NOTE: This article covers refunds that have already been issued. If you're looking for information on how to initiate a cancellation and refund, see our the Cancelation article here.

Overview

Ascend provides the Refunds tab so agencies can automate issuing refunds to the insured for policy cancellations, reducing endorsements, and loan overpayment. The filters located at the top of this section allow you to customize your view based on refund date, recipient type (if applicable), recipient, account manager, and current status.

How Refunds Work

When a policy is canceled or a premium-reducing endorsement is processed, Ascend calculates whether a refund is owed to the insured. A refund is issued once all return funds have been received and any outstanding balance on the policy has been cleared. For financed policies, this means the refund covers the amount left over after the balance is paid off.

Once those conditions are met, Ascend initiates the refund automatically. In most cases, no action is required from your agency to approve these refunds.

Refund Status

Each refund has a corresponding Status label, which automatically updates as the refund progresses:

• Action needed: Refunds that don't have documentation that matches the insured's name and address. You will need to update documents with the right information to reissue the check to the insured.

• Failed: refunds have been issued but failed for one of these reasons

  • Check uncashed - if a refund check was returned or remains uncashed for 90 days, Ascend will automatically cancel it (see reissuing refunds below for next steps)

  • Instructions change - a stop payment has been placed on the refund so that the mailing address can be changed

  • Reinstatement - a refund has been stopped because the policy is being reinstated

• Aged refunds: refunds has been uncashed for more than 30 days

• Ready to approve: refunds are in pending approval status and need manual approval before it can be issued. This feature is only available for some workspaces will have this feature

• Pending: refunds have been approved and will be initiated soon. It will usually specify the ETA in the Initiated column

• Initiated: refunds have been initiated to the insured

• Cleared: refunds have been issued and successfully cashed

• Blocked: Processing on hold temporarily reach out to [email protected] for assistance with these specific refunds

Viewing Refunds in Your Dashboard

You can track the status of all refunds from the Accounting → Refunds section of your Ascend dashboard.

Each refund entry will show:

• Insured name and policy

• Refund amount

• Refund method (ACH, card, or check)

• Status (Pending, Processing, Paid, or Failed)

• Estimated or actual payment date

You can click into any refund to view full details, including the payment method on file and any notes from the Ascend team. If a refund was issued by check, you can also reissue it to an updated address from this view.

Refund Methods

The method used to issue a refund depends on how the insured originally paid and whether that payment can still be refunded.

Original payment method (ACH or credit/debit card)

• Whenever possible, Ascend returns the refund to the payment method the insured originally used. The refund will go back to the original card or ACH account as long as the insured paid by card or ACH, the original payment was made within the last 165 days, and that payment method is still valid and active. This is the fastest option for the insured.

Check

• If the refund cannot be returned to the original payment method, it will be issued by check to the insured's mailing address on file. This happens when the insured originally paid by check or wire, when the original card or ACH payment was made more than 165 days ago, or when the original payment method is no longer valid or active. Check is the fallback method whenever an original payment method refund is not available.

Timeline

Timing begins once all return funds have been received and any outstanding balance on the policy is cleared. Ascend displays the estimated receipt date on the refund confirmation screen when the cancellation or endorsement is initiated.

Paid-In-Full

When a refund is issued for an overpayment in a Pay-in-Full (PIF) program, the typical timeline for the refund to be processed and returned to the insured's credit card is within 2 business days of the refund creation.

Refund Process

1. The refund is created in the system, usually due to an overpayment by the insured.

2. The refund should be automatically processed within 2 business days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What has the refund not be issued to my insured yet?

Carriers typically take 30-90 days to return funds for canceled policies. Under all circumstances, funds must be returned to Ascend before any refund can be issued to your client.

Q: How is the refund method decided, and can I choose it?

Ascend automatically returns the refund to the insured's original payment method when that payment was made by card or ACH within the last 165 days and the payment method is still valid and active. If none of those conditions are met, the refund is issued by check to the mailing address on file. The method is selected automatically and cannot be chosen at the time of the refund. If the insured needs the refund sent a different way, contact [email protected].

Q: What if the refund fails?

When a refund fails or ages, you can reissue it to the same insured address or an updated address via the Actions button on the refund. 

To update the address, you will need to provide a verification document that include both the insured's name (on the quote/invoice) and the updated address. Once you hit Update and reissue, this will update the address on all pending refunds for the insured across all programs. See our Refund Check Change Requests here.

Q: Can I switch the refund payment method to ACH instead of check?

Yes, if your agency is on Ascend Plus you can submit a request to our support team to change the refund method from check to ACH. We will ask you to provide a copy of the insured's ACH info on their company or bank letterhead.

Q: Can I reinstate a policy after a cancellation refund has been issued to the insured?

It's depends on the carrier--please contact the carrier directly to verify if they will allow a reinstatement on the policy. If so, contact our support team to process the Reinstatement request in Ascend.

Q: If the insured overpays for the policy, and funds have yet to be disbursed to the Carrier/MGA, can we issue a refund to the insured?

Yes, you can follow these instructions to issued a refund to the insured

1. On the Pending Approval page, locate the policy and select Edit policy

   Note: Only Admin and Accountant users have access to the Pending Approval page

2. Make corrections to the billed policy details

3. Select Update Policy to save the changes

4. Depending on the client's purchase method, either a refund will be issued, or their loan will be credited with installment amounts recalculated within 3 business days.

Contact Us

Need more help? Contact us at [email protected] for more help.