FTP Download

Some companies support download via the Internet using FTP (File Transfer Protocol), meaning they do not use the IVANS Network or Company Direct communications to download policy data. The company provides you with the FTP setup information that you enter in the Download Options - File Transfer Protocol Setup group of Company Setup.

The following sections provide information on FTP Download and should be performed in the order they are listed:

Your agency must be licensed for Download. The license is purchased from Vertafore and is applied by the Data Center.

For more information on purchasing a license, contact Vertafore Sales at 1-800-444-4813, or complete the Request Sales Contact form at http://www.vertafore.com/Contact.

The company that sends you policy data via FTP Download provides you with the information you need to complete the following sections of the Company data entry form:

Billing Options Sections

Select the appropriate download type. For more information, see the Billing Options > Download Type section in Company.

Plan Assignments Section

Most companies use plans, therefore it is very important to set up and assign the applicable Plans to your company for a successful download. For information on plan assignment, see the Plan Assignment section in Company.

For additional information on setting up plans, see Company Plan Setup.

Writing Company Setup Section

Setup all Writing companies for each Parent company with which you download and assign the appropriate NAIC codes. For more information on setting up writing companies, see the Company topic, Writing Company Setup section.

Download Address Section

Set up the download Origination Addresses. For more information on origination addresses, see the Company topic, Download Addresses section.

Download Options Section

Complete the Download Option group, the Upload Option group, and the File Transfer Protocol Setup group options. For more information on these setups, see the Company topic, Download Options section.

This information is provided by the company with which you are downloading.

After you have completed the FTP Download setup, the company begins to send you transactions via FTP Download. The following sections define the process involved in picking up and processing the data.

The company will advise you of their schedule for sending FTP Download data. When you know there is a download file for your agency, you will run an FTP File Retrieval.

Use the following procedure to retrieve the file:

  1. On the 360 Toolbox menu, click Integration > Download > FTP File Retrieval. The FTP Download form appears.
  2. Select the company for which you want to run the FTP session, and then click Start FTP Session. The FTP file retrieval process begins. Messages appear in the status bar and window to advise you of the status of the session.

    When the process completes, a summary of the session appears in the window.
  1. If the session completed successfully, AMS360 automatically launches Process Transactions, which stores the policy transactions in your database and attempts to match the transactions to customers and policies. After that process is complete a suspense item appears, for the assigned download user, advising if there are customers and policies to assign. See the next section, Customer/Policy Assignment for information on that process.
  2. If the session is unsuccessful, use the summary information to identify the problem. Correct the problem and try again to retrieve the FTP file.

When the download file is merged into your database, AMS360 may not be able to match the information with a customer. In these cases you will review the unmatched transactions and assign them to the proper customer. For more information on this process, see Customer/Policy Assignment.

When you are finished assigning customers and policies you should run Process Transactions to merge the newly assigned customers and policies into your database.

After assigning customers and policies run Process Transactions to merge the newly assigned customers and policies into your database. Use the following procedure to do this:

  1. On the 360 Toolbox menu, click Integration > Download > Process Transactions.
  2. A message indicates that Process Transactions is pending. Click OK. The employee(s) set up to Log Download Suspense will receive a Suspense when the file has been processed. (See the General section of the Employee topic for more information on the Log Download Suspense option.)

    The suspense includes one of the following two messages.

If the suspense says...

then...

Download session concluded. Please review Download Report for important messages.

Print and review the Download Report for information about the processing of the file.

Store Transactions complete - Some transactions require manual customer/policy assignment.

Repeat Customer/Policy Assignment. There are additional customers and policies to be matched.

Reports may be incomplete if viewed or printed before completing Customer/Policy Assignment and processing these transactions.

When you have matched and merged all customers and policies in a download file it is important to print the Download Report. This report lists items that require further attention. See Report - Download Detail for more information.

What's Next?

Do you need to print the Download Reports? See Report: Download or Report: Download Electronic Mail for more information.

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