Working with underwriting issues

Issue value types

In PolicyCenter, an underwriting issue is often associated with an issue value type and an acceptable range, as defined by the backing UWIssue entity. For example, an underwriting issue could be triggered on a personal auto line when coverage is requested for a driver who is under the age of 25. In this case, the underwriting issue value type is an age (an integer-based value), and the triggering range is a value below 25.

An underwriting issue resource supports properties associated with issue value types. The value type property used with a particular resource is determined by the required value type of the associated UWIssue entity.

Possible issue value types are integer, decimal, monetary amount, or states set, which can be declared using the following resource properties:

• integerValue: An integer value, passed as a string
• decimalValue: A decimal value, passed as a string
• moneyValue: A MonetaryAmount resource, containing currency and amount properties that specify the appropriate currency and amount
• setStateValue: An ExclusiveStateSet resource, containing the inclusionType and states properties

If the underlying UWIssue entity does not require an issue value type, then the resource will not have one either. In such cases, the issue value type is considered to be unformatted or none.

Underwriting issue resources can also contain the following properties:

• valueType: A read-only property indicating the issue value type
• comparator: A read-only property indicating the comparator type, if applicable, corresponding to a ValueComparator typecode. This property is present on issues that require a value to be within some range.

Blocking points

An underwriting issue can have blocking points, meaning the associated job can proceed beyond the specified blocking point only after the underwriting issue is approved.

Blocking points are set by UWIssueBlockingPoint typecode values, and these are applied to the following underwriting issue resource properties:

• blockingPoint: The default blocking point set for the underwriting issue
• approvalBlockingPoint: When approving an issue, the blocking point can be reset, such as in the case when additional approvals are required. When no more approvals are required, this value is set to NonBlocking.
• currentBlockingPoint: The current blocking point for the issue

Resolution properties

Underwriting issues can be resolved through either approval or rejection. Underwriting issue resources that have been resolved will display properties appropriate for the type of resolution.

For all resolved issues, the hasApprovalOrRejection property will be set to true.

Approved issues have the following properties:

• approvalDurationType: A UWApprovalDurationType typecode value specifying the approval duration
• approvingUser: A SimpleReference for the user who approved the issue
• autoApprovable: Is the issue auto-approvable? (Boolean)
• canEditApprovalBeforeBind: Can the approval be edited before binding? (Boolean)
• currentBlockingPoint: On approval, the current blocking point is set to NonBlocking

When an approval is submitted with a corresponding issue value type, that value can be added to the resource through one of the following properties:

• integerApprovalValue: The approved integer value
• decimalApprovalValue: The approved decimal value
• moneyApprovalValue: The approved monetary amount
• stateSetApprovalValue: The approved states set

In such cases, the resource will subsequently contain a displayApprovalValue property, showing the approved value in string format.

Rejected issues have the following properties:

• rejected: A Boolean set to true
• rejectingUser: A SimpleReference for the user who rejected the issue
• currentBlockingPoint: On rejection, the current blocking point is set to Rejected

Approval types

An approval can be classified into the following four types:

• Full approval: The underwriting issue has been reviewed and approved, and if necessary it contains a value that is within the expected value range.
• Partial approval: The underwriting issue has been reviewed and approved, but its value is outside of the expected value range. Typically, a partially approved issue will be forwarded to a higher authority for final approval.
• Automatic approval: The underwriting issue is configured to support automatic approval when specified criteria are met. Such an issue has its autoApprovable resource property set to true.
• Special approval: Permission is provided for approving an issue regardless of value, as an approval override. Guidewire recommends that you never use this permission unless there is a time-critical policy that cannot be advanced by any underwriter.

Submitting approval requests

When calling an approval endpoints, at minimum the request body must contain the following content:

{
  "data": {
    "attributes": {
    }
  }
}

If the underwriting issue expects a formatted value, then the request can include an issue value type of either integer, decimal, monetary amount, or states set through one of the following properties:

• integerApprovalValue: An integer value, passed as a string
• decimalApprovalValue: A decimal value, passed as a string
• moneyApprovalValue: A MonetaryAmount resource, containing currency and amount properties that specify the appropriate currency and amount
• stateSetApprovalValue: An ExclusiveStateSet resource, containing the inclusionType and states properties

Optionally, the caller can also set values for the following properties:

• approvalBlockingPoint: A UWIssueBlockingPoint typecode value. This can be applied to set a subsequent blocking point
• approvalDurationType: A UWApprovalDurationType typecode value. This can be applied if the caller wishes to change the default duration type.
• canEditApprovalBeforebind: Can the approval be edited before binding? (Boolean)

After a successful call to an approval endpoint, the resource's hasApprovalOrRejection property will be set to true.

The following code block depicts an request for a PAHighValueAuto underwriting issue that approves a monetary amount of USD$8.50, sets the next blocking point on issuance, rescinds the approval duration, and enables editing of the underwriting issue prior to binding:

{
  "data": {
    "attributes": {
      "approvalBlockingPoint": {
        "code": "BlocksIssuance"
      },
      "approvalDurationType": {
        "code": "Rescinded"
      },
      "canEditApprovalBeforeBind": true,
      "moneyApprovalValue": {
        "amount": "8.5",
        "currency": "usd"
      }
    }
  }
}

However, the approved monetary amount (USD$8.50) is less than the default threshold for this issue type (USD$10.00), therefore the issue will be partially approved.

The response body appears as follows:

{
  "data": {
    "attributes": {
      "active": true,
      "approvalBlockingPoint": {
        "code": "BlocksIssuance",
        "name": "Blocks Issuance"
      },
      "approvalDurationType": {
        "code": "Rescinded",
        "name": "Rescinded"
      },
      "approvingUser": {
        "displayName": "Super User",
        "id": "default_data:1",
        "type": "User",
        "uri": "/admin/v1/users/default_data:1"
      },
      "autoApprovable": true,
      "blockingPoint": {
        "code": "BlocksQuote",
        "name": "Blocks Quote"
      },
      "canEditApprovalBeforeBind": true,
      "comparator": {
        "code": "Monetary_LE",
        "name": "At most (monetary)"
      },
      "currentBlockingPoint": {
        "code": "BlocksQuote",
        "name": "Blocks Quote"
      },
      "displayApprovalValue": "$8.50",
      "displayValue": "$10.00",
      "hasApprovalOrRejection": true,
      "id": "407",
      "issueKey": "407",
      "issueType": {
        "code": "PAHighValueAuto",
        "displayName": "PA: High value vehicle"
      },
      "longDescription": "Test long description",
      "moneyApprovalValue": {
        "amount": "8.50",
        "currency": "usd"
      },
      "moneyValue": {
        "amount": "10.00",
        "currency": "usd"
      },
      "shortDescription": "Test short description",
      "valueType": "money",
      "valueVariesAcrossSlices": false
    },
    . . .
  }
}

A subsequent approval request is necessary in order to fully approve this issue. A caller with sufficiently elevated authority can approve this issue at the current value by submitting a call with the minimum request body described above. Alternatively, a caller can submit an approval request that contains a value within the expected range. In either case, the fully approved issue will return a response body showing that the blocking point has been removed.