Important System Progress Update – January 2023

We remain on-track to go live with the new Flood Re Bordereaux Management System (BMS) in April 2023.
  
This update includes information to help make your transition to the new technology as seamless as possible.
 
Training and important reminders
 
We are going live with the new BMS in April and will be inviting you to open training sessions to introduce the Flood Re Team who will be helping you through the transition. Making them ‘open’ means you can attend as many as you need. These sessions will provide key information for how to use the new BMS, and give you a chance to ask questions. A separate communication will be sent shortly with the session details, which will start in mid-February.
 
“How to” training materials will be made available before April, covering common tasks performed in the BMS. This will include short videos to allow you to self-serve as needed.

There will also be opportunity for individual participant meetings if more focused discussions are required. 
 
In terms of use, the new BMS is similar to the existing platform, but there are some important differences to be aware of. As a reminder, if you use an automated process to upload bordereaux files between your internal systems and the current Flood Re portal for bordereaux submission, these should be changed to point to the new BMS site for bordereaux submission from 1 April .
 
Transition support will continue after go-live too, so if you have any questions please contact Gary, Chen or Alex at support@floodre.co.uk.
 
Access to the new Flood Re BMS
 
From April, we will use new technology to validate and submit your monthly bordereaux files. You can test your access to the new BMS now by clicking on this link Flood Re – Production (watertrace.com) 
 
If you cannot access the site, your corporate security controls may be blocking you. If you are working remotely (not from your corporate office) you will have to connect to your corporate virtual private network (VPN) to access the new Portal, since it will block access from unknown locations. If you have issues, please contact your IT Support Team, asking them to check watertrace.com is a white-listed domain. They can contact support@floodre.co.uk with the IP address domains your company’s users will connect from, so these can be added to our ‘approved’ list.
 
To improve security, we are introducing Multi-Factor Authentication for the new BMS using an established third-party application. This app will provide a security code which must be used together with your new Portal username and password to access the BMS. The app will need to be installed on the smartphone of each person that will access the system, and can be easily downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play. We will provide further details next month before we activate this service. This process will eliminate the manual annual certificates that we currently require from your IT departments.  
 
Property Address data quality
 
From April, the new BMS will use the Property Data Hub (PDH) powered by Addresscloud to verify residential addresses in all bordereaux submissions. You are already using this PDH, which went live last year, to check individual addresses, download quarterly address files and / or link via API.
 
In April, May and June, we will use a version of the address file which is very similar to the one currently used, but features data enhancements. It is possible you may need to make some address changes from April. We will advise you of any required changes before April, to give you an opportunity to correct address data in your April submissions.
 
The address file will be updated more substantially at the end of June. We will proactively advise you of potential changes that may affect the address data in your submissions, before June. 

Other guidance
 
Timely submissions
Please submit your risk (underwriting) and claims bordereaux on a monthly basis, even if it is a nil return. If you have gone live with the Build Back Better initiative, please submit your BBB enhanced files at the same time as your submission via the current Flood Re Portal.
 
Historic Reporting
The current BMS system will be turned off after 31 March. We will have equivalent historic data in the new BMS, but if there are particular reports you require for your own records e.g. copies of bordereaux you have previously submitted, please download them by noon 31 March. You will not be able to retrieve previously submitted bordereaux files, or produce reports, from the current Flood Re Portal, once the new BMS goes live.
 
Reminder on Flood Re’s Premiums
As previously communicated in 2022, Flood Re is changing the premiums insurers incur when ceding a policy to Flood Re. From April 2023, the premium charged by Flood Re for polices ceded to the Scheme will rise by 3.4%. The effective date of changes to the premiums remains 1 April 2023. The new premiums will be available, as currently, in both Flood Re’s website at FAQs – Flood Re and the Property Data Hub portal at Log in | Flood Re Portal. If you require additional information for your related system changes, please contact us.
 
As always, please contact the Flood Re Support team at support@floodre.co.uk with any questions or if you require support.