“A local company is offering a new Internet-based insurance certificate delivery system that’s been endorsed by the Independent Insurance Agents of America, the nation’s largest organization of independent insurance agents.
CertificatesNow.com is designed to help insurance agencies save significant time and money in preparing certificates of insurance for their commercial policyholders, said Erica Cadondon, a company spokeswoman. Companies submitting bids for a variety of projects are frequently required to provide certificates of insurance to prospective customers, she added.
“The service is specifically designed so agents can empower their insurance clients to issue certificates of insurance directly without requiring the involvement of the agency staff,” Cadondon said.
CertificatesNow.com is a division of ConfirmNet Corp., a privately held company headquartered in San Diego. The principals of the company include CEO Edward Scheinuk; president Craig Irving; secretary-treasurer Jason Hughes; and Barbara Gallagher, chief operating officer.
A Value To Clients
In conjunction with the insurance organization’s endorsement, CertificatesNow.com is offering a free trial of the service. Insurance agency officials wishing to register with the company can call toll-free at (877) NOW-8600 or visit (www.CertificatesNow.com), she said.
Since the start of the free trial Oct. 1, there have been about 2,000 hits on the Web page, she added.
After the trial period, the cost of the service will be about $150 a year for members of the insurance association, $250 for nonmembers, plus about 60 cents for each certificate issued.
With the company’s software, insurance agencies upload clients’ certificates into its servers using a patent-pending data transfer technology. Agencies then give clients access (with a user name and a password) to issue their own certificates of insurance. That eliminates the phone calls, mailings, paperwork and wasted time, she added.
The service also enables insurance agencies that chose to retain certificate issuance duties to issue certificates more quickly and cost-effectively than before.
“Either way, the goal is to simplify the delivery process by streamlining this lengthy and laborious task, allowing both parties to produce these documents in minutes instead of days, and at a fraction of the traditional cost.””
