Welcome to FAC Exchange
Latest News
REMINDER: March 1, 2024 is the final day of support for FAC Console. Get prepared by uninstalling FAC Console on all desktop computers as soon as possible to reduce confusion. Note that after March 1:
- FAC Exchange Support Team will no longer assist with FAC Console support.
- RGA will no longer provide updated versions of FAC Console software, including security updates.
- The backwards compatibility feature in FAC Exchange will cease to work.
- Any FAC Console support tickets in progress will be closed, with or without resolution.
Submit Facultative
Life Insurance Cases
With a Click
Originally released in 2000, FAC Console is the industry standard for the transmission of facultative cases. Its replacement, FAC Exchange, builds on this process, enabling direct integration with carrier and reinsurer systems. Support for FAC Console will end on March 1, 2024.
Latest News
FAC Exchange is expected to be “GO LIVE READY” at the end of May 2021. Questions? Look for answers in our recently updated FAQ section below.
The FAC Exchange API will facilitate system-to-system transmission of facultative cases and quotes between direct carriers and reinsurers. We are actively seeking commitment for client migrations to the API during 2021. Plans for a FAC Exchange Portal will be reconsidered once API migrations are complete at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, FAC Console will remain available and will be fully supported.
Key Benefits
Connect Directly
Users can submit facultative cases with a single click, vastly improving turnaround times between carriers and reinsurers. FAC Exchange builds on the success of FAC Console by moving from a manual, data-entry-focused approach to direct integration with carriers’ advanced underwriting platforms.
It offers a modern, cloud-based streamlined service delivered through an application programming interface (API). Support for FAC Console will end on March 1, 2024.
Ensure Security
FAC Exchange strictly reinforces data privacy and offers end-to-end security.
- Data is transmitted only to the reinsurer(s) selected by the carrier.
- Data is segregated by the carrier and reinsurer.
- Reinsurers have access only to data shared directly with them by the carrier.
- FAC Exchange adheres to the highest standards in transfer protocols, currently TLS 1.2.
- FAC Exchange utilizes Amazon Web Services (AWS) database encryption technologies.
- FAC Exchange benefits from a Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC) approach that adheres to security and privacy design principles and best practices.
Features
FAC Case Submissions
Carriers can electronically send facultative cases to multiple reinsurers from a single point (available now).
Quote Offer
Reinsurers can send quotes using an industry standardized format that can be readily consumed by carriers (available now).
AUDIT
CAPABILITIES
FAC Exchange can provide a full transaction history including date sent/received, status requests, quote history, and acceptance notice history (available now).
QUARTERLY UPTIME REPORT
Report can include uptime, incidents, and explanations for outages (available now).
SUB CARRIER CODES
Allows use of aliases when sending to main API endpoint to support sending cases from a subordinate MIB code (available now).
CLIENT NOTIFICATIONS
Alerts for carriers and reinsurers to notify of cases that were not sent successfully (available now).
ENHANCED RISK ASSESSMENT DATA
Carriers will be able to optionally submit structured Rx histories for more accurate risk assessment by reinsurers (2023).
ACCEPTANCE AND
NOT TAKEN NOTICES
Carriers will be able to respond to reinsurer quotes with an Accept or Not Placed indicator (available now).
STATUS UPDATES
Carriers will be able to electronically request a status update (e.g., received, reviewed, pending, in progress, response ETA) for a specific case(s) from one or more reinsurers (future).
MIGRATION PROCESS
What might a typical migration look like? There are many factors that will influence a plan to migrate to FAC Exchange. The following migration plan represents a best-case scenario. The RGA team will work with each carrier and reinsurer to design a plan that meets individual needs.
Phase | Description | Typical Duration |
Implementation / Migration Readiness | During this phase each carrier or reinsurer will prepare for the implementation by signing all necessary contracts, reviewing and understanding the API architecture, API Guide, and the data specification. Designing their solution to integrate with FAC Exchange API, developing it and then internally testing it with any in house systems. RGA will be there to help answer questions and guide the client solution. | 3-5 months |
Testing Preparation | During this phase RGA prepares the test environment for the coming integration tests. The Carrier or reinsurer will complete smoke tests to ensure connectivity. | 2-3 weeks |
One-to-One Testing | During this phase RGA will serve as a mock counter party to either the reinsurer or carrier to simulate an integration with a live client. | 2-3 weeks |
End-to-End Testing | During this phase the carrier or reinsurer will execute their integration test plan with a set of reinsurers or carriers they’ve selected. Any issues will be reviewed and resolved prior to going live. | 4-6 weeks |
Go-Live Readiness | All parties prepare for the go live through a test production environment. and review a checklist to ensure readiness for sending and/or receiving cases. | 2-3 weeks |
Go-Live | The day the carrier or reinsurer is live on FAC Exchange with the sending and/or receiving of a live case. Close monitoring of systems among all parties is done. | 1 day |
Hypercare | A period during which RGA provides immediate support on any issue raised by the carrier or reinsurer. | 2 weeks |
Transition to Normal Support | Assuming no significant issues during hyper care the carrier or reinsurer is transitioned to normal 24/7/365 support with issues being weighted by priority (1, 2,3, 4). Issues labeled 1 are outages requiring immediate resolution. Issues labeled 4 are considered to be enhancement requests. | Ongoing |
FAQs
Questions?
We have answers
A: Support for FAC Console will end on March 1, 2024 including issue resolution and software updates.
A: We are building on a tradition of neutrality built over the past 20 years with FAC Console. No carrier or reinsurer will get preferential treatment. Instead, cases will continue to be sent to reinsurers in the order received, and the system architecture is carrier and reinsurer agnostic.
A: There is no software licensing or usage fee for carriers, nor is there any fee for ongoing support or development. Carriers may incur development costs to integrate with FAC Exchange, however.
A: No. There is no financial advantage for reinsurers to continue to use FAC Console. Participating reinsurers will pay the same fees for both products.
A: FAC Exchange participants can expect 24-hour support, seven days a week, provided at no cost to both direct carriers and reinsurers from the same trusted support team that maintains FAC Console. Support is available by email at facsupport@rgare.com and by phone at 888-436-2655.
A: FAC Exchange is delivered through an application programming interface (API). The API is cloud-based, requiring no onsite installation and enabling a 1:1 carrier-to-reinsurer connection.
A: FAC Exchange introduces a single point of contact for connectivity for carriers, regardless of the number of reinsurers.
A: Our focus is to support the migration of all clients to FAC Exchange API. With 100% adoption of the API there will no longer be a need for a Portal version (manual data entry).
Phase | Description | Typical Duration |
Implementation / Migration Readiness | During this phase each carrier or reinsurer will prepare for the implementation by signing all necessary contracts, reviewing and understanding the API architecture, API Guide, and the data specification. Designing their solution to integrate with FAC Exchange API, developing it and then internally testing it with any in house systems. RGA will be their to help answer questions and guide the client solution. | 3-5 months |
Testing Preparation | During this phase RGA prepares the test environment for the coming integration tests. The Carrier or reinsurer will complete smoke tests to ensure connectivity. | 2-3 weeks |
One to One Testing | During this phase RGA will serve as a mock counter party to either the reinsurer or carrier to simulate an integration with a live client. | 2-3 weeks |
End to End Testing | During this phase the carrier or reinsurer will execute their integration test plan with a set of reinsurers or carriers they’ve selected. Any issues will be reviewed and resolved prior to going live. | 4-6 weeks |
Go Live Readiness | All parties prepare for the go live through a test production environment. and review a checklist to ensure readiness for sending and/or receiving cases. | 2-3 weeks |
Go Live | The day the carrier or reinsurer is live on FAC Exchange with the sending and/or receiving of a live case. Close monitoring of systems among all parties is done. | 1 day |
Hypercare | A period during which RGA provides immediate support on any issue raised by the carrier or reinsurer. | 2 weeks |
Transition to Normal Support | Assuming no significant issues during hyper care the carrier or reinsurer is transitioned to normal 24/7/365 support with issues being weighted by priority ( 1, 2,3, 4 ). Issues labeled 1 are outages requiring immediate resolution. Issues labeled 4 are considered to be enhancement requests. | Ongoing |
The only costs incurred by a carrier or reinsurer during the migration to FAC Exchange would be internal system development costs. There are no fees to migrate to FAC Exchange and RGA does not charge for support costs. Migration costs will vary depending on the systems and processes for each carrier or reinsurer. Contact the FAC Exchange Team to get copies of our API Guide, data specification, and testing activities. These tools can help your technology teams estimate the integration costs. We can also set up a technical review meeting to answer any questions.
This dataflow diagram illustrates how carriers and reinsurers will connect to FAC Exchange via integration with an API (application program interface). Facultative cases, consisting of structured data and images, will flow from the carrier to their specified reinsurer(s). Quotes will flow from each reinsurer back to the originating carrier. Expand this graphic with a click below: