We're beyond excited to introduce a completely reimagined commercial application experience that is not just seamless and single-stream—it's a massive leap forward in efficiency, designed to save you time and transform your day-to-day. Get ready to leave the old way of doing things behind.  


We have fundamentally merged the commercial application and submission processes into one powerful, unified workflow. This means you can now begin from any entry point and follow the same consistent, intelligent journey every single time, eliminating guesswork and maximizing productivity. 


Important: These updates apply only to Commercial Applicants. They do not apply when adding a commercial application to a personal applicant.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

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What's in it for me?


  • Significant Time Savings and Efficiency: The new, unified workflow from application to submission drastically reduces the time spent on administrative tasks. Features like prefilling data from existing applications, automatically adding buildings to locations, and generating all ACORD forms in bulk eliminate redundant data entry and manual steps. This allows agents and staff to focus more on clients and less on paperwork. 


  • Enhanced Data Accuracy and Reliability: By combining the application and submission into a single journey with a consistent flow, the risk of human error is greatly reduced. The new auto-save feature provides ultimate peace of mind, ensuring that progress is never lost, and the ability to prefill information guarantees consistency across applications. 


  • Improved Organizational Visibility and Control: For agencies with a branch structure, the enhanced Submission Center and new "Submission by" filter provide tailored visibility. Main office managers can oversee all submissions, while branch users can easily monitor their own team's or other branches' activities, fostering greater collaboration and a clear audit trail. 


  • A More Intuitive and User-Friendly Experience: The modern interface, which replaces tabs with steppers and introduces a helpful left-side navigation panel, makes the entire process more intuitive and easier to learn. This not only speeds up work for current users but also simplifies the onboarding process for new team members 

Starting the Workflow


The Commercial Lines Application Submission process has been streamlined into a unified, modernized workflow. Whether users begin from “Create Application” or “Create Submission,” they are now guided through the same consistent experience. This enhancement preserves user flexibility, allowing them to either complete application data capture questions within the application or skip directly to the Submission Details step to select carriers and begin tracking quote progress. The result is a seamless and consistent process, regardless of the starting point. 



Applicant Overview > Actions > Add application > Manual

Applicant Overview > Actions > Add application > Manual

 

Applicant Details for a Commercial Applicant > Create Submissions

Applicant Details for a Commercial Applicant > Create Submissions



Applicant Submissions > Create submission



Applicant Icon > Submission Center > Submissions > Create submission


Sales Center Icon > Opportunities > Create Submission

Step 1: Submission Details


The new Submission Details step introduces a more structured and informative experience by capturing key fields such as title, state, effective date, and quote due date.




This step also includes an “About this Business” section, which supports NAICS code search and business descriptions, so you have customer information at your fingertips without trying to remember what was entered for description of business operations back at the applicant details page. If these details weren’t entered earlier in the applicant screen, they can be added here—and the information will automatically flow back to update the applicant record. 



These enhancements not only improve submission tracking and integration with the sales funnel but also give agents greater visibility into quote progress, helping them stay informed and proactive throughout the process. 

Step 2: Applications


Modern vs. Legacy

Several key lines of business have been fully modernized to align with the new workflow and user experience enhancements. These include: 

  • General Liability
  • Commercial Property
  • Business Owners Policy (BOP)
  • Commercial Auto
  • Workers Compensation
  • Umbrella


Each of these lines now benefits from streamlined data capture, improved navigation, and smarter features that support faster, more accurate quoting and submission processes. 



Application screens not yet modernized are still supported are grouped at the end of the application workflow to reduce clutter and confusion. When you are in the non-modernized applications, select the Save button to save your work and then select the Underwriting tab to continue the application. 




A combined Underwriting tab has been introduced to prevent duplicate data entry when both modernized and legacy screens are used within the same submission. This ensures consistency and efficiency across all submission types. If you are in the Legacy screens, select Continue Submission to go to the next Submission step.



Smarter Application and Data Capture

The application and data capture experience has been significantly enhanced to reduce redundancy and improve efficiency. Submissions automatically generate their linked application, eliminating the need for duplicate entry. Users can also choose to prefill data from existing policies or applications, streamlining the process even further. While all ACORD fields remain accessible, the most commonly used fields are surfaced first to improve speed and usability. 



When adding locations, buildings are automatically created to prevent incomplete forms. The interface now uses flat forms instead of pop-ups, making data entry smoother and more intuitive. Managing schedules is easier, especially for complex risks, and overall navigation has been improved with fewer clicks and quicker access to key features.



Smart features like prefilled limits - such as auto-populating related fields when an aggregate limit is selected in General Liability helps save time while still allows you full control to override values as needed. 




Imports and Bulk Data Entry

Bulk import tools are still available and easier to use to simplify data entry and reduce repetitive tasks for agents. These tools allow users to upload, validate, and save data efficiently, streamlining the submission process. Supported imports include:


  • Locations & Buildings
  • Vehicles
  • Drivers
  • Additional Named Insureds
  • Additional Interests


By enabling bulk uploads, you can manage large or complex submissions more quickly and accurately, improving overall productivity and reducing the risk of manual entry errors. 




Address Validation and Lookup

Address management has been improved with new validation and reuse features that enhance accuracy and efficiency. You can now select from previously entered applicant addresses using a convenient dropdown menu, reducing repetitive entry. Real-time address validation provides immediate feedback with clear icons—✓ for valid, ⚠ for warnings, and ✖ for invalid entries—ensuring data accuracy from the start. These enhancements help prevent downstream quoting and policy issues, streamlining the overall submission process.



Step 3: Carrier Selection


You can now configure your preferred carriers within Submission Center settings, ensuring that their most-used markets appear by default. Non-preferred carriers remain accessible and can be added back into view at any time. 




The carrier selection step also integrates risk appetite insights through View Appetite, powered by Ask Kodiak, helping users make informed decisions based on carrier preferences. 



Additionally, Market Access indicators are now displayed when accessing carriers through alliance partners, offering greater transparency into placement options and expanding visibility into available markets.


Step 4: Carrier Submission


Carrier Cards and Status

Carrier management has been enhanced with smarter prompts that improve visibility and streamline workflows. Each carrier card now displays the selected lines of business (LOBs) with a default status of “Open” once submitted. As the submission progresses, statuses automatically update, though users can manually adjust them at any time for added flexibility. 




ACORD Applications

A new button is now available within the Carrier Submissions step, allowing users to Generate ACORD forms quickly and distribute them automatically under each selected carrier. 



For more targeted control, users still have the option to generate ACORD applications within individual carrier cards, ensuring the process fits a variety of workflows and preferences




Document Management

Document handling has also been simplified with the addition of a new Actions button in the top right corner, allowing users to upload documents to all carriers simultaneously. For more targeted updates, documents can still be added individually to specific carrier cards, giving users full control over how and where documentation is shared. 


Submitted Status
Quoted Status


For more targeted updates, documents can still be added individually to specific carrier cards, giving users full control over how and where documentation is shared. 




Premium Finance Agreements

Agencies with the Premium Finance integration continue to generate agreements directly within Submission Center. This functionality has been fully preserved and seamlessly migrated into the new workflow, ensuring a smooth transition without any disruption to existing processes. 




Submitting to Carriers

You can now send submissions directly to the underwriter listed in Submission Center settings. If no underwriter contact is available, the information can be added right from the submission screen—eliminating the need to navigate back to settings. 




Bulk submission functionality remains in place, allowing users to send submissions to multiple carriers with a single click. Each underwriter receives an individual email, ensuring clear communication and avoiding duplication of effort. 

Submission Center Branch Support 


For agencies with a hierarchical branch structure, we have made the Submission Center fully compatible, providing a new level of visibility, control, and collaboration. To empower you with this enhanced visibility, we've enhanced the "Submission by" filter on the Submissions page. This filter provides a tailored view, allowing you to effectively monitor and manage submissions based on your specific role and organizational level:  


  • Parent/Main Office: Users will gain comprehensive oversight, with the ability to view and filter Commercial Lines submissions across all branches in the entire organization. This provides unparalleled visibility and control for key administrators. 


  • Branches: Branch users can extend their view beyond their immediate team. They can filter submissions by the branches and users within their organization, fostering greater collaboration and shared insights.



Submission Center will fully support a branch hierarchy, enabling streamlined management for your entire agency network. This means users at the main office will have comprehensive visibility into all submissions across all branches, providing a unified view of your entire agency's activity. To ensure transparency and accountability, all actions taken on a submission by a user from a different branch or the main office are recorded in a detailed system log, providing a clear audit trail.


This robust, permission-based filtering system is designed to provide everyone with the information they need to be effective, while maintaining data integrity and a clear chain of custody. It's a major step toward a more organized, efficient, and collaborative workflow for agencies with complex structures. 

Conclusion


These enhancements deliver meaningful benefits across every stage of the submission process.  


  • Improved efficiency through a unified workflow, reduced clicks, and bulk import tools that streamline daily tasks.
  • Accuracy tools like validated addresses and smart prefilling features that ensure clean, reliable data.  
  • Enjoy flexibility in choosing whether to begin with data capture or carrier selection.  
  • Tools like View Appetite and Market Access indicators provide valuable insight to guide placement strategy.
  • Throughout the workflow, maintain control with the ability to override defaults and manage statuses as needed.  


And with full support for ACORD fields, Tarmika integration, and premium finance agreements, there’s continuity in the tools and features users rely on most. 

We hope you are excited for this new combined workflow and look forward to our future releases. Please let us know if this article was helpful in learning about the new feature by answering the question below. Check out our related articles on the right-side of the page to learn more about EZLynx!