Product segmentation

Product segmentation and the lifecycle manager

Product segmentation

In many cases, an insurer offers several products that vary only in the values of the product model properties. For example, the insurer offers a commercial property product that varies depending on whether the business is a restaurant or a dry cleaner. You can create a different edition for each type of business, each with appropriate values set for the product model properties. Creating editions to accommodate variations in product model properties is called product segmentation. Segments are defined on line fields.

You can create editions based on the values of one or more dimensions, or segments, for example:
  • Jurisdiction. Because regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction, it is often necessary to create a different edition for each jurisdiction in which an insurer does business.
  • Brand. An insurer may want to offer essentially the same product with different levels of coverage to different customers based on their driving record or some other rating. The insurer can accomplish this by creating multiple editions of the product, each with the brand dimension set to a different value, for example Platinum, Gold, and Silver.
  • Channel. Channel refers to the way in which the customer finds the insurer, for example insurance agent or direct.
  • Partner. An insurer might partner with a third party such as a travel agent to sell a travel insurance product to their customers.
  • Organization. An insurer might provide a custom edition to one insurance agent or producer.
  • Business type. Business type is the type of business, for example restaurant or dry cleaner.

Lifecycle manager (LCM) chooses the correct edition

A business analyst or administrator creates segments and other selectors in Workset Manager, although selectors are not associated with a workset. In APD App, you select values for one or more segments when you create an edition.

In PolicyCenter, the user selects values for segments when they create a submission, and the LCM uses the appropriate edition. If there are multiple matching editions, the edition used depends on the order of the segments defined in the LCM. For example, the order of the segment definitions is Brand, Channel, Partner. There are two editions:
  • Edition 1 has Brand = All and Channel = "Channel A"
  • Edition 2 has Brand = "Brand B" and Channel = All
The submission uses the segment values Brand = "Brand B" and Channel = "Channel A". Edition 1 is used because Brand has a higher priority than Channel.

Initialization product model properties

Initialization product model properties include default product model properties and product model properties for which Clause Availability is Suggested. If Clause Availability is Suggested, the clause is added automatically when the risk object is created.

Initialization product model properties do not take effect for editions that require the user to enter a value for jurisdiction or another segment. During initialization of the line or risk object, the jurisdiction or segment value has not yet been selected by the user. Therefore no jurisdiction-specific or segment-specific edition is specified and initialization product model properties in these editions are not triggered.

Product model properties in jurisdiction-specific or segment-specific editions are triggered if Clause Availability is Optional, Required, or Unavailable.

Add a segment to a product line

Add a segment to a product line so that you can create editions based on segment values. For example, add the Brand segment if you plan to create a different edition for each brand of an insurance product. Segments are defined in Workset Manager. After adding a segment, you must regenerate the code for the line of business.

Procedure

  1. Go to the Product Model tab.
  2. Select the product line.
  3. Click Add Element.
  4. In Element Details, in Type, choose Segment from the drop-down list.
  5. In Segment, choose the appropriate segment from the drop-down list. The order in which segments appear in the list is the order in which they were added in Workset Manager.

Remove a segment

A segment cannot be removed if:
  • The segment is used in a rule.
  • The segment code is identical to any of the segment codes used in the product’s editions.