Texas Windstorm Insurance Association

Help - TWIA E-Quote System


I'm not receiving e-mailed .PDF applications. I'm not receiving e-mailed passwords. How do I add new Users? I correct errors, but I still get error messages. I can't login. My password has expired. I changed my e-mail address, and now I don't receive E-Quote e-mails. I don't know which e-mail address things are being sent to. I can't see/open/save/print the attached application. My Adobe .PDF applications have strange characters in them. What's wrong? I can't find my companion carrier in your drop down list. How do I change the Primary Contact info? How do I retrieve someone else's quote or app? I logged in, but I can't see menus for converting a quote to an application. I tried all the above, but still can't get in. I logged in, but can't see any menus or navigational links. I forgot my username. I forgot my password. How do I change my e-mail address, or other information ('profile')? Is there an overview of E-Quote navigation? Can I still quote policies if I can't login to the E-Quote system? How do I print policies? Are printed applications bound? My printed application screen says "Not a valid TWIA application- do not submit." Where do I enter locations for application items? How do I register (sign-up) for E-Quote? Why doesn’t E-Quote recognize my TDI info? What is a ‘Primary Contact’? Can the whole agency share one User Name & Password? Can I do business with TWIA on-line? How do I become a beta-tester? The screen says "Your account has been deactivated." The screen says "Your profile has changed." What does "status ineligible/pending/eligible" mean? What does "Actual cash value is invalid, should be of the format ddddddd" mean? Can I quote builder's risk policies on E-Quote? Our Primary Contact person left, and I can't log in. Can we do renewals with E-Quote? I checked "Inside City Limits (yes)", but the printed application shows "Inside City Limits (no)". Why does E-Quote rate differ from my stand-alone program's rate? Book of Business Instructions
I can't log in. Did you register (sign-up) your agency? If not, or if you’re not sure, click here. If you did register, here are some common problems & solutions: Confirm your user name/TDI/password combination. Make sure you are using the TDI number that the agency was registered (with E-Quote) under, not your own personal TDI number (unless you registered individually, and would like to create quotes/apps under your own book of business). Make sure the password is correct. If more than one person is logging into E-Qutoe with the same user name, there can be problems when one person requests a new password, or changes it, without telling others. Check with others in your office FIRST, before calling TWIA, to see if this is the case! 90% of the time, this is the case. Check your user name and TDI number. Do this by following the “New User” link on the login page. When you enter your TDI number at the second screen, the system should recognize that you’ve already registered, and will show you the TDI number, user name, and e-mail address that you gave us. If those don’t appear, then you haven’t registered for E-Quote: click here to learn how to register. Make sure someone else didn't change the password. If more than one person uses the same login info- a VERY BAD IDEA- then any person could change the password deliberately, or accidentally, by hitting "Send New Password". When more that one person keeps requesting a new password, it's very hard to tell which is the latest. Always make the Primary Contact the agent of record, and then create separate accounts for each user. It takes about 30 seconds per user. Click “Send New Password” at the login page to get a new password. If all else fails, request a new password by clicking the “Send New Password” button. Note that each time you click this button, a new password is generated.
I tried all the above, but still can't get in. If all these steps fail, then repeat step #3 above- request a new password- and wait an hour before logging in. In rare cases, the system will take longer to process changes to user names and passwords. In 99.9% of cases, you should be able to log in after an hour.
I logged in, but can't see any menus or navigational links. The system has not refreshed your user information properly. Wait a full twenty-four (24) hours, and login again. That should resolve the problem.
I forgot my username. Follow the “New User” link on the login page. When you enter your TDI number at the second screen, the system should recognize that you’ve already registered, and will show you the TDI number, user name, and e-mail address that you gave us. If those don’t appear, then you haven’t registered for E-Quote: click here to learn how to register.
I forgot my password. Click the "Send New Password" button on the login screen and follow instructions.
I'm not receiving the e-mailed passwords. Solution: Click "Send New Password" at the E-Quote login page. If you still don't receive the password, check the steps below. Here are some common causes and more solutions for this problem: Your ISP, or network e-mail provider is blocking TWIA e-mail. This is most likely the reason you are not receiving our e-mail. Companies that commonly block our e-mail, usually by IP address, include: -State Farm -Allstate -Farmer's Insurance -PDQ.net -SBCGlobal -Flex.net -Hotmail -Yahoo NOTE: It does not matter if you have received e-mail from E-Quote in the past; these filters can be applied at any time, and TWIA has NO control over them. What to Do You must contact these companies to "unblock" e-mail from TWIA. If they ask, you may tell them that the e-mail will come from the following IP address and mail server: IP address = 216.16.195.51 = mail.twia.org Passwords come from quoteengine@twia.org .PDF applications come from twia@twia.org Your desktop e-mail account or program has "junk mail" filters, and deleted the e-mail. Because the e-mail from E-Quote is automated, it may look like spam. What to Do Check your junk mail, spam, and deleted mail (trash) folders, to see if there is anything there from the above e-mail addresses. I tried all this, but none of it worked. What now? Contact our Agent Registrar and ask them to change your e-mail address to one that you know works, and that you can access. All your new e-mailed from E-Quote will then go to this new address, instead of the old one. Can't you just send me a password? No. TWIA's E-Quote is designed to be a self-service system. There is no mechanism for either your underwriter or the IT department to "manually override" the system and send you a password. But I need it now. If you are unable to use E-Quote, you may quote manually, using the free downloadable Underwriting Guidelines manual available on our Downloads page. If you are able to use E-Quote may also quote using E-Quote, but complete a paper application, also downloadable from our Web site. In 99.9% of such cases, our system successfully sends e-mail out, but there is a problem at the receiving end.
I correct errors, but still see error messages. Click the "Rate" button again. There is nothing wrong with E-Quote, or what you are doing, in most of these cases. But the nature of Web programs means that each time you make changes, you have to "re-submit" that data to our Web servers, which will then figure out (again) if it is correct. It's not quite as fast and easy as having a program on your desktop, but it allows anyone in the world with a Web browser to access the program, and at no cost to them.
How do I change my information ('profile')? Under the "User" menu, once you log in. Note that the "username" or "user ID" field cannot be modified. But your e-mail address, first and last name, and admin rights can be modified. You can also change your password from the "User \| Change Password" menu.
Can I still quote policies if I can't login to the E-Quote system? Yes. You can always quote a policy manually, by submitting a paper application to us. There are forms and instructions on our Downloads section at www.twia.org.
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I changed my e-mail address, and now I don't get E-Quote e-mails. Have your agency's Primary Contact (usually the agent of record) contact our Agent Registrar and ask them to change your e-mail address to one that you know works, and that you can access. ONLY THE PRIMARY CONTACT CAN REQUEST THIS CHANGE. All your new e-mailed from E-Quote will then go to this new address, instead of the old one.
Can I rate a builder's risk policy on E-Quote? No. This is a feature we may add in the future, but at the moment, E-Quote doesn't support builder's risk policies.
How do I print policies? At the moment, you can't print bound "policies", but you can print applications. When you create an application and successfully rate it, there is a 'Print' button that submits the information to TWIA, and e-mails you a .PDF (Adobe Acrobat) file, which you then may save, print out, and mail to TWIA, along with photos, WPI-8 forms, a check, and any other required paperwork.
Is there an overview of E-Quote navigation? Yes. Click here to get a .PDF "road map" from our Downloads section. Or click here to go to our Quick Start guide.
Are printed applications bound? No. They must still be reviewed by qualified TWIA underwriting personnel before binding.
My printed application screen says "Not a valid TWIA application- do not submit." Correct. That's because it's not an application- it's only an on-screen preview. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you will see a drop-down box that says "Agency Location". Choose the location you want this application to be sent from, and then click "Print". This will generate an electronic version of the application as an Adobe Acrobat .PDF file, which will be sent to your e-mail address as an attachment. You may open the attachment, view it, save it, and print it at your leisure. When you are ready to submit it, print it off, and follow the instructions on the included Application Checklist.
Where do I enter locations for application items? 1. Open your existing application, or new application. Click the "Location" tab, as below. 2. After entering locations, click the "Risk Item" tab, and complete. Select location from drop-down box list of those you entered in Step 1.
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How do I register (sign-up) for E-Quote? Go to www.twia.org, and click the E-Quote button. You’ll see the Login screen, below: Click the New User link. You’ll see a second page: Enter your TDI number. If the system recognizes your TDI number, you’ll see this page. Enter your Primary Contact information here. When complete, see step 6 below. If your TDI number is not recognized, you’ll see this page (click here to learn why E-Quote may not recognize your TDI info). If the system still doesn’t recognize your information, it will give you an error, with instructions. Click the link to TDI’s Web site to double-check your TDI license information. Use the information that appears on TDI’s Web site to register with E-Quote. It MUST MATCH EXACTLY. Hint: Look for the following common errors: spaces between "P" and "O" in "PO Box" "Street" instead of "St" or "St." "TX" instead of "Texas" leaving off suffixes such as "Jr." (sometimes TDI leaves them off in the data they give us. Try it both ways.) separating the address into two parts, e.g. "123 Main Street" on line 1, and "Suite 300" on line 2. When complete you’ll see this page.
Why doesn’t E-Quote recognize my TDI info? There could be several reasons: You may not have entered your information exactly as TDI has it listed on their Web site: (http://www.texasonline.state.tx.us/NASApp/tdi/TdiARManager). Usually this matches the license, but not always (see #3 below). If you’re a new agent, there is a lag time between TDI’s processing and our updates from TDI. TDI’s Web site info sometimes does not exactly match what’s on the agent’s license (i.e., “Bob Smith” vs. “Bob Smith, Jr.”, etc.). Use the TDI Web site info rather than the printed license info. You may be using the wrong license. If you’ve got more than one license with TDI, double-check your listing information. Your license number may have changed. TDI changed license formats circa 2001, and many license numbers changed. You may be using the old number.
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What is a ‘Primary Contact’? The Primary Contact is the first person in your agency to register. They become the “top dog” in your agency, for E-Quote purposes. We STRONGLY recommend that the Primary Contact be the named license holder for your agency. This person can create other users, some of whom can be “Administrators”. Admins can create new users, delete users, and modify other users’ info (all except the Primary Contact). Non-admin users can only modify their own information.
Can the whole agency share one User Name & Password? Yes, but we DON'T recommend it. We highly recommend that the Primary Contact be the licensed agent of record for the agency, and that everyone be given their own User Name (click here to learn how to do this). If not, people may change passwords or modify quotes/apps without other users’ knowledge, leading to confusion. Worse, in some cases, the person who is listed as the Primary Contact leaves the agency, and then the account has to be closed, and the agent must re-register.
How do I add new Users? Simple- just login as either the Primary Contact or a user with Admin rights. At the top right, you’ll see a menu called “Admin”. Select the “Create New User” option from this menu, and follow directions. The new user’s password will be e-mailed to the e-mail address you enter for them.
The screen says "Your account has been deactivated." This could be because your TDI license number (or your agency's number) has been blocked by TWIA's agent registrar, or because your particular account has been blocked by either TWIA, or by your own agency's TWIA Web administrator or Primary Contact. First check with your local TWIA Web administrator at your agency. If they can't help you, then contact TWIA's agency registrar.
What does "status ineligible/pending/eligible" mean? This is your status for doing business with TWIA, determined by our Agent Registrar. Eligible - You can create quotes, apps, and submit (print) apps. Pending - You can create quotes, apps, and submit, but will be asked for additional paper copies of certain information along with your first application, such as a copy of your Tax ID, TDI License, etc. Ineligible - You can create quotes, but not applications. To inquire about your status, contact our Agent Registrar.
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The screen says "Your profile has changed." This could be because we have changed your profile, either at the request of your agency, yourself, or for security reasons (as when you request a new password). You should still be able to log in with the last username/password combination that you've been given. If not, contact your agency's TWIA Web administrator, or the TWIA Agent Registrar.
Can I do business with TWIA on-line? Yes. TWIA currently has an on-line Quote and Application system, which agents can use over the Web. Once a quote has been successfully created and converted to an application, this app can be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat .PDF file, printed, and mailed to TWIA. In the future, we will accept applications completely online, with no mailing necessary. At the moment, however, we still require the paper version to be mailed, along with photos, WPI-8 forms, and any other required paperwork. On the bright side: the hardest work- rating the policy- is done automatically by our system. Currently the system supports all types of residential coverage. A commercial quote system is due for release this summer, with commercial applications expected early in 2004.
I'm not receiving e-mailed .PDF applications. Usually the root causes of this problem are the same as for those not receiving e-mailed passwords- click here to see those reasons. In general, if you don't receive your .PDF file in a timely fashion, re-open the application, click the "Rate" button to re-rate, and then click the "Print" button to re-request the printed .PDF app. Rarely, a .PDF app will get "stuck" in the queue, for various reasons. Simply re-requesting the app solves the problem in almost every case.
I logged in, but can't see any menus for converting a quote to an application. This probably means your status is "Ineligible". You can check by logging in, and looking for the line "Your status is XXXXX". To learn why your status is ineligible, or to change your status, please contact our Agent Registrar.
How do I become a beta-tester? TWIA is not accepting new beta-testers at the moment, but may do so after the new year (2003). If you are interested, please e-mail the TWIA Webmaster.
How do I change the Primary Contact info? If you are logged in as the Primary Contact, you may change the first name, last name, and password of the primary contact under the "User" menu, once you log in. You must contact our Agent Registrar to change other Primary Contact info, such as address, agency name or username. ONLY THE PRIMARY CONTACT CAN REQUEST THIS CHANGE. IMPORTANT: This is why the Primary Contact should NEVER be anybody but the licensed agent of record for your agency! Even if that person doesn't use or administer the system day-to-day, they should have a copy of the information used to register their agency. See also Change Profile.
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How do I retrieve someone else's quote or app? When you login, by default you should be able to see other users' quotes/apps (book of business). However, your E-Quote administrator may have turned this feature, called "Global Sharing", off. To turn it back on: 1. Log in as a user with Admin privileges. (If you're an Admin user, you'll see the "Admin" menu in yellow at the top right after you log in. If you don't see it, contact your local E-Quote administrator, or your Primary Contact.) 2. Select "Book of Business" from the "Admin" menu at top right. 3. Scroll to the bottom of the user list, and select "Enable Global Sharing". This allows all users to see everyone else's quotes and apps. "Disable Global Sharing" allows users to see only their own quotes and apps.
What does "Actual cash value is invalid, should be of the format ddddddd" mean? Anytime you see the word "format" in an error message, it means E-Quote didn't recognize that the way something was entered. In this case, it likely means that you entered the cash value as "100,000" or "$100000", rather than "100000" (dddddd). Don't use commas or dollar signs in front of numbers anywhere on the E-Quote site, except the Description fields, which are free-form. Similarly, if you enter a date in an unrecognizable format, E-Quote will respond with a similar format error (this format always works: mm/dd/yyyy).
Can we do renewals with E-Quote? No. While you can quote any policy, renewal or new business, you may ONLY SUBMIT NEW BUSINESS APPLICATIONS, NOT RENEWALS! Submitting renewals via E-Quote will result in a LONG DELAY in processing the application. Please contact your underwriter for submitting renewals via regular mail. Note: we have implemented changes to our business policies and systems that allow most standard renewals to be processed extremely quickly via regular mail. In the near future, we hope to allow E-Quote to process renewals, too, but for now, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT RENEWALS VIA E-QUOTE.
Our Primary Contact person left, and I can't log in. What now? This is why you should only have the licensed agent of record be the Primary Contact. Contact our TWIA Agent Registrar, and request a change of name and e-mail address for the Primary Contact. This contact should only be changed to the Agent of Record, who can then set up other users for day-to-day administration, if they like.
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My Adobe .PDF applications have strange squares in them. What's wrong? Most likely you are using a version of Adobe Acrobat greater than 5.0. Seems that Adboe broke their own product when they released 6.0, and now many 5.0 .PDF documents appear with funny characters. You may still send these in to us for processing, as long as the tracking number is readable, and the signature is legible, and we will process the apps. To prevent the problem, though, you should: Install a copy of Adobe 5.0, and use that for reading/opening/printing TWIA apps; Contact Adobe (www.adobe.com), and let them know this is happening, so that they will fix the problem, and offer a free patch.
I can't see/open/save/print the attached application. There could be several reasons. Your policy application arrives via e-mail as an attachment in Adobe's .PDF format, which is necessary so that the document is not altered in transit. You should be able to open, save, and print this file. You'll need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader. Click here to get it. First, make sure you're receiving the attachment. The e-mail will come from "quoteengine@twia.org", and the attachment should be of the type ".PDF", which is Adobe's Acrobat format. If you're not receiving the attachment, then your e-mail program, or your e-mail service provider may be blocking them. Contact your e-mail provider, or consult your e-mail program's Help menu for assistance. TWIA cannot provide support for third-party products or services. If you use a Web-based e-mail account, such as Hotmail, Yahoo, or other e-mail account that you check via a Web browser interface, save the attachment to your local computer before trying to open or print it. Your Web service provider probably won't have Adobe's Acrobat Reader on their e-mail server computers, so it will probably not allow you to open the attachment (or it will crash). Please do NOT call TWIA to ask us how to save e-mail attachments. We cannot provide free basic computer training to all users, and we do not support third-party products or services.
I checked "Inside City Limits (yes)", but the printed application shows "Inside City Limits (no)". There are TWO places you need to indicate for the "inside city limits" parameter. One is on the Residential Structure detail page; the other is on the Location detail page. It probably printed out differently than you expected because you had one checked, but not the other. Make sure both of these agree. One is important for underwriting, the other is important for address verification.
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I can't find my companion carrier listed in your drop-down box. Choose "Other". Its under the "O"s, not at the bottom.
I don't know which e-mail address things are being sent to. From the E-Quote login page, click the "New User" link. You'll be taken to a separate page, and asked to enter your TDI number. Be sure to use the one that you (or your Primary Contact) used to register for the E-Quote system (in other words, if you have more than one, make sure it's the one for your agency's E-Quote account). A new page should appear, displaying the Primary Contact info, including e-mail address. If you aren't receiving passwords or .PDF's, it probably because they are going to this e-mail address. Check the other questions at top of this page to troubleshoot problems receiving e-mail.
Why does E-Quote differ from my stand-alone program's rate? We don't know. We can't vouch for, support, or answer ANY questions about someone else's program, whether it be your e-mail program, a word processor, a windstorm-rating program, or a video editor. We only support and answer technical questions about our E-Quote Web system. If there is a rating difference, our best advice is to believe E-Quote. If you think there may be a real mistake, attach the reasons why with your application, and we'll investigate when you send it in.
My password expired. As it will every 60 days. We do this for security purposes- to protect you. If you get locked out by an expired password, simply click the "Send New Password" button on the login page, and a new one will be sent the e-mail address you registered with. Note that if your office shares a single login, only the Primary Contact will get the new password in their e-mail. If you aren't receiving your passwords via e-mail, click here for more possible answers.
Book of Business Instructions The Book of Business program allows you to view your book of business on record with T.W.I.A. for your entire agency. To view your policies on file, please do the following: Enter the date range you desire to view policy expirations for, in the date fields at the top of the program (search is limited to 2000 policy records returned, therefore you may need to narrow your search dates if you expect more than 2000 policies to be returned for the time period selected) Click on “Search” to start retrieval of the list requested. The wider the search dates requested, the longer the time necessary for the search engine to complete its cycle The results field will display your expiration list sorted by “expiration date” in ascending order. By clicking on the “expiration date” title bar it will re-sort the data in descending order. You may sort by any of the other columns shown by clicking on the respective column’s title bar. The following definitions govern the information provided by the Book of Business program: Expiration Date: The date coverage ceases. (Coverage ceases at 12:01 a.m. on the expiration date shown.) Status: The status of a policy can be any of the following: Cancelled - Policy was originally issued but coverage has now been terminated. Cancelled Binder - A policy was not issued. Coverage was placed under binder; however, the binder has now expired. Declined - Reinsurance coverage was requested, but offer was rejected by the insured or by TWIA. Issued - Policy is in issued status; however, additional information and/or payment may still be needed. Moved - Moved to a different policy number Pending - An application has been received by TWIA and is awaiting processing. Rejected Application - Binder coverage requested in an application was not provided due to non-compliance with TWIA requirements or at the request of the agent. Rejected Endorsement - Binder coverage requested in an endorsement was not provided due to non-compliance with TWIA requirements or at the request of the agent. Renewal - An automated renewal notice has been mailed to agent but not received by TWIA. Returned Application - Coverage requested in an application has been placed under binder and returned to agent for additional information. Returned Endorsement - Coverage requested in an endorsement has been placed under binder and returned to agent for additional information. Business Type: The Business Type can be any of the following: Commercial Residential Mobile Home Insured: The insured is the policyholder. Only one insured record is listed in this report, although multiple insured may exist in our files. Address & City: The address is the location of the insured property. Only one address record is listed in this report, although multiple locations may exist in our files. Total Liability: Total Insurance for all items in the policy. Policy #: Policy Identification Number
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