One way to potentially save time when including common information in a file is to store the common items in their own file and bookmark them.
 Then, in the main document files you can use the INCLUDETEXT field to refer to the bookmarked item. 

The field, when it is updated, automatically grabs the current values of the bookmarked items and inserts them in the document. 

This approach allows you to update the address, phone number, or what-have-you in the single file, and have the change propagate through your other documents.

Perhaps the easiest way to accomplish this task is to use the INCLUDETEXT field. 

This field allows you to include text from one document in another.

In Tierney's case, you begin by making sure that the text you want to include from the application document has bookmarks that define it. 

For instance, you could define a bookmark that notes the applicant's name (perhaps AppName) and another for the applicant's business (perhaps AppBusiness). 

(Use Ctrl-F9 to create the brackets)
If the application document is named Application.doc, then you could use the following field in the other document:
{ INCLUDETEXT "c:\\myfolder\\Application.doc" AppName }

You can include as many bookmarked fields from the application document in the other documents as you want,
 just use a separate INCLUDETEXT field for each piece of information you want to reference.