How do I register my agency for Big "I" Markets? 
Registration is done online through links (Click here to Register or Update Registration Online!) on the Big "I" Markets homepage above the login area. You will need your agency Tax ID number, E&O policy information and agency license number. You will also need the email addresses and producer/ broker licenses of each user. You must have a brokers license to use Big “I” Markets.

• Go to www.bigimarkets.com and click on “Click here to register online.” Enter your Big “I” username and password. 
• Enter agency contact information
• Enter agency structure and license information
• Enter E&O information
• Answer seven background information questions. Answering “Yes” to any of these questions will stop the registration process, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you cannot register. A Big “I” Markets team member will contact you for more information.
• Enter user information. Click “Edit” next to the name of each user and enter his or her producer and broker license information.
• Enter flood information. Clicking “No” for either question will not prevent you from using the Big “I” Flood program in the future.
• Sign the agreement. We encourage you to print out the agreement. Enter your initials in the box at the bottom and click “Accept.”

What Products are available? The most accurate list of available products is the products you see when you log in to Big "I" Markets. Those are the products currently available in your state. Be sure to look at both Personal/Commercial list and the Offline Products list. There is also a link to our full list of products on the login page. Not all products are available in all states.

What are the Commission levels? Commissions vary by product. The specific commission level, and how they are paid, is located on the Underwriting and Coverage page for each product. Simply choose the product of interest and then click on the link for 'Commissions & Policy Administration'.

When are commissions paid? Big "I" Markets processes commission once we receive it from our company partner, typically 45-60 days after effective date of transaction. We issue commission payments between the 15-20th of the month. Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) are deposited on a monthly basis. If your agency has not enrolled in EFT you will receive a paper check that we process quarterly. To check your agency's EFT status, or update banking or contact information, log in to our Electronic Registration and enter your banking information.

Step 2. Once complete, click 'next' which will save your information. You can then exit the window. Please note, we do not draft your account for return commission - those are handled via paper invoices. If you need any assistance, please send us an email at bigimarkets@iiaba.net.

How do I request a quote? Select a product of interest from the list and click once. Review the Underwriting and Coverage page for eligibility and then click on 'Request a Quote' and follow the screens.

How do I contact the Underwriter? The best way to see if a risk will qualify if the Underwriting and Coverage page does not address the area of concern is to submit it for the underwriter to review. Once a quote request has been submitted electronically, you can click on the link for 'New Message' in the quote detail for your customer and complete the fields that appear in the pop-up window. Your communication will be date/time stamped and the underwriter will respond in the same fashion. Of course, sometimes it is necessary to have a conversation in person; therefore, we have listed the Underwriter's contact information in the Company Credential section of the Underwriting & Coverage page for each product.

How do I know when a quote is issued? You will receive an email from Big "I" Markets (bigimarkets@iiaba.net) anytime there is any activity on your quote request whether it is the underwriter requesting more information, or providing a quote. You may need to add our email address to your list of 'approved' senders in order to keep the email notification from being rejected by SPAM blockers. Please be sure to update us if there is a change in your email address; it will appear in the Quote Detail for your customer so you can see what we currently have on file.

Why was my quote declined? The underwriter will give you a specific reason for the declination; however, most declinations could be avoided if caution was taken to read the Underwriting and Coverage page carefully. It will provide the majority of the underwriting criteria for each product. The reason will either be listed in the Message Log or appended to the end of the Quote Request. You may need to scroll down to see it.

Do you offer Training? Yes, we do. There is a short half-hour training session conducted each Thursday at 2:00 ET. A member of the Big "I" Markets team will give you a virtual tour of the website and answer any questions you may have. Email your training request to bigimarkets@iiaba.net.

I tried to register my Agency and was told I don’t have Administrator Rights. Agency information is initially entered with only one person authorized to register the agency. Send an e-mail to bigimarkets@iiaba.net and we’ll update your individual profile with the proper authorization.

I requested a quote but now I don't see it. There are three main reasons why you don’t see your quote:

1. You were timed out while entering the information and the connection to Big “I” Markets was lost. This happens if you do not interact with the Quote Request Wizard for 20 minutes or more. In this case you will need to start over.


2. You logged in as someone else and selected yourself as the Primary Contact or vice versa. In this case the quote will be in the Activity Box of the person selected as Primary Contact. Click on Quote Reports to search for it.


3. You accidentally Archived your quote. Go to My Activity Box and click on the box next to “Show Archived Quotes”. To archive or un-archive a quote click on the box to the left of the quote (it will then have a mark in it) and click on the “Archive Quotes” or “Unarchive Quotes” button.

I can't open the quote. Once in your "Activity Box", just hold your mouse over the quote until it is highlighted in yellow, and then click the left mouse button. This should open the Quote Detail page. If it does not open, hit F5 or click on the refresh button on your browser and try again. The small boxes on the left side of each quote are used only to archive and un-archive quotes. The message log works the same way. Hold your mouse over any particular message until it turns yellow and left click. Please keep in mind the Message Dialogue box will remain open in the background, but does not automatically come forward if you click on additional messages. Use the Next/Previous buttons to go from message to message.

I can see the quote but I can’t open the file. The paperclip in a box icon merely indicates an attached file. You need to open the message line to access the file. The icon to open/download a file is an arm holding a manilla file folder. Click on this icon and a small window will open giving you an option to ‘Open’ or ‘Save’ the document. In some cases you may only have the ‘Save’ option and clicking on it will open up the “Save As” window. Occasionally clicking on the ‘Open’ button opens up the “Save As” window as well. This occurs when our two computers are unable to agree on the specific type of program used to read the file. In either case you will be able to open the file once you have downloaded it, provided you have the appropriate program.

These are the file types you will most likely encounter:

When I click on Request a Quote it says "This product is not available to quote."
There are two reasons why this message pops up:

1. The product actually is not available to quote through BIM
   • The Product may be handled by your state association (e.g. Personal Umbrella). Look for direct contact information on the Underwriting & Coverage page.
   • The product may not be available for new business (e.g. Balboa Non-standard HO). These products pages are still visible in states with existing policies; however they will have a discontinuation notice at the top of the Underwriting & Coverage page.
   • The product may be temporarily suspended for contractual/legal reasons. This almost never happens. Call us at 800-221-7917 if you do not see evidence of the first two reasons.


2. You do not have the Producer role activated (i.e. we do not have your Agent license information).   Click on "Home" at the top of page.
   • If you see a box headed by "Big I Markets Activity Summary", then you are active as a Producer. Check to make sure the product isn’t discontinued or handled by your state association, then give us a call at 800-221-7917.
   • If you do not see this box then we need your license information. You may fax it to 703-995-4406. Be sure to identify your agency by name and address to avoid delay.

Further questions? Contact us!
BIM staff: bigimarkets@iiaba.net
IIABSC Staff