, enter their email address and their login information will be emailed directly to them. If we do not have their e-mail address on file then have them send an e-mail to bigimarkets@iiaba.net requesting their login/password.

What Products are available?
The most accurate list of available products the products you see when you log in to Big "I" Markets. Those are the products currently available in your state. Be sure to look at both the Personal & Commercial list. Most products under Offline Products are not quotable. Click on an item to see its availability. There is also a full list of Commercial / Personal Lines Products on the login page. Not all products are available in all states.

How do I contact the Underwriter?
The best way to see if a risk will qualify if the Underwriting and Coverage page does not address the area of concern is to submit it for the underwriter to review as they will want to evaluate the entire account if it's a gray area.

Once a quote request has been submitted electronically, you can click on the link for 'New Message' in the quote detail for your customer and complete the fields that appear in the pop-up window if you want to provide more information for the underwriter to consider. Your communication will be date/time stamped and the underwriter will respond in the same fashion. Some underwriters have direct contact information on the Underwriting and Coverage page.

Why can't I talk to some underwriters?
Access to underwriters varies by market. Many company underwriters contact you to discuss the account once they've received the quote request either by a message on Big "I" Markets or a phone call. Other companies prefer their underwriters to exclusively use the Big "I" Markets messaging system so as not to slow down their ability to process business by taking incoming calls.

With over 10,000 registered agencies coming through Big "I" Markets, the time company underwriters have to quote accounts could be ground to a halt if they had open phone lines to field general questions all day. That's in part why we provide an underwriting and coverage page for each product on Big "I" Markets that describes the eligibility, product features, coverage highlights, commission rates, etc.

How do I request a quote?
Select a product of interest from the list and click once. Review the Underwriting and Coverage page for eligibility and then click on 'Request a Quote' and follow the screens.

When I click on Request a Quote it says "This product is not available to quote because..."
There are three reasons why this message pops up:

…the product is Information only. It is not directly quotable through BIM.
1. The Product may be handled by your state association (e.g. Personal Umbrella). Look for direct contact information on the Underwriting & Coverage page.
2. The product is under Offline Products and is most likely not be available for new business (e.g. Excess Flood). These products pages are still visible in states with existing policies; however they will have a discontinuation notice at the top of the Underwriting & Coverage page.
3. The product may be temporarily suspended for contractual/legal reasons. This almost never happens. Call us at 703-647-7800 if you do not see notice of a or b.
…we do not have your individual license on file. You do not have the Producer role activated (i.e. we do not have your Agent license information).
1. Click on "Home" at the top of page.
  1. If you see a box headed by "Big I Markets Activity Summary", then you are active as a Producer. Check to make sure the product isn't discontinued or handled by your state association, then give us a call at 703-647-7800.
  2. If you do not see this box then we need your license information. An administrator will need to update your agency online registration. The link can be found on the login page under "Click Here to Register or Update Registration Online!" or by clicking Electronic Registration. Individual licenses are updated on page 5.
…your agency is not registered. Your agency will need to be registered before you may request quotes. This is done online and you may begin quoting immediately afterward. See "How do I register my agency?" for more instructions.

How long will it take to get a quote?
The time to produce a quote proposal varies by program and complexity of the account. However, the underwriter should review the request and provide initial feedback or an acknowledgement within 48 hours of receiving all of the required information. If you don't see a message posted on Big "I" Markets please post a New Message asking for a status. If you still don't receive anything give us a call at 703-647-7800 or send an email to bigimarkets@iiaba.net for assistance in reaching the underwriter.

How do I know when a quote is issued?
You will receive an email from Big "I" Markets (bigimarkets@iiaba.net) anytime there is any activity on your quote request whether it is the underwriter requesting more information, or providing a quote. You may need to add our email address to your list of 'approved' senders in order to keep the email notification from being rejected by SPAM blockers. Please be sure to update us if there is a change in your email address; it will appear in the Quote Detail for your customer so you can see what we currently have on file.

Why was my quote declined?
The underwriter will give you a specific reason for the declination. The reason will either be listed in the Message Log or appended to the end of the Quote Request. You may need to scroll down to see it. We find that some reasons for declinations are found in the Ineligible section of the Underwriting and Coverage page. It provides the majority of the underwriting criteria for each product.

I requested a quote but now I can't find it.
There are three main reasons why you don't see your quote detail:

You were timed out while entering the information and the connection to Big "I" Markets was lost. This happens if you stay on the same page for 1 hour or more and didn't click Save in that time period. In this case you will need to start over.
You logged in as someone else and selected yourself as the Primary Contact or vice versa. In this case the quote will be in the Activity Box of the person selected as Primary Contact. Click on Quote Reports to search for it.
You accidentally archived your quote. Go to My Activity Box and click on the box next to "Show Archived Entries". To archive or un-archive a quote click on the box to the left of the quote (it will then have a mark in it) and click on the "Archive Quotes" or "Unarchive Quotes" button.

I can't open the quote.
Once in your "Activity Box", just hold your mouse over the quote until it is highlighted in yellow, and then click the left mouse button. This should open the Quote Detail page. If it does not open, hit F5 or click on the refresh button on your browser and try again. The small boxes on the left side of each quote are used only to archive and un-archive quotes.

The message log works the same way. Hold your mouse over any particular message until it turns yellow and left click. Please keep in mind the Message Dialogue box will remain open in the background, but does not automatically come forward if you click on additional messages. Use the Next/Previous buttons to go from message to message.

I can see the quote but I can't open the file.
The paperclip in a box icon merely indicates an attached file. You need to open the message line to access the file. The icon to open/download a file is an arm holding a manila file folder. Click on this icon and a small window will open giving you an option to 'Open' or 'Save' the document. In some cases you may only have the 'Save' option and clicking on it will open up the "Save As" window. Occasionally clicking on the 'Open' button opens up the "Save As" window as well. This occurs when our two computers are unable to agree on the specific type of program used to read the file. In either case you will be able to open the file once you have downloaded it, provided you have the appropriate program.

These are the file types you will most likely encounter:

File Type	Program using it
.pdf	Adobe Acrobat/Reader
.doc/.wpd/.txt	Word/WordPerfect/WordPad and other Word Processors
.xls/xlsx	Excel
.ppt	PowerPoint

What are the Commission levels?
Commissions vary by product. The specific commission level, and how they are paid, is located on the Underwriting and Coverage page for each product. Simply choose the product of interest and then click on the link for 'Commissions & Policy Administration.'

When are commissions paid?
Big "I" Markets processes commission once we receive it from our company partner, typically 45-60 days after the effective date of the transaction. We issue commission payments between the 15^th & 20^th of the month. Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) are deposited on a monthly basis. If your agency has not enrolled in EFT you will receive a paper check that we process quarterly. To check your agency's EFT status, or update banking or contact information, log in to our Electronic Registration and enter your banking information on Step 2. Once complete, click 'next' which will save your information. You can then exit the window. Please note, we do not draft your account for return commission - those are handled via paper invoices. Commission statements are available online under the Agency Profile. If you do not see "Agency Profile" you are not authorized to access it and should contact bigimarkets@iiaba.net for assistance.
Check the 'Commission and Policy Administration' section of the specific product Underwriting & Coverage page for commissions that come directly from the carrier or MGA.

How do I access our online Commission Statements?
Only authorized System Administrators can access Commission Statements.

Step 1: Login into Big "I" Markets at: www.bigimarkets.com
Step 2: Select "Agency Profile" located in the left-hand blue column
Step 3: After the agency page has loaded Select "Commission Statements" (blue column)
Step 4: Select the "Download Statement" image icon to download the statement.

If you do not see "Agency Profile" you are not authorized to access it. Contact bigimarkets@iiaba.net for assistance.

Have a question that you don't see here? Drop us a line at bigimarkets@iiaba.net or call the Technical Hotline at 703-647-7800. We're happy to answer your questions. Don't forget new users can register for our ongoing BIM training webinars by sending an email to bigimarkets@iiaba.net. Check the webinar section below for more details.