Recurring automatic payments

Recurring automatic payments can provide you and your clients with peace of mind when payments are automatically drawn on or near the initial, installment, or renewal due date.

Invoices and automatic payments

Invoices are premium bills that notify the insured of an upcoming payment and due date.

For policies on auto-pay, invoices do not print. Instead, a Pre-Authorization Payment Schedule prints. This schedule summarizes payment amounts and planned withdrawal dates.

If you create or amend a mid-term endorsement on a policy using auto-pay, the change does not appear on the Pre-Authorization Payment Schedule. The system creates an amended invoice to show the change.

By default, automatic payments only pull against amended invoices when the amended invoice due date matches the due date of an Initial, Renewal, or Installment payment.

If the amended invoice is due before or after the corresponding Initial, Renewal, or Installment due date, the automatic payment will not be pulled. If the payment is not pulled, the policy can enter non-pay.

If enabled, the advanced setting auto_pay_include_endorsement allows automatic payments to pull and process against policies with an amended invoice.

When a policy term is paid in full, remaining invoices in the term should be marked paid in full and the system will not attempt to pull funds. If invoices are not marked paid in full, the system will continue attempting to pull funds.

Auto-pay withdrawal date

By default, the auto-pay withdrawal date is the Due Date on the Initial, Renewal, or Installment invoice.

You can change the withdrawal date for a policy on auto-pay using the Withdraw Funds When feature on the Billing Setup tab of the Accounts Receivable screen.

Prepare system for auto-pay

To set up electronic recurring automatic payments in BriteCore, you must:

• Set up the Pre-Authorization Payment Schedule.
• Set up a Direct Debit Letter/Form.
• Determine your billing threshold (if any).
• Provide access to the Direct Debit Letter/Form while quoting.

Set up Pre-Authorization Payment Schedule

Before you add customers to auto-pay, ensure the Pre-Authorization Payment Schedule deliverable is set up.

The Pre-Authorization Payment Schedule is a stock deliverable you can customize. It provides insureds a summary of payment amounts and withdrawal dates for a policy on auto-pay.

1. Navigate to Settings > Deliverables > Stock Deliverables. See Customize a stock deliverable for instructions.

Set up Direct Debit Letter/Form

You can create the Direct Debit Letter/Form in BriteCore or in another application (for example, Microsoft Word).

1. To create it in BriteCore, navigate to Settings > Deliverables > Custom Deliverables. See Add a custom deliverable for instructions.
2. When complete, save a copy to your desktop. If created in BriteCore, select Preview in the Mass Deliverable Setup dialog to open it, then download it.
3. Navigate to Lines > Attachments, then upload the deliverable to a folder named Direct Debit Letter.

Establish billing threshold

A billing threshold determines whether a bill is issued based on the amount owed. If the amount owed falls below the threshold, a bill is not issued.

Example: If the threshold is $5.00, a policy with less than $5.00 remaining will not be billed.

To set the billing threshold in the Provider Administrator portal:

1. Navigate to Settings > Modules > Policies.

2. Select Edit under Policy Lifecycle. You will see a confirmation message:

   You’re about to leave the page. Would you like to save your data before proceeding?

   Select Yes to save and open the Policy Lifecycle screen. Select No to open it without saving.

3. Under Options on the Billing tab, find Do Not Issue a Bill If the Amount Due is Less Than:
4. In the Dollars box, enter your billing threshold amount.

5. Select Save. You will see a confirmation message:

   Saving will overwrite your existing Lifecycle parameters in all Policy Types, continue?

6. Select Yes to continue saving your changes.

Override billing threshold

The billing threshold affects both auto-pay and non-auto-pay policies. You can override the threshold for policies on auto-pay with Always Bill Auto Pay.

Although Always Bill Auto Pay appears under Do Not Issue a Bill If the Amount Due is Less Than, you cannot edit it. To enable it, contact your support team.

Provide access to Direct Debit Letter/Form

The Direct Debit Letter/Form is not a stock deliverable, but you can provide agent access to it while quoting.

1. Navigate to Settings > Modules > Agent Portal > Payment > Other.

2. In Link to a form for the Agent/Insured to fill out in order to enroll in automated payments., paste the link to the Direct Debit Letter/Form.

   Note: If you saved the Direct Debit Letter in Lines > Attachments, open the deliverable, copy its URL, and paste it into this setting.

3. Select Save.

Usage considerations

• You can add a policy to auto-pay at any time as long as it is changed to auto-pay at least three days before funds are scheduled to pull.

• If there is a billing issue (for example, NSF), remove the policy from auto-pay.

  Note: If an auto-pay is NSF, when the payment method is updated, BriteCore will pull the funds even if the invoice due date has passed.

• If a policy is paid in full and a mid-term endorsement increases premium, print and mail the amended invoice or process a one-time electronic payment. If processing a one-time payment, ensure ACH/credit card information is accurate.