# Quote Introduction

## What is a Quote?

A quote is an insurance offer which contains all necessary information for calculating, reviewing, and issuing a policy.

It is the starting point of the policy creation process, containing preliminary customer and insured item data, as well as pricing information generated by the system based on available inputs.

### Key Characteristics

**Temporary**: A quote is not a binding contract but rather a preview or proposal. It may later be **bound** and **issued** to become a policy.

**Data-Driven**: Quotes are based on input data such as risk and coverage details and customer information.

**Calculable**: Quotes include calculated premiums and fees based on business rules and insurer underwriting logic.

**Modifiable**: Before binding or issuing, a quote can be edited and recalculated.

**Referral-Checked**: Quotes undergo referral and risk checks. Some may require manual review based on triggered rules.

### When is a Quote Used?

- It is a mandatory step before policy issuing.
- To evaluate multiple scenarios (e.g., different coverage periods or deductible levels).
- To allow manual review and adjustments prior to commitment.
- To serve as a formal proposal for a customer, with documentation attached.


## Quote Lifecycle Overview

1. **Create Quote**
Initiated using the Quote Create endpoint. Basic or detailed data can be used.
2. **Data Enrichment**
Contextual information are automatically enriched (address lookup, sanctions lookup, etc).
3. **Calculation**
The premium and fees are calculated, either automatically or via manual recalculation.
4. **Binding**
Once reviewed and accepted, a quote is bound to lock in terms and trigger document generation.
5. **Issuing**
Bound quotes can be issued into actual policies, assuming all validations pass.


## Common Quote Actions

These are the most common requests in use in the quote lifecycle.

| Action Name | Function |
|  --- | --- |
| Create Quote | Creates a new quote. |
| Calculate | Calculates premiums with the current data on the quote. |
| Send Referral | Sends the quote to underwriter or referral process. |
| Generate Document | Creates quote documents. |
| Issue Quote | Issues the policy from the quote. |
| Customer Declined | Marks the quote as declined by the customer. |


## Quote vs. Policy

| 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 |