With the market shifting to a digital first model due to restrictions around the ongoing pandemic, the volume of digital submissions an Underwriter must service has greatly increased. By the time business is qualified, there’s a high chance it’s already been written, leading to inefficiencies at a time when digital working methods should be enabling Underwriters. The purpose of Quest is to democratise data and allow those within the insurance market to better understand risk. In response to mass demand, we have created a module to help manage and process submissions so that Underwriters using Quest Marine can focus on applying their expertise to complex risk. Sammy Emojevbe, Product Owner at Concirrus, discusses the development and delivery of Quest Marine’s submissions module and how it supports Underwriters in triaging new business. This type of solution is particularly apt given the existing manual processes that are employed by Underwriters to date.
Qualification
As soon as an email is received, it’s automatically scanned to draw key information which auto populated into policy fields. Once populated, a card is created for review via the submissions screen of Quest Marine. For a complete card, the following is required:
- Broker name
- Broker house
- Existing account information
- Vessel schedule
- Product
If all fields are complete, the card is marked as ‘ready for review’. If not, then it will be marked as ‘incomplete’ and clearly identify the missing fields. There are a couple of reasons for missing fields that result in an ‘incomplete’ card. The first is that they weren’t in the original email to begin with, such as a missing vessel schedule, or a vessel schedule that does not outline the IMO. The second is that there’s a contradiction in content that requires attention, such as if the account does not exist in Quest Marine and needs to be created. There are rules in place to remedy more minor discrepancies before they occur and relates to the way Quest Marine checks for the validity and accuracy of data.
Transparency and quality
To ensure quality and mitigate errors in communication, Quest Marine will automatically utilise its curated data lake to compare the incoming submission data and ensure items provided match the recorded details of the IMO number. If there are minor discrepancies, they will be automatically rectified. If they are major, they are flagged for concern. Having this in place maintains the standard of data within a clients Quest environment is maintained whilst ensuring Underwriters can focus on key data points over minor concerns. When looking at the details of a submission, the vessel split is clearly laid out from the vessel schedule to highlight distribution. For complete transparency, a transcription of the original email is imported and kept in a separate tab per submission for reference. This includes all original attachments so that there’s a full admin trail.
“Transparency has always been key to our system, we’re here to facilitate the Underwriter, not define their actions. The source email and all information presented within a submission remain catalogued so that at any point an Underwriter can question the information in front of them” - Sammy Emojevbe, Product Owner at Concirrus
Risk assessment
Key elements of Quest Marine are drawn into the submissions process to aid in qualification. This includes risk scoring, leveraging Quest Marine’s predictive pricing capabilities to determine the level of risk associated with each submission. This saves the Underwriter time in navigating the system for critical information and provides a guide as to the impact of the account on the portfolio. Individual cards can be assigned to Underwriters, who can leave notes for other colleagues before handing over the submission if needed.
“Risk scoring is a powerful criterion for Underwriters when determining how to price risk or determine the adequacy of a premium. Providing it as part of the submissions process gives Underwriters a deeper understanding of prospective business so they can make decisions effectively. It can also be used as a control measure by a Head Underwriter if they are looking to raise the performance of a portfolio by only signing business of a certain standard.” - Sammy Emojevbe, Product Owner at Concirrus
Fig 1: Submissions management in Quest Marine. Demonstration data used for display purposes.
Workflow
Two fields remain open for Underwriters to define, those are the percentages around written and signed line. Policy premium, start and end date remain auto filled but can be manually altered. Once evaluated, the simple decision to decline, set as not won, or proceed to quote can be made. Qualification is a powerful process and offers filters to target the exact business you are looking for. You can filter by risk score, time, and status.
If a submission is ready for review but not triaged, it can be assigned to a colleague for review. In which case the card moves to the second column of the submissions page so that it can be treated before a quote. If a quote is generated, the submission will subsequently appear in the third column on the submissions page. When quotes turn into business, or are lost, they are considered done and move to the final column.
“The submissions module doesn’t just solve the problem seen with the new method of pitching business. It provides a holistic digital method of managing business directly within an insights platform. Details around the individual type of submissions received over set periods is soon to come, allowing for a full understanding of the type of business presented, sources and trends.” - Sammy Emojevbe, Product Owner at Concirrus
Quest remains modular and can draw or send information to other infrastructure, get in touch if you want to see how our submissions module can help your business.
