Preparing to sell through Nextera Link
Two decisions in a distribution implementation are expensive to reverse: the producer hierarchy and the commission design. Both are calculated against historically, so changing them later means either rewriting history or living with two regimes. Almost everything else can be adjusted.
This page is written for a distribution or sales operations lead.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”Decisions your organisation must make
Section titled “Decisions your organisation must make”- Which channels launch first, and what each may sell. Tied agents, brokers, direct, affinity — each with its own product set, rules and access.
- The producer hierarchy. How producers roll up, and what that hierarchy governs: visibility, management, and override commission. Get this right first; it is the hardest thing to change later.
- Channel conflict rules. When two channels can approach the same customer with the same product, what happens? This is a commercial decision, and the system can only express whatever you decide — usually through lead ownership rules, product eligibility by channel, and territory.
- Commission design, tested against clawback. First-year and renewal rates, override structure, any bonus or contingent arrangements, and the clawback scale by month of cancellation. Model the clawback cases before signing off the design — clawback has to reach backwards through the hierarchy to recover override as well as direct commission, and that is where designs break.
- Lead ownership and ageing rules. Who owns a lead, when ownership lapses, and what happens to an unworked lead. Unowned leads are where pipelines leak.
- Quote validity and rate versioning. How long a quote stands, and — critically — your requirement to reproduce an old quote exactly after a rate change.
Data you must gather
Section titled “Data you must gather”| Input | Typical owner | Why it is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Product definitions, variants and effective dates | Product management | The catalogue everything else resolves against |
| Rating tables and rules | Actuarial / pricing | Quotation |
| Eligibility rules — who may buy, who may sell | Product and compliance | Applied at quote time, not after |
| Producer master data with licences and appointment dates | Agency administration | Both have expiry dates; unlicensed selling is a regulatory problem |
| Hierarchy structure | Distribution management | Visibility, management and override |
| Commission schedules by product and channel | Finance / distribution | Calculation and payout |
| Existing pipeline and in-force policies | Sales operations | Opening position and commission continuity |
| Policy administration interface specification | IT | Where an issued policy goes next |
The producer row deserves a specific check: licence and appointment expiry dates must be real dates, not blanks. A migration that loads producers without them starts the system in a state where nothing can be enforced.
People you need available
Section titled “People you need available”- A distribution lead with authority over the hierarchy and channel rules.
- A pricing or actuarial contact for rating rules and their versioning.
- A compliance contact for eligibility, licensing and suitability requirements.
- A commission owner in finance who can sign off the calculation design — including clawback.
- Someone who owns the policy administration interface.
What “done” looks like
Section titled “What “done” looks like”Your first cycle is complete when:
- The product catalogue holds every product you intend to sell, with rating, eligibility and effective dates, and a quote produced today can be reproduced after the next rate change.
- Producers are loaded with valid licence and appointment dates, in the correct hierarchy.
- A lead can be captured, assigned, and progressed through the defined stages to an issued policy without leaving the system.
- An issued policy reaches policy administration through the agreed interface.
- A commission run for a period reconciles to finance’s expectation, per producer and per level of the hierarchy.
- A clawback case reconciles — a cancelled policy correctly recovers direct commission and override.
- Pipeline reporting shows conversion and time in stage, and the numbers are believed by the people whose pipeline it is.
Step 6 is the real test. Commission on new business is straightforward; clawback exercises the hierarchy, the timing rules and the reversal path all at once.
Working through it in the product
Section titled “Working through it in the product”Getting access
Section titled “Getting access”See Getting access to Nextera products. Nextera Link normally runs
at link.nextera.id.