# Policy Introduction

## 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

| Feature | Quote | Policy |
|  --- | --- | --- |
| Purpose | Proposal or draft | Binding agreement |
| Editable | Yes | Only limited fields after issue |
| Validity Period | Has an expiration | Has active coverage dates |
| Document Type | Offer/Proposal (e.g., PDF) | Policy + Certificates |