ACATS-IPS

ACATS/IPS (Automated Customer Account Transfer Service/ Insurance Processing Service) automates the changes in distributors of record for an annuity when clients transfer their accounts from one brokerage firm to another.

ACATS/IPS enables distributors to include annuity assets, along with other securities, when transferring accounts and gives them automated, timely access to important information about their customers’ portfolios. The service also facilitates representative of record and broker-identification number changes within a contract.

• Who Can Use The Service

  ACATS/IPS is available to firms that are members of DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). Click here for information on how to become a member of NSCC.

• Benefits

  With ACATS/IPS, customers can:

  • Improve customer service by eliminating manual processes and automating the exchange of information between distributors and carriers. ACATS/IPS increases the speed of changes in distributor of record and minimizes inaccuracies.
  • Streamline processing between carriers and distributors, allowing the distributor change process for annuities to occur simultaneously with all other securities in a customer’s brokerage account.
  • Reduce the length of time that an annuity goes un-serviced by the intended distributor and accurately include customer insurance holdings as assets under management.
  • Secure confidential data through DTCC’s Securely Managed and Reliable Technology (SMART) network, which provides centralized, end-to-end managed communications for all post-trade clearance and settlement processing.

• How The Service Works

  Using a mainframe or Internet connection, distributors and insurance carriers can use ACATS/IPS to electronically communicate distributor change information, in addition to non-financial contract changes such as custodial owner updates and beneficiary updates, when applicable. The service provides request and confirmation messaging, as well as soft-reject capabilities for correctable errors. Features include:

  • Insurance registration (IR). Within the ACATS system, it allows distributors to include customer account-transfer requests for insurance products as part of an automated process already established for other financial assets, such as mutual funds. The IR request is initiated through ACATS and facilitates the re-registration of annuity information at the carrier. It also allows for necessary changes to representative of record (REP), brokerage-identification number (BIN), beneficiary and owner information.
  • Automated customer account transfer (CAT). This is the transaction that is created from the distributor-initiated IR record that is sent to the carrier via the In-Force Transaction (IFT) service. It provides all the necessary information that a carrier would need to perform a distributor of record change. Once complete, the carrier will send a CAT confirmation back to the distributor to provide final status.
  • Change of representative of record (REP). This transaction is used when a carrier rejects a CAT transaction due to a rep-related reason that is quickly correctable. The REP transaction facilitates a correction of agent information, within the distribution firm, on a contract.
  • Change of Beneficiary (BEN). This transaction is used when a broker/dealer needs to communicate more than one beneficiary supported on the Insurance Registration (IR) record.
  • Broker Identification Number (BIN). Automation within the IFT process delivers communications efficiently between distributors and insurance carriers. The BIN creates standardization and exists in a secure, controlled environment that enables users to access automated reporting, tracking and status changes.

• For More Information

  Please email us at [email protected] or fill out a contact us form.