Bind Applications
Herald uses bind applications to gather information required to bind a quote.
Once an institution (carrier) has reviewed an application and provided a quote, you can bind that quote to get an insurance policy. Binding a quote can require additional information unrelated to the applicants eligibility, such as payment information or agreeing to a set of terms and conditions.
Bind Applications at Herald
Herald uses bind applications as a way to collect any information required to bind a specific quote. Bind applications function similarly to the application used to get a quote:
- Applications collect information about a business’s operations, exposure to risks, and desired coverages. This application is submitted to an institution to determine eligibility and pricing for a quote.
- Bind Applications collect information required to bind a quote after the institution has already determined that they are willing to insure the business. The bind application is submitted to the institution to create a policy.
Similar to applications, bind applications collect information through [.h-code-link]risk_values[.h-code-link] and [.h-code-link]coverage_values[.h-code-link]. Bind applications can also require [.h-code-link]admin_values[.h-code-link] and [.h-code-link]files[.h-code-link]. The information required to bind may be unique to the bind process, but in some cases, information that was optional to quote becomes required to bind. In the illustration below, you can see that you can submit an application without a phone number to get a quote, but a phone number is required to bind.
In the illustration above, you can see that the information collected in the bind application includes:
- A risk parameter for an applicants phone number, which was previously optional in the application but required in the bind application.
- An admin parameter for payment plan, that was not relevant for the application but is required in the bind application.
It’s worth noting that unlike applications, bind applications tend to require much less information. You can imagine a bind application as a checkout experience where the remaining information is collected. If you are planning to bind policies through Herald, you should be plenty familiar with risk and coverage parameters. When filling out a bind application to request a policy, the same complexities (such as conditionality) of our risk and coverage parameters apply.
Creating Bind Applications
In order to create a bind applications and get policies, you must have a quote with a [.h-code]bind_status[.h-code] of [.h-code]available[.h-code]. A quote may have a [.h-code]bind_status[.h-code] of [.h-code]unavailable[.h-code] for a number of reasons, such as the quote being expired, or bind not being available for that specific product yet.
[.icon-circle-blue][.icon-circle-blue] Herald is continuously expanding the set of products that support bind. Reach out to our team at hello@heraldapi.com to see which products allow bind today.
To create a bind application, send the [.h-code]quote_id[.h-code] to [.h-endpoint-link]/bind_applications[.h-endpoint-link] like this:
Once you’ve submitted all of the information required to bind, your bind application will have a status of [.h-code]complete[.h-code]. Completed bind applications can be submitted to institutions using [.h-endpoint-link]/bind_applications[.h-endpoint-link]. Read our step by step guide to building a bind application.
