Why insurers and brokers use e-signatures
Insurance paperwork is time-sensitive. A policy cannot be bound until the proposal form is signed. A claim cannot move until the claimant signs their statement. A renewal that is not authorised before the expiry date leaves a customer uncovered. Every day a form spends in the post or waiting to be scanned is a day of risk, for the customer and for you.
SignPe takes the printing and posting out of that loop. You upload the form — PDF, Word (DOC or DOCX), or a photo of a paper form — place the fields the customer needs to complete, and send it. The customer gets an email with a Review & Sign Document button, signs in their browser, and you receive the signed PDF and an audit trail. Agents, brokers and claims handlers can do all of it from the web app or the SignPe app for iOS and Android.
For detail on how customers complete forms, our guide to filling and signing insurance forms online walks through it from the policyholder’s side.
Policy applications: issue and bind policies without printing a page
Proposal and application forms are long, and they ask the applicant to confirm a lot: personal details, declarations, the date the cover should start. SignPe lets you place exactly the fields each one needs, so the applicant is guided straight to what they must complete.
- Fields for every detail. Add Full Name, Email, Date and Text fields for policy details, and Checkmark fields beside each declaration the applicant must confirm.
- Initials on key pages. Place Initials on pages carrying exclusions or important terms, so it is clear each one was seen.
- Choose the date format. Date fields support DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, DD-MM-YYYY and “MMMM DD, YYYY”, so dates match the rest of the form.
- Joint applicants. Add every applicant as a signer — there is no limit on signers per document — and use signing order if one must sign before the other.
Applicants without a SignPe account sign as guests after accepting an electronic-records consent screen. Nothing to install, which matters when the customer is signing from a phone on the day they need cover.
Claims documentation: collect signed claim forms from anywhere
Claims often arrive at the worst moment for the customer — after an accident, a burst pipe or a theft. Asking them to print a form, sign it and post it back adds delay to an already stressful process. With SignPe, the claim form reaches them by email and they sign it on whatever device they have to hand.
- Sign on a phone. The signing page works in any modern browser, and the drawing pad is speed-sensitive, so a finger signature looks natural rather than jagged.
- Paper forms become PDFs. If a loss adjuster has a paper form on site, the SignPe app’s Scan option captures up to 20 pages with automatic edge detection, ready to send for signature.
- Photos into one PDF. Pick several photos of a handwritten statement and SignPe combines them into a single PDF automatically.
- Sign in person. When an adjuster visits, In person Signing lets the claimant sign directly on the adjuster’s phone or tablet.
If a claimant declines
A signer can choose Decline to sign? if they disagree with a statement. You are notified straight away, so you can follow up rather than waiting on a form that is never coming back.
Broker agreements: appointment and commission contracts signed digitally
Agency appointments, broker agreements and commission schedules usually need signatures from both sides, sometimes from several people at each firm. SignPe handles that in one document.
- Signing order across both firms. Use Set signer order so the broker signs first and your authorised signatory countersigns — the next signer is emailed automatically when it is their turn.
- Company details and stamps. Add Company and Designation fields, and apply your company stamp from your saved library where your agreements carry one.
- Observers for compliance or finance. Copy colleagues as observers so they receive updates without being asked to sign.
- Delegation when the signatory is away. A user can delegate their signing to a colleague in the same organisation, who can sign on their behalf; the delegate is notified.
Contracts you already keep in the cloud can be imported directly from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or Box — see cloud storage integration.
A typical insurance signing workflow
Prepare the form
Upload the application, claim form or renewal notice, or scan a paper form with the SignPe app. Save it as a draft if you need to check details first — drafts do not use a document credit.
Place and assign fields
Drag Signature, Initials, Date, Full Name and Checkmark fields onto the page and assign each to the policyholder, broker or your own signatory.
Add signers and observers
Add each signer, set the order if it matters, and copy underwriting or the account handler as observers.
Send and follow up
Track Sent, Received, Opened and Signed in the Activity timeline. Use Remind for anyone who has stalled.
Keep the record
When everyone has signed, all parties receive the signed copy. Download the audit trail PDF to keep with the policy or claim file.
Compliance considerations for insurance documents
Electronic signatures are recognised for most commercial documents under laws including the US ESIGN Act and UETA, the EU’s eIDAS regulation and India’s Information Technology Act 2000. Insurance is a regulated industry and rules differ by product and jurisdiction, so confirm with your compliance team or legal adviser which documents can be signed electronically. The legality guide covers India in detail.
- An audit trail per document. The downloadable audit trail shows the document ID, sent and completed dates, and when each signer was emailed, viewed and signed.
- Access limited to participants. Only the sender, signers and observers on a document can open it.
- Encryption in transit and at rest. Documents travel over HTTPS/TLS and are stored in encrypted cloud storage — see eSignature security.
- Aadhaar eSign in India. Aadhaar eSign adds OTP verification through eMudhra and a PKI-signed PDF with a SHA-256 document hash and an evidence certificate.
Policy and claim documents contain personal and sometimes sensitive information. Apply your own data-handling and retention policies to the signed copies you download.
