Updated Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Available on iPipeline Effective 02/20/21

North American is excited to announce that the recently updated EFT form will be implemented in iPipeline effective February 20, 2021. As announced in Field Bulletin 333NB, we updated the EFT form (L-1683 rev. 12-20) to include an additional payment option for one-time premium payments. New questions have been added within SimpleSubmit® to allow you to request the one-time payment option when the mode of payment is not EFT. Note: When EFT is selected there will be no change in the eApplication process. The new form is available on FormsFactory®; the old form will be accepted through March 31, 2021. Below are the details from Field Bulletin 33NB regarding the updates to the EFT form. Remember, completing the EFT through SimpleSubmit will help ensure the form is in good order. 

What is changing?

• Formatting and branding were updated to align across all business units.
• A third payment option has been added for a one-time draft. The one-time draft payment option can be utilized for the initial premium, a lump sum on a new policy or an existing payment on an inforce case.
  • This new payment option will allow you more flexibility for your New Business
    and Policy Change cases in regards to collecting the initial premium needed to
    place the case in force. Instead of collecting a check for the initial premium you
    will now have the option to request a one-time draft via the updated EFT form.
• The premium amount and frequency fields were moved into the payment option boxes.
• Updated verbiage to better explain the following:
  • The timing of when the draft will take place when the draft date is more than 10
    days from the policy date.
  • It is the client(s) responsibility to confirm that the premium payments are
    processed out of their bank account.
  • If the date listed for the payment to be processed falls on a non-business day,
    the draft will happen on the next business day.
  • For inforce business, submitting a request to change the EFT cancels any
    previous EFT authorization. This is true even if the new request is not in good
    order. If an inforce policy is on EFT and the new EFT form is not in good order,
    the policy will be placed on quarterly direct billing until a properly completed EFT
    form is received. 

Reminders to help ensure the EFT form is in good order

• Fully complete the form and write legibly. If the account and/or routing numbers are
  misinterpreted, this will result in delays with the premium being drafted.
• When using a checking account, it is encouraged to include a void check. This will help
  avoid errors with the account and routing number.
• If the account is a business account, the Certificate of Business Signing Authority form O2927 will be required.
• If the account is a trust account, the Certification of Trust Agreement form L-3172A will
  be required.
• Only one payment option is allowed per case.
• When completing the form for a newly issued policy:
  • Review the policy date to determine if back premiums will be due. If a re-date is
    wanted to avoid back premiums, include that request when the EFT form is
    submitted.
  • If choosing a specific draft date, review the policy date to determine how the
    requested draft date will affect the timing of the first draft. In general, if the
    draft date requested is more than 10 days from the policy date it may result in
    multiple premiums being due immediately.
• Electronic signatures on the EFT form are only allowed during the New Business or
  Policy Change process; they are not accepted after the case has been placed in force.