What is the standard self-service onboarding flow? (Paths 1-3)

The standard self-service onboarding flow applies to producers who start onboarding through any of the following entry points:

• The CoverTree Producer Onboarding website

• A link shared by a wholesaler or agency

• The producer tile within a wholesaler’s internal portal (SSO)

All entry points support self-onboarding. However, the routing experience may vary slightly depending on what information is already known when the producer enters the flow.

Producer Onboarding Website

What is the first step when onboarding from the website?

Producers starting from the CoverTree onboarding website are first asked how they work with CoverTree.

They must choose one of the following options:

• Work through a wholesaler (if applicable), or

• Hold a direct appointment with CoverTree (no wholesaler)

This selection determines which wholesaler, if any, the producer and/or agency will be associated with during onboarding.

What is the Agency NPN question?

After selecting how they work with CoverTree, producers are asked:

“Do you have an Agency NPN?”

Producers can respond in one of two ways:

• Yes — and enter an existing Agency NPN

• No, I don’t have an Agency NPN (common for sole proprietors)

What is the Agency NPN question?

After selecting how they work with CoverTree, producers are asked:

“Do you have an Agency NPN?”

Producers can respond in one of two ways:

• Yes — and enter an existing Agency NPN

• No, I don’t have an Agency NPN (common for sole proprietors)

Path 1: Agency NPN Exists — Join an Existing Agency

What happens if the Agency NPN already exists?

If the entered Agency NPN is found in the system:

• The agency is recognized automatically.

• The producer is associated with the existing agency record.

• The producer is taken to the Producer Onboarding form for that agency.

This form collects:

• Personal details

• Contact information

• Licensing information

How data can be entered in this flow:

Producers can enter data in one of two ways:

Option A: Manual Entry

• Producer details are entered directly into the onboarding form.

Option B: CSV Bulk Upload (Multiple Producers)

Step 1: Review Import Requirements & Download the Template

• The Before Import screen displays all CSV requirements.

• If needed, producers can download the provided CSV template with the link and populate it with producer data.

• Step 2 – Upload the CSV File

  On the Upload file step:

  • Drag and drop the CSV file into the upload area, or click Browse to select the file.

  • Confirm the file format is CSV.

  • Click Continue.

• Step 3 – Review and Repair

  On the Review and repair screen:

  • The system displays all uploaded rows in a grid.

  • Valid rows are marked with a checkmark.

  • If errors exist, producers can enable Show errors to review highlighted rows.

  • Errors can be corrected directly in the grid or by updating and re-uploading the CSV.

  • Once all rows are valid, click Import.

  When all rows are correct, click Import.

• Step 4 – Confirm Import Status

  After processing, the Import status screen appears:

  • The Import Status screen confirms whether records were successfully imported.

  • Producers may then choose to:

    • Add more producers, or

    • Finish and exit the flow.

Path 2: Agency NPN Does Not Exist — New Agency Onboarding

What happens if the Agency NPN is not found?

If the entered Agency NPN does not exist in the system:

• The system treats the agency as new.

• The producer is routed to the Agency Onboarding form.

This form collects:

• Basic agency details

• Principal or lead agent information

• The producer’s own information

Completing this flow creates:

• A new Agency record, and

• A new Producer record linked to that agency.

Path 3: No Agency NPN — Sole Proprietor Onboarding

What happens if the producer does not have an Agency NPN?

If the producer selects “No, I don’t have an Agency NPN”:

• The producer is treated as a sole proprietor.

• The producer is routed directly to the Sole Proprietor Onboarding form.

This form:

• Collects personal and business information

• Automatically creates a “sole proprietor agency”

• Sets the producer as the principal of that agency

If you are an Organization and if you need a direct link to the onboarding form, you should contact: appointments@covertree.com.

Overview: What Happens After You Submit an Onboarding Form?

What happens after I complete onboarding?

Once you submit an onboarding form, whether you are:

• joining an existing agency,

• creating a new agency, or

• onboarding as a sole proprietor

the system automatically completes the remaining setup steps to get you ready to work with CoverTree.

How Are My Records Created or Updated?

What records does the system create?

The system creates or updates records based on the type of onboarding you completed:

• Add Producer (existing agency)
  The producer is added to the correct agency.

• Agency onboarding (new agency)
  Both the agency and the principal producer are created.

• Sole Proprietor onboarding
  A “sole proprietor agency” is created, and the producer is set as the principal.

From a business perspective, this ensures CoverTree has all required information about:

• who you are,

• which agency you belong to, and

• how you operate.

How Is My CoverTree Login Created?

What happens for producers onboarding through a wholesaler?

For producers and agencies onboarding through a wholesaler:

• The system automatically creates a CoverTree Agent Portal account.

• Access levels are assigned based on role:

  • Regular Producer / Sole Proprietor

  • Binding Agent

  • Service Agent

• A Welcome Email is sent with login instructions.

No manual action is required from CoverTree’s internal teams for wholesaler-based onboarding.

What happens for direct appointments?

For direct appointments (producers or agencies not associated with a wholesaler):

• The onboarding submission is routed to CoverTree’s internal team for review.

• The CoverTree internal team completes the required approval (including E&O review, if applicable).

• Only after this internal CoverTree approval is complete does CoverTree create the producer’s Agent Portal login.

• Once the login is created, the producer receives a Welcome Email with access instructions.

This means direct appointment producers will not receive portal access immediately after submitting onboarding and must wait for CoverTree’s internal approval before their account is created.

Licensing and appointments determine whether an agent (producer) and their agency are legally allowed to quote and issue policies in each state. ProducerFlow centralizes this tracking and automates much of the process for us. This guide explains how the business should interpret license and appointment statuses, how the automated flows behave, and what exceptions the team may need to act on.

1. Key Concepts

What is a producer license?

A producer license is the state’s authorization for an individual agent to sell insurance in that state.

• ProducerFlow keeps producer license data synced directly from NIPR.

• If a producer is not licensed in a state, they cannot quote or issue policies in that state until the license becomes active.

What is an agency license?

For agencies that are not sole proprietors, the agency itself may also require a license.

• ProducerFlow keeps agency license data synced directly from NIPR.
• Both the producer and the agency must meet licensing requirements where applicable.

What is an appointment?

An appointment is the carrier’s permission for a producer and, if applicable, their agency to sell policies for that carrier in a specific state.

• An appointment represents a carrier filing (e.g., Markel or Evanston) with the state Department of Insurance.

• A producer or agency can be licensed but not appointed.

• Appointment requests are submitted through ProducerFlow and updated asynchronously through appointment events.

2. JIT vs. Non-JIT States

Different rules apply depending on the state type.

Non-JIT states

(Currently MI)

• In non-JIT states:

  • The appointment must be approved before a quote can be bound or a policy issued.

  • Producers and agencies select non-JIT states during onboarding in the ProducerFlow onboarding form.

  • If onboarding is already complete, the producer must contact CoverTree’s internal team to request the appointment.

  • If the appointment is not approved, NBS blocks quoting and issuing and displays an error.

In Just-In-Time (JIT) states, appointment requests are triggered only after business activity begins.

• In JIT states:

  • The appointment is requested after the first policy is issued in the state.

  • The producer can continue issuing policies while the appointment is pending.

  • If the appointment is rejected at any point, the producer receives an email notification and issuing is blocked.

3. When Appointments Are Requested

The timing of appointment requests depends entirely on whether the state is JIT or non-JIT.

A. JIT States:

When are appointments requested in JIT states?

In JIT states, the process is intentionally flexible.

What happens:

• The producer can begin writing business immediately.

• Once the first policy is issued in a state, ProducerFlow automatically submits the appointment request in the background.

• The producer may continue issuing policies while the state processes the request.

• If the appointment is later rejected, the system blocks issuing and alerts both the producer and the internal team.

In non-JIT states:

• Appointment approval is required before issuing any policies.

• If approval is missing, quoting and issuing are blocked until the appointment is approved.

4. What Happens When License or Appointment Information Changes

What events trigger system updates?

ProducerFlow sends updates whenever:

• a license status changes,

• an appointment is approved or rejected,

• a producer or agency is added, updated, offboarded, or resynced.

The business team does not need to monitor licensing or appointment data manually and should act only when notified.

How to Use the Emails & Notifications Table

Use this table as a reference for understanding system-generated emails and notifications related to licensing, appointments, and portal access. Each row represents a specific trigger in ProducerFlow and explains:

• What the trigger means from a business and compliance perspective

• Who is notified (producer, internal team, or both)

Not all triggers result in emails being sent to producers. Some notifications are for CoverTree and are intended to alert CoverTree or Appointments team to review or resolve an issue. The table helps distinguish between informational notifications, producer-facing communications, and actionable alerts that require internal follow-up.

Renewals run through an automated compliance check to ensure that the Agent on Record, their Agency, and any Lead Agent fallback meet all licensing, appointment, and NIPR-sync requirements before a renewal is created or issued.
If any requirement fails, the system either continues with warnings or stops the renewal altogether depending on the stage.