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What is a Policy?

A policy is a finalized and legally binding agreement between the insurer and the customer, based on a previously created and approved quote. It defines the terms of insurance coverage, including premium, insured object, and validity period.

Key Characteristics

  • Issuing: A policy is a legally enforceable insurance contract issued after a quote has been approved and bound.
  • Finalized: Once issued, a Mid-term Adjustment (MTA) or a Termination can be performed based on the defined business rules.
  • Tracked: Policies have unique identifiers, issuance dates, and can be versioned in case of changes.
  • Covered: A policy activates insurance coverage starting from dateInception to dateExpiry.
  • Documented: Each policy normally generates official documentation such as the e.g. a policy certificate or an invoice document.

When is a Policy Used?

  • To legally activate insured item coverage under agreed terms.
  • To provide customers with documents like a certificate and invoice.
  • To control and monitor the active insurance state, including renewals and changes.
  • To handle claims, terminations, or adjustments throughout its lifetime.

Policy Lifecycle Overview

  1. Policy Issuance

    • Executed via the /issue endpoint, transforming a quote into a legal policy.
  2. Mid-term Adjustment (MTA)

    • Changes to an active policy can be made through the Mid-term Adjustment (MTA) process or if the change doesn't affect risk details there can also be a possibility to add data through the technical MTA process.
  3. Termination

    • A policy can be cancelled early using the /terminate endpoint.
  4. Renew

    • A policy can be renewed.
  5. Technical MTA (tMTA)

  • Policy data can be changed or extra documents can be attached to an already issued policy.

Policy vs. Quote

FeatureQuotePolicy
PurposeProposal or draftBinding agreement
EditableYesOnly limited fields after issue
Validity PeriodHas an expirationHas active coverage dates
Document TypeOffer/Proposal (e.g., PDF)Policy + Certificates