Under this partnership, the firms will link Ebix’s platform, AnnuityNet, with DTCC’s Producer Management Portal (PMP).

Today, training certification and record-keeping are the primary drivers of “Not In Good Order” (NIGO) annuity submissions across the insurance industry, a challenge that’s magnified by state by state differences in training requirements. DTCC is collaborating with Ebix to provide their AnnuityNet platform users access to PMP’s automated training certification process, allowing carriers and distributors to seamlessly share, track, and verify producer training completions on a single platform and as mandated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). In 2020, approximately 70% of annuity application transactions that flowed through DTCC originated on the Ebix AnnuityNet platform.

In this industry-first integration, Ebix will send real-time messages to DTCC’s PMP platform as annuity orders are entered to ensure the agent has completed producer product training and licensing requirements. This automated process eliminates the reliance on manual touchpoints, including the need for broker dealers to review spreadsheets or paper documents to determine whether agents have the proper training and licenses.

“In recent years, it’s become increasingly challenging for carriers and distributors to ensure they’re compliant and up-to-date on the training and licenses required for selling annuities,” said Ann Bergin, DTCC Managing Director & General Manager, Wealth Management Services and Asset Services. ‘We are happy to be partnering with Ebix to deliver this new solution, which will provide a broad range of market participants with access to a streamlined real-time process for monitoring compliance with insurance mandates, increasing operational efficiencies, providing balance sheet relief, and lowering risk.”

AnnuityNet is an industry-leading and highly configurable platform that supports variable, fixed, index, and income annuity sales, as well as inforce policy maintenance for withdrawals, fund transfers, and policy updates. AnnuityNet seamlessly supports Ebix carrier products for easy and convenient access by Bank, Broker-Dealer, and Agency distribution clients. The PMP platform is the most comprehensive source available for centralized sharing, tracking and verifying producer training completions. PMP helps insurance carriers and distributors manage and comply with NAIC producer training requirements in a standard web services environment, providing detailed producer training completion information and real-time point-of-sale training authorizations.

Ash Sawhney, President, Insurance Solutions North America at Ebix, said, “As annuities and the retirement income they provide grow in popularity, it is critical that we make the process as seamless as possible. As the industry’s leading annuity technology provider, we are excited to have worked with the DTCC to create an industry first integration that solves the biggest challenge to getting annuities issued in good order. This solution replaces a patchwork process with automated validation of completed agent training requirements prior to the application being transmitted to the insurance carrier to ensure an “in good order” application submission.”