When an Alliance Partner (AP) contracts with EZLynx, it necessitates a collaboration between the AP Admins and EZLynx. Our common goal is to provide your member agencies (agencies that contract with you for access to EZLynx Rating Engine) with an excellent EZLynx experience.

In this article, we will cover how the AP Admins manage their member agencies in the EZLynx system. Please note, this article is intended for AP Admins. It is not intended for member agencies. If you are a member agency, check out our other Rating Engine articles for assistance.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AP vs. EZLynx Responsibilities
Manage "Main" Account
Manage Member Accounts
Underwriting Request Feature (Optional)
Provide Training and Support & Refer to Sales

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AP vs. EZLynx Responsibilities

In our common goal to provide member agencies with a great EZLynx experience, AP Admins and EZLynx each have their own specific responsibilities. Let's take a look at what those are!

The AP functions as the "main level" or "Main" in your EZLynx account. An agency that contracts with the AP is setup under the AP Main as a "member agency" or "member". Because of this, an AP Admin's overall role is to manage the member accounts while EZLynx's overall role is to resolve product related issues for members and assist you, the AP Admins.

AP Admin	EZLynx
Manage "Main" Account	Train AP Admins
Manage Member Accounts	Add/Remove Rating States & Carriers at AP main level
Provide Rating Engine training for new Member Agents	Provide technical support for all EZLynx products
Refer Member Agents to EZLynx Sales

Manage "Main" Account - This entails inputting & maintaining carrier logins and carrier defaults for carriers that members can quote with but do not have binding authority with. These are what EZLynx calls "Shared Carriers". More on Shared Carriers later in this article! This also includes adding/editing/disabling AP Main users.

Manage Member Accounts - This entails creating/editing/disabling member agencies along with adding/removing rating states for member agencies. This also includes adding/editing/disabling member users, assisting with EZLynx passwords by sending Welcome Emails and unlocking users, and adding/removing carrier access and optional permissions for users.

Provide Rating Engine training for new Member Agents - This entails providing members with access to training resources so they can learn how to quote in the EZLynx Rating Engine. Whether those resources are from our EZLynx Knowledge Base or custom made by your AP is completely up to you.

Refer Member Agents to EZLynx Sales - This entails providing members with the contact information for EZLynx Sales if a member is interested in additional EZLynx products.

Now that we know the differences in responsibilities, let's look at how you (the AP Admin) can go about handling your various responsibilities.

Manage "Main" Account

Managing the AP Main Account entails inputting & maintaining carrier logins and carrier defaults for carriers that members can quote with but do not have binding authority with. These are what EZLynx calls "Shared Carriers". This also includes adding/editing/removing AP Main users.

Setting carrier logins and carrier defaults are required to be able to run quotes. Since a Member Agent doesn't have carrier logins for their Shared Carriers, an AP Admin must maintain the carrier logins and defaults on the Member Agents behalf.

This means anytime the login changes on a carrier site, it is the AP Admin's responsibility to update the login in EZLynx too. Otherwise, the member agents will not be able to run quotes for that shared carrier.

An AP Admin must also set Shared Carrier Agent/Producer codes and answers to carrier underwriting questions in EZLynx for each line of business in every rating state. Underwriting questions are usually different for each line of business and rating state.

In this section of the article, we will cover how to handle each of these scenarios. Feel free to use the table of contents at the top of this article to jump right to a specific scenario.

Maintain Shared Carrier Logins

1. In your EZLynx account, hover over the Settings (gear) icon on the left navigation bar. Then, choose Carrier Quoting Setup. This will take you to the Manage Carriers page.

2. Toggle the Shared option to see your Shared Carriers. Then on the carrier in question, select View Details. This will open that carrier's page.

3. Select the Logins tab and enter the username and password for the carrier site. Then, select the Save and Test option. If the logins are successful, you'll get a green checkmark.

Repeat these steps for every Shared Carrier you have setup at the AP Main level to ensure your member agents can run quotes.

OPTIONAL: If a carrier is setup with state-specific logins, you can add a state specific login after setting the default login. Use the Select State Login dropdown to select the state you would like to add a login for. Then, select the Add State Login button. This will add a new login section with the state as the title and you can follow the same steps you did for the default login.

Maintain Shared Carrier Defaults

1. In your EZLynx account, hover over the Settings (gear) icon on the left navigation bar. Then, choose Carrier Quoting Setup. This will take you to the Manage Carriers page.

2. Toggle the Shared option to see your Shared Carriers. Then on the carrier in question, select View Details. This will open that carrier's page.

3. Select the Carrier Questions tab.

4. Using the Select State dropdown, choose the state.

5. Then, choose a line of business (LOB). This will load the available questions if applicable.

6. Under the Agency Answers column, input the Agent/Producer code. An Agent/Producer code must be set for every Shared Carrier or member agents can't run quotes. Also, leave the lock icon unlocked. Do not lock these fields. Agent/Producer codes inputted in this fashion will never be visible to the member agent. It will either be masked or invisible.

Optionally, you can set answers for some or all of the other underwriting questions. Setting the other defaults is not required but makes quoting faster for the member agent.

7. Once you have inputted the required information, scroll to the bottom of the page and select Save.

Repeat steps 4-7 to set defaults for all LOBs for every rating state. Once you have completed this for all state and LOB combos for this carrier, repeat this process for all Shared Carriers to ensure member agents can run quotes.

Add an AP Admin User

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. Make sure you are at the AP Main level and on the Manage Users section. Select Add User at the top right. This will open the Add User window.

3. In the following fields, input the required information for the AP Main User you are creating:

First Name = User's first name
Last Name = User's last name
Username = create a unique minimum of 6-character username; we recommend a consistent format i.e. first initial_last name
Email = User's email address
Status = Enabled
Phone = User's phone number; the Agency's number is prefilled by default, but you can change it if need be.

Optional: Once you've inputted all the required information, if the user you are creating will be helping with admin duties make sure to scroll down and check the "Admin" option box.

4. Select the Save button at the bottom. This will close the Add User window and refresh the page. You will see the new user added to the list of the AP Main Users. There is one more step though!

5. Next to the new user, select Actions. Then, choose Welcome Email. The new user will receive an email with their username and a button to create a password. The password button expires after 48 hours, so if they miss the window, you can always resend them the Welcome Email using this same steps.

Unlock an AP User/Forgot Password

When a user forgets their EZLynx password, the user can click the "Forgot your password?" link on the EZLynx login page. This is a super-fast and easy way for them to get help without having to contact you (the AP Admin). However, if they do contact you, you can just as quickly and easily help them out.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. Make sure you are at the AP Main level and on the Manage Users section. Select the Actions option next to the user that needs help. Then, choose the Unlock User option. This will open the Warning window.

3. Confirm you do want to unlock the user by selecting Ok.

When you select Ok, the system is going to do two things:

1. It's going to try to reset the max login attempts if the user has exceeded the limit. If the user has not exceeded the limit, then you will see an error window because there is nothing for the system to reset. If you see the error window, there is nothing to worry about. Simply select the Ok button to close the window. If the user has exceeded the limit, you will not see an error window. The system will simply reset the max login attempts behind the scenes.

2. The system sends out the reset password email. Regardless if the user has exceeded their login attempts or not, the user will get a reset password email when you choose the Unlock User option even if you see the Error window mentioned above.

When the user receives the reset password email, just like the Welcome Email, the password button will expire after 48 hours. If the user misses the window, you can always use the Unlock User option to send another email.

If possible, remind the user that while usernames are not case sensitive, passwords are. Also, if they mention not getting the email, you might want to confirm that the email address you have on file for the user is accurate.

Edit an AP Admin User

Sometimes it's necessary to update an AP Admin's user account information. For example, to change the last name when someone marries, or update an email address.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. Make sure you are at the AP Main level and on the Manage Users section. Select the Actions option next to the user that needs editing. Then, choose the Edit option. This will open the Edit User window.

3. Use the various fields to adjust the user's information and then select the Save button in the bottom right. This will refresh the page and close the Edit User Window.

Disable an AP Admin User

When an AP Admin User should no longer have access to EZLynx, their user account must be disabled. This could happen because they have left the AP.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. Make sure you are at the AP Main level and on the Manage Users section. Select the Actions option next to the user that needs disabling. Then, choose the Disable option. This will open the Warning window.

3. On the Warning window, confirm you want to disable the user by selecting Ok. This will refresh the screen and close the Warning box.

You'll notice that the user is no longer in the list on the Manage Users page. You can see them if you check the "Include Disabled Users" box. For disabled users, you'll see displayed a red "X" to indicate the disabled status.

Enable a Disabled AP Admin User

Sometimes it's necessary to enable a user account that was previously disabled. Maybe the user left and then came back later, or maybe a user account was disabled by accident.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. Make sure you are at the AP Main level and on the Manage Users section. Check the Include Disabled Users box. Select the Actions option next to the user that needs enabling. Then, choose the Enable option. This will open the Warning window.

3. On the Warning window, confirm you want to enable the user by selecting Ok. This will refresh the screen and close the Warning box.

You'll notice that the user is now on the list on the Manage Users page. For enabled users, you'll see displayed a green checkmark icon to indicate the enabled status.

Manage Member Accounts

Managing Member Accounts entails creating new member agencies when they contract with you, editing existing member agency information if for example they change their agency name, and disabling member agencies when they no longer need access to EZLynx. It also entails adding or removing rating states for the member agencies for the states they are licensed to rate in.

Once you get the member agency setup, you then need to manage the member agents. That entails adding new users when they join a contracted member agency, sending and assisting with login information to get them into EZLynx, editing existing user information if for example they change their last name, and disabling users when they leave the member agency. It also entails providing carrier access to users depending on their licensing capabilities, and optional permissions depending on how the AP Main is setup.

In this section of the article, we will cover how to handle each of these scenarios. Feel free to use the table of contents at the top of this article to jump right to a specific scenario.

Create a New Member Agency

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. Select Manage Agency Details. This will refresh the screen and land on the Details sub-tab of the AP Main. Please make sure the Parent Org field displays your AP's Agency Name.

3. Select the Add New button at the bottom of the page. This will refresh the screen and update the fields.

4. In the following fields, input the required information for the Member Agency you are creating:

Name = Member Agency's name
Status = Enabled
Org Type = MGABranch
Phone 1 = Member Agency's phone number
Address 1 = Member Agency's office address

5. Once you've inputted all the required information, select the Save button at the bottom of the page.

Now that you've created the Member Agency underneath the AP Main, your next step for adding a new member agency is to add the necessary Rating States.

Please note, the state must be available at the AP Main level before you can add it to the member agency level. If the state is not available at the AP Main level, you'll need to add it there first before adding it to the member agency level.

Check out the Add/Remove Rating State(s) section of this article to see how to add/remove states for both the AP Main and the Member Agency!

Edit Existing Member Agency

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. To locate the existing Member Agency, use either the dropdown or Search button in the top left. If you are looking for a disabled agency, you will have to use the Search button so that you can use the "Include Inactive" option.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Select Member Agency Details and then select the Modify button at the bottom of the page.

4. Update the member agency's information and then select the Save button at the bottom of the page.

Disable a Member Agency

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. To locate the existing Member Agency, use either the dropdown or Search button in the top left. If you are looking for a disabled agency, you will have to use the Search button so that you can use the "Include Inactive" option.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Select Member Agency Details and then select the Modify button at the bottom of the page.

4. Change the Status field to Disabled and use the Reason Disabled dropdown to provide a reason why you are disabling them.

5. Select the Save button. The screen will refresh the page and you will now see that the Status of the Member Agency is disabled.

You'll also notice that the Member Agency is no longer available in the search dropdown and can only be found using the Search button and checking the "Include Inactive". For disabled member agencies you'll see displayed a red "X" to indicate the disabled status.

Attention! - When a member agency is disabled, even if the user accounts are still enabled, member agents will not be able to access their EZLynx accounts. However, data from disabled agencies and/or disabled users will still be visible to you (the AP Admin).

Add or Remove Rating State(s)

To add states to a Member Agency, the state must first be added to the AP Main. Once it has been added at the AP main level, you can then provide that state to your members.

AP Main - States

To add or remove a rating state for the AP Main, send an email to mapsupport@ezlynx.com to request the state adjustment. Once EZLynx has processed the request, an AP Admin can add the rating state to the Member Agencies using the steps below.

Member Agency - States

After creating a new Member Agency, an AP Admin must add the rating states before they can begin quoting. You will also receive requests to add or remove rating states for an existing Member Agency.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Select Manage Agency Details. This will refresh the page and display the member agency's details. Select the States sub-tab. This will also refresh the page and display the states for the member agency. Select Modify at the bottom of the page. This will make the checkboxes available to select.

4. Check the box next to a state to add it to the member agency. Uncheck the box next to a state to remove it from the member agency. Once you have made your adjustments, select the Save button at the bottom.

Now that you've added the rating states for the Member Agency, your next step for adding a new member agency is to add the member agents. Check out the Add a Member User section of this article to see how.

Attention! - If a state's box is grayed out (like the Alaska option in the image above), it means the state is not available at the AP Main and must first be added to the AP Main before it is available to be added to the Members.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Make sure you are on the Manage Users section and select Add User at the top right. This will open the Add User window.

4. In the following fields, input the required information for the Member Agent you are creating:

First Name = User's first name
Last Name = User's last name
Username = create a unique minimum of 6-character username; we recommend a consistent format i.e. first initial_last name
Email = User's email address
Status = Enabled
Phone = User's phone number; the Agency's number is prefilled by default, but you can change it if need be.

5. Once you've inputted all the required information, select the Save button at the bottom. This will close the Add User window and refresh the page. You will see the new user added to the list of the member agents. There is one more step though!

Attention! - You do not need to worry about the "Select the access level for this user" section unless otherwise stated in your onboarding process. This feature is dependent on how the AP Main is setup.

6. Next to the new user, select Actions. Then, choose Welcome Email. The new user will receive an email with their username and a button to create a password. The password button expires after 48 hours, so if they miss the window, you can always resend them the Welcome Email using these same steps.

Now that you have created the users for the member agency, the next step is to give them carrier access. Check out the Add/Remove Carrier Access section of this article to learn how!

Unlock a Member User/Forgot Password

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Make sure you are on the Manage Users section and select the Actions option next to the user that needs help. Then, choose the Unlock User option. This will open the Warning window.

4. Confirm you do want to unlock the user by selecting Ok.

When you select Ok, the system is going to do two things:

Edit a Member User

Sometimes it's necessary to update a Member Agent's user account information. For example, to change the last name when someone marries, or update an email address.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Make sure you are on the Manage Users section. Select the Actions option next to the user that needs editing. Then, choose the Edit option. This will open the Edit User window.

4. Use the various fields to adjust the user's information and then select the Save button in the bottom right. This will refresh the page and close the Edit User Window.

Disable a Member User

When a Member User should no longer have access to EZLynx, their user account must be disabled. This could happen because they have left the Member Agency.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Make sure you are on the Manage Users section. Select the Actions option next to the user that needs editing. Then, choose the Disable option. This will open the Warning window.

4. On the Warning window, confirm you want to disable the user by selecting Ok. This will refresh the screen and close the Warning box.

Attention! - When a user is disabled, they will no longer be able to access their EZLynx account. However, data from the disabled user and/or agency will still be visible to you (the AP Admin).

Enable a Disabled Member User

Sometimes it's necessary to enable a user account that was previously disabled. Maybe the member agent left and then came back later, or maybe a user account was disabled by accident.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Make sure you are on the Manage Users section. Check the Include Disabled Users box. Select the Actions option next to the user that needs enabling. Then, choose the Enable option. This will open the Warning window.

4. On the Warning window, confirm you want to enable the user by selecting Ok. This will refresh the screen and close the Warning window.

You'll notice that the user is now on the list on the Manage Users page. For enabled users, you'll see displayed a green checkmark icon to indicate the enabled status.

Add or Remove Carrier Access

Member Agents must be set up with carrier access to be able to run quotes. To provide carrier access to members, the carrier must be available at the AP Main before you can give access to a member agent. There are 3 types of carrier access, but only 1 type of carrier access can be given to a member agent at a time. Giving multiple types of carrier access for one carrier will result in a license conflict error. Let's look at the differences between the carrier access types.

Types of Carrier Access

When providing carrier access, it's important to provide the correct type so understanding the differences is crucial.

Shared Carrier - The Member Agent doesn't have binding authority with a Shared Carrier. The agent and AP Admin use the Underwriting Requests feature so the AP Admin can finalize quote premiums and bind policies on behalf of the Member Agent.

Independent Carrier - The Member Agent has binding authority with the carrier. The AP has the contract with the carrier and is offering this carrier option to the Member, but the Member Agent can bind with the carrier directly.

Private Carrier - A carrier that is not offered by the AP Main. Only the Member Agent has binding authority with the carrier. The AP Main will be billed for each private carrier. However, you could pass the cost to your members if necessary.

Now that you understand the differences in the carrier access options, let's look at how you can add Carrier Access to the AP Main level and the Member Agent level.

AP Main - Carriers

To add or remove a Carrier for the AP Main, send an email to mapsupport@ezlynx.com to request the carrier adjustment. Once EZLynx has processed the request, an AP Admin can add the carrier to the Member Agent(s) using the steps below.

Multiple Member Agents - Carriers

Sometimes an AP Admin wants to add carrier access to several users at once, like when the AP Main adds a new carrier or a new Member Agency that has multiple users.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

2. At the AP Main level, select Manage User Groups. Next to the carrier in question, select the Edit option. This will open the Edit User Group window.

Attention! - The Manage User Groups section should only be used to give bulk access to carriers. We do not recommend using this feature to grant additional product access to member agents as it could be confusing which product groups are at the AP Main vs the Member Agency.

3. Find the appropriate users by selecting the "+" icons next to the Member Agency. Once found, check the boxes next to the users to grant access or uncheck boxes to remove access.

4. Once you have adjusted the access, select Save at the bottom. This will close the Edit User Group window and refresh the page.

Single Member Agent - Carriers

Most of the time an AP Admin adds carrier access to one user at a time, usually after adding a new user or when an existing user wants to quote with a new carrier.

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. Locate the user in question and select Actions. Then, choose Carrier Assignment. This will open up the Edit Carrier Assignment window.

4. Check the carrier boxes to give access and uncheck the boxes to remove access. Once you are ready, select Save at the bottom. This will close the Edit Carrier Assignment window and refresh the page.

Optional Permissions

Depending on how the AP Main is setup, the AP Admin might want to provide some additional permissions to a member agent. The three most common ones are:

EZLogin Private - EZLogin allows a member agent to bridge to a carrier website so they can bind the quote. This would only be provided to users that have Independent Carrier access.

Peer Private - The Peer permission allows a user to see customer accounts at their member agency that are not assigned to themselves. This is provided if member agents all work the same customers rather than being restricted to only the customers assigned to them. They will not see customer accounts from the AP Main level or any other member agency's customer accounts.

Reports Private - The Reports permission provides access to reports. This permission is normally only provided to a Member Agency Admin. The types of reports available to the Member Agency depend on how the AP Main is setup. However, the data they see on the reports will only be the data from their Member Agency. They will not see data from the AP main level or any other member agencies.

To provide users with any of the above access:

1. In your EZLynx account, select the Agency Admin (key) icon on the left navigation bar. This will take you to the Agency Admin page.

Once you select the Member Agency, the screen will refresh and will show you the list of users at that Member Agency.

3. On the user in question select Actions. Then, select Carrier Assignment. This will open up the Edit Carrier Assignment window.

4. Check the permission boxes to give access and uncheck the boxes to remove access. Once you are ready, select Save at the bottom. This will close the Edit Carrier Assignment window and refresh the page.

Underwriting Request Feature (Optional)

Some APs use an optional Underwriting Request feature which supports communication between AP Admins and Member Agents during the quoting and binding process for Shared Carriers. Since Member Agents can't log into a Shared Carrier's website, the AP Admin must finalize quotes and bind policies on behalf of the Member Agent.

If this is a feature you plan to use, check out our Alliance Partner Underwriting Request Workflow to see about setting up Underwriting Request Notifications and how to use the Underwriting Request Workflow. Also, feel free to share the Member Agent Underwriting Request Workflow with your member agents so they can learn their part of the communication process.

Provide Training and Support & Refer to Sales

AP Admins are responsible for training EZLynx users on the Rating Engine. EZLynx provides training resources for use with an AP's User onboarding process. Check out the links below and feel free to share with your Member Agents!

If you or your Member Agents ever need EZLynx product assistance, feel free to reach out to us at the below contact information.

Technical EZLynx Product Support Email: mapsupport@ezlynx.com
Technical EZLynx Product Support Phone: (877) 932-2382 > Select 1 for Support > Select * for AP Support
Sales: sales@ezlynx.com

EZLynx

Solution Center

Alliance Partner (AP) Admin User Manual

AP vs. EZLynx Responsibilities

Manage "Main" Account

Maintain Shared Carrier Logins

Maintain Shared Carrier Defaults

Add an AP Admin User

Unlock an AP User/Forgot Password

Edit an AP Admin User

Disable an AP Admin User

Enable a Disabled AP Admin User

Manage Member Accounts

Create a New Member Agency

Edit Existing Member Agency

Disable a Member Agency