Text Specifications for Electronic Submission:

The data you submit (either by mail on a diskette or CD-Rom or - preferably, via SERFF upload) is combined in a database that allows employers to find companies with the lowest rates for their class code.  All information provided will be made available via the W/C Rate Checker on the Department's website. This electronic submission is the easiest way to get the information to us for processing. 

Detailed Instructions and Information:

  1. Make sure you scan the files for viruses and verify that all the information is correct. Filing erroneous data within an electronic data submission or filing electronic data with a virus is prohibited and shall be deemed filing materially false report or statement under Section 374.215.2, RSMo.
  2. Filings submitted that do not include this electronic data or which do not conform to these specifications may be rejected. Please read all the instructions and definitions. If the filing is made by mail, the files should be sent either by diskette or by CD-Rom. If the filing is made via SERFF, then the files should be formatted per the following instructions and attached under the Supporting Documentation tab where indicated in SERFF.
  3. Regardless of the method of delivery, make sure you only have two files in your submission. They must be named:
    CLASS_000000000.TXT
    INFO_000000000.TXT
    Note: The zeros in each file name represent the full 9-digit NAIC group and company number, or, for the lead filing company in the instance of a multi-company or group filing. For example, if your company's NAIC number is 123-45678, the Class file will be named CLASS_012345678.txt and the Info file will be named INFO_012345678.txt. If your company is not a part of a group, the first four digits will be "0000".
  4. It is OK to combine multiple companies in the same file. In fact, that is the preferred method for multi-company or group filings. On the Info file, just start the next company's information on the next available line after the first company. For the Class file, just start the next company's rate information after one company's rates end. As far as the naming of the files, just use the same lead company's full NAIC number for both file names.
  5. You will be creating two semi-colon delimited text files, containing your data.

File: "CLASS_012345678.TXT"

This file has four items of data, separated by semi-colons. 

 Field Name Field Type Example
NAIC Number: Text/Numeric 012345678
Classification Code: Text/Numeric 1234
Rate (incl. disease): Numeric 9999.99
A-Rated Entry: Alpha A or blank

When properly formatted, your data will look something like this:

012345678;0001;9999.00;A;
012345678;0002;9999.00;;
012345678;0003;9999.99;A;
012345678;0004;9999.99;;

Class File Definitions:

NAIC Number:
This is your NAIC-assigned group and company number. The first four digits are your group code and the last five are the specific company code. There are no special characters for this field.
Class:
This must be a valid NCCI class code. The first field must not be blank. The field must be right-justified and formatted for text. This is a strictly numeric field This data should not include any of the alpha designations (F, M, N, D, PX, DX, etc).
Rate:
This is your rate for the class code. Your entry must be numeric and contain two (2) decimal places. The decimal point must be included in the field. Any zero entry must be "0.00" - not left blank.
A-Rate Entry:
This indicates that a class code rate is not established, but is set by the company. The only valid value for this field is "A" to indicate that this class is "a-rated", otherwise the field must be blank. If the class is "a-rated", the RATE field must be zero (0.00). This currently applies to only 2 classification codes where "a-rates" are allowable - those being 6845 and 9088.

File: "INFO_012345678.TXT"

This file is actually a lot simpler than the other one.  For one thing, it is only one line long for each company included in the filing.  

Field Name  Field Type Example
NAIC Number: Numeric 0123456789
Company Contact Person: Alpha Bob Smith
Phone: Alpha 800-555-1234 ext 12345
URL: Alpha www.theverybestinsuranceco.com
Schedule Rating: Alpha Y or N
Underwriting Threshold: Numeric 10000
Underwriting Comments: Alpha The Very Best Insurance Company only writes business in the widget industry

When properly formatted, your data will look something like this:

012345678;Bob Smith;800-555-1234 x12345;www.theverybestinsuranceco.com;Y;10000;The Very Best Insurance Company specializes in writing companies in the widget industry;

Info File Definitions:

NAIC Number:
This is your NAIC-assigned group and company number. The first four digits are the group code and the last five are your specific company code. You must enter nine numerals in this field. If you have no group code, the first four digits are "0000".
Contact Name:
This is the company-designated person to be contacted regarding inquiries from employers about obtaining insurance. Consumers will be directed from the DIFP website to this person for questions. This person should be able to direct consumers to local agents or answer consumer questions about obtaining quotations for coverage.
Phone:
Contact person's telephone number, including area code and extensions.
Schedule Rating:
Is scheduled rating available? Valid entries are "Y" and "N".
Underwriting Threshold:
Optional field. This is the smallest amount of premium your company would normally consider writing. The default value is $0.
Underwriting Guidelines:
Optional field. You may enter any general underwriting rules or marketing restrictions you wish any potential inquirers to know.

Instructions for creating a semi-colon delimited text file:

Microsoft Excel 2003

Using the tab delimited option:
Select File/Save As
Change "Save as type" to Text (tab delimited) *.txt
Save the file using File/Save (or Ctrl+S)
Open file in Notepad (For Windows, click on Start/All Programs/Accessories/Notepad)
Select a tab and copy it using Edit/Copy (or Ctrl+C)
Select Edit/Replace
For "Find What" paste the tab using Edit/Paste (or Ctrl+V)

For "Replace With" type in a ;
(Note this is just one semicolon, nothing more)
Click "Replace All" button
Save the file using File/Save (or Ctrl+S)

Using the comma separated value (CSV) option:

Select File/Save As
Change "Save as type" to CSV (comma delimited) *.csv
Save the file using File/Save (or Ctrl+S)
If prompted that the selected file type does not support workbooks that contain multiple sheets, click OK
Then if prompted that file may contain features that are not compatible with CSV (comma delimited). Do you want to keep the workbook in this format?, click Yes
Select File/Close
When prompted to save changes, click No

Open file in Notepad (For Windows, click on Start/All Programs/Accessories/Notepad)
Select Edit/Replace
For "Find What" enter ,
(Note this is just one comma, nothing more)
For "Replace With" type in a ;
(Note this is just one semicolon, nothing more)

Click "Replace All" button
Save the file using File/Save (or Ctrl+S) with a .txt extension instead of a .csv extension

Using Microsoft Access 2003 to save as Microsoft Excel 2003

Select File/Save As
Change "Save as type" to.
Follow the above instructions for using Microsoft Excel

Using Microsoft Access 2003 to save as text file

With the Access table open, select File/Export
For the file name, select the location for the text file
Change "Save as type" to Text Files (*.txt, *.csv, *.tab, *.asc)
Select Export

On the next screen, for the "Choose the delimiter that separates your fields" select the semicolon and make sure the Text Qualifier is {none}

Advanced Microsoft Access 2003 technique for automating process

To create the file
With the Access table open, select File/Export
For the file name, select the location for the text file
Change "Save as type" to Text Files (*.txt, *.csv, *.tab, *.asc)
Select Export
On the next screen, make sure "Delimited" is selected and select Advanced.
Change the Field Delimiter to a semicolon
Change the Text Qualifier to {none}
Select Save As
Enter the file name (this is the same file to be used below). This should be either the "Class" or the "Info" file.
Click OK

To create the text file (".txt")

Create a macro and for the Action select Transfer Text
For the Transfer Type, select Export Delimited
For the specification name, enter xxxx where xxxx represents the name of the file you are creating (either the "Class" or "Info" file)
For the table name, enter the table (or query) name for the data to be submitted
For the file name, enter the location where the text file should be put, for example, d:\data\class_012345678.txt
For the has field names, enter No