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As you are likely aware, it is a requirement for advisors to complete a criminal background check as part of the contracting process on APEXA. To ensure maximum security, APEXA partners with Sterling BackCheck, One of the main background check providers in Canada, to perform this check for advisors or shareholders who are involved in a net new contract.

To initiate this background check, advisors will receive an email directly from Sterling BackCheck (requests@mybackcheck.com). This email will come within 1 business day of agents being notified by APEXA that a contract has been assigned for completion. It is important that advisors watch for this email and act on it as soon as it is received.

Here is an example of what that email looks like:

Because the email initiating the background check comes from Sterling BackCheck and not APEXA, it may be incorrectly flagged as SPAM or Junk by email systems. Therefore, it is important that agents check their SPAM and Junk folders if the email does not appear in their main in-box in a timely fashion.

If an agent has received notification from APEXA that a contract has been assigned for completion, but after more than one business day still does not see the email from Sterling BackCheck (even after checking SPAM and junk folders), they should reach out to their MGA who can then request an email resend.

Once agents register for a profile on the Sterling BackCheck website and completes their requirements, the background check results will automatically download into their agent profile on APEXA. At that time, results will be visible to all parties within the contract, so they can continue with their selection process.

For more information on this topic, you can view our 2021 webinar with an overview of the background check process.

 

Corporation profiles on APEXA capture all the mandatory information required by your MGA and carrier partners for new contracting and ongoing monitoring. This includes items such as a breakdown of company ownership, your Articles of Incorporation or Certification of Incorporation, provincial licenses issued to your corporation and maybe even a separate corporate E&O certificate. 

When you setup or make updates to a corporate profile on APEXA, our Document Validation Team works behind the scenes to review the information in each section of the profile, to ensure you have met the business rules set out by our partners and regulators.

This past year, our product and development teams have been working hard behind the scenes on some very important updates within APEXA. One of our key initiatives has been aligning our application with the guidelines set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), a law that makes Ontario more accessible and inclusive to people with disabilities. At APEXA, we believe in the importance of diversity and inclusion, and are happy to be a part of a broader effort to ensure that all people have equal access to goods, services and facilities.

With the January upon us, it’s a great time for Advisors to consider your continuing education plan for the new year to ensure you stay compliant with CE credit requirements. To help you with your planning, we pulled together the below list of CE requirements for each province.

And remember, you can stay organized and confidentially keep track of your CE credits by uploading them upon completion within your APEXA profile!

As an Advisor, when adding or editing an E&O policy, you may be wondering what exactly APEXA is looking for in the E&O Provider drop-down menu? Let’s break it down for you.

Hi, I’m Doram Dascaloff and I joined the APEXA team as a Client Implementation Lead (CIL) in June of 2022.

Hi, I’m Alyssa Valila-White and I joined the APEXA team as a Document Validator in December of 2022.

Compliance is the name of the game when it comes to APEXA. We understand how important it is for an advisor to maintain a good health status on their profile. And for an MGA or Carrier on APEXA, it’s just as important to maintain your profile. 

Hi, I’m Marko Esho and I joined the APEXA team as a Senior Software Developer in April of 2022

Hi, I’m George Alex Fanfan (I go by Alex) and I joined the APEXA team as a Bilingual Client Support Specialist in the end of May 2022.