Underwriting issues in PolicyCenter

An underwriting issue is a flag attached to a job or policy that indicates an issue that may require underwriter review.

Underwriting conditions

Some underwriting issues simply identify a situation. For example, an insurer may have an expectation that all insured motorcycles have an anti-theft device. If a motorcycle is added to a personal auto submission without an anti-theft device, the submission must be reviewed and approved. In this case, the underwriting issue identifies that there is a motorcycle without an anti-theft device.

Other underwriting issues identify that a given value is above or below an expected threshold. For example, an insurer may have a requirement for all drivers to be at or above the age of 25. If a driver under the age of 25 is added to a submission, the submission must be reviewed and approved. In this case, the underwriting issue identifies a given value (driver's age) with a comparator (under) and an expected threshold (25).

Blocking points

Typically, underwriting issues block the progress of the job at some point. For example, if a given type of underwriting issue blocks job progress at quoting, then you cannot quote the job until the underwriting issue is resolved. The most commonly used blocking points are Quoting, Binding, and Issuance.

Underwriting issues can also exist as informational only. These types of underwriting issues do not block job progress.

Managing jobs with underwriting issues

You can lock a job to indicate that there are associated underwriting issues to review and that the job ought to remain unchanged while the issues are resolved.

In some situations, a job has underwriting issues that cannot be addressed by the user assigned to the job. In these situations, the assigned user can request approval from another user (typically a user with a greater level of authority).

While a policy is in force, an insurer may become aware of information that has implications for the policy's renewal. This information may require underwriter approval, but it is discovered before the start of the renewal job. Because there is no active job, the information cannot be captured as an underwriting issue. To address these situations, PolicyCenter supports referral reasons. Like underwriting issues, a referral reason is a flag that indicates an issue may require underwriter review. However, referral reasons are attached only to policies. The next time a job is created for the policy, the referral reason may trigger the creation of an underwriting issue.