Overview
Some contact policies in Spark update on their own—no action needed. When you view a beneficiary’s current policy, you’ll be able to see every change they've experienced, all in one place. This includes updates to plans over time, so you always have the full picture. Our goal is to ensure that you understand the current state of the contract, knowing who is still your client over time.
Note: This data is coming from carrier data and is subject to delays.
Types of Updates
The updates we will start to automatically make to a contact’s policy include:
Policy effectuated
Update the current policy for a contact to a different one
Policy terminated
Individual deceased
NOTE: The member ID may be removed when the updates are made. To add a member ID back, you can:
Click Edit on a policy
Add Member ID
You can use the MBI to find the specific Medicare ID in carrier portals if needed.
When to Expect Updates
Carrier updates will happen regularly at least once a week, but beholden to the limitations of carriers. We often don’t see carrier updates for upwards of 2 weeks and during AEP that will increase to around 4-6 weeks.
When a Contact’s Policy Doesn’t Update
Note: You will only see an update for policies that have been updated. For those that have not been updated, we’re going to leave them untouched.
There are a variety of reasons why a contact’s policy may not be updating, including:
They don’t have an MBI in the contact
Their last name is spelled incorrectly
They don’t have a DOB in the contact
They are enrolled in a plan that is not under Spark
The policy is not one of our supported carriers
Note: Around 15% of all Spark enrollments in production are not supported.
It is not an MA or MAPD product type
The contact policy was added less than a month ago
How do I opt in?
There's no opt-in — it's automatically applied to everyone. What matters most for an agent is having a clear understanding of their current status within their book of business.
What if something is wrong?
Occasionally, carrier data may contain inaccuracies. If you notice any discrepancies, you’ll still have the ability to make corrections by editing the plan history or manually adding a new policy. To help minimize these issues, we’ve built in a one-month buffer period to account for any lagging updates from carriers. Additionally, every change will be documented with a clear paper trail in each contact’s history for full transparency.
Timeline Expectations for AEP 2026
Starting the week of September 23rd, you’ll begin to see a gradual rollout of updates. During this time, we’ll start by verifying active policies and adding any new ones to the platform that weren’t previously in Spark—such as those enrolled through carrier portals or via paper applications that were never entered into Spark.
Then, beginning the week of September 29th, we’ll start marking certain policies as inactive. This will help you clearly identify which clients are still active with you as you head into AEP.