The Underwriting Guidelines Assistant gives every agent and underwriter one answer, cited to the guideline
One answer for every underwriter and agent, cited to the guideline.
See one case, screen by screen ↓A tool that answers eligibility questions from your own underwriting guidelines. The Underwriting Guidelines Assistant reads a question in plain words, finds the guideline passage, applies state law and every revision of the rule, and answers Yes, No or Refer with the deciding clause underlined.
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A personal lines carrier's eligibility rules live in five places: the underwriting manual by line and state, appetite memos, the agents' binding authority, underwriting bulletins, and the state statutes and exception pages that override all of them. Agents keep printed manuals and quick-reference cards that go stale the day a bulletin takes effect. So the agent calls the desk or emails the underwriting inbox, and waits.
When the answer comes, it depends on who picked up. One colleague remembers the old roof rule, another the new one; nobody checks which revision was in force on the quote date. Inconsistent answers lose business the carrier wants, bind risks it stopped writing, and — even when nobody meant it — can be unfair discrimination. In Florida, declining a roof for its age alone can break the statute.
Estimated split for one eligibility question to the underwriting desk, by hand and with the solution, in minutes. The Questions screen shows 4.1 hours by the underwriting inbox before go-live.
Five agents read the question, find the clause, apply state law and every version of the rule; an underwriter decides each referral.
Monday 12 October, 09:42. An independent agent in Venice, Florida has the customer on the phone and a 16-year shingle roof on the quote. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Tom asks through the agent portal: can he bind an HO-3 on 2215 Tidewater Court, built 2004, concrete block, architectural shingle roof put on in March 2010, Coverage A $412,000, masonry fireplace, quote Q-FL-118804 dated 6 Oct. The question reader turns it into twelve facts — Sarasota County, 3.2 miles to the coast, and the one that matters: the roof is 16 years 7 months old on the quote date.
The guideline finder checks seven passages across the manual, binding authority and bulletins. The state exception checker applies Fla. Stat. §627.7011(5). The version resolver finds that §4.2.3 changed on 1 Oct — Revision 14 to Revision 15, by bulletin UB-2026-031. Each step shows what it found as it runs.
“§4.2.3 changed on 1 Oct (Revision 14 → 15, UB-2026-031). Quote date 6 Oct → Revision 15 in force. Tom’s manual (12 Aug) is Revision 14.”
The verdict is Refer to underwriting before binding. Under it, §4.2.3 Roof age and condition is quoted as a page of the Homeowners Underwriting Guidelines — Southeast, Revision 15, effective 1 Oct 2026, page 31, with the deciding clause underlined. Beneath that, both versions side by side on a dated timeline, the quote date pinned to 6 Oct.
“Shingle roofs 15 years or older on the quote date are referred to underwriting before binding.”
Tom's printed manual is dated 12 Aug and carries Revision 14: shingle roofs up to 20 years are eligible. Renée moves the quote-date pin to 29 Sep and the answer turns to Yes under Revision 14. On 2 Oct it is No — binding was suspended in Sarasota County by BR-2026-07 until 4 Oct 17:00. Back on 6 Oct, it is Refer again.
The revision follows the quote date; a binding suspension follows the day you bind.
Under Fla. Stat. §627.7011(5), the roof cannot be refused for age alone if an authorized inspector finds five or more years of remaining useful life. So the answer is Refer with a roof inspection on Form KP-RI-1 — never No for roof age alone. Six of seven checks pass: construction, Coverage A within the agent's $750,000 binding authority, the fireplace, the coast, the loss history and the lifted binding suspension.
“So this is Refer with a roof inspection (Form KP-RI-1), never No for roof age alone.”
Renée presses Send to underwriter. Referral R-118804 lands in Marcus Hale's queue with the quote, the facts, the clause, the Florida rule and a note that Tom's manual says Yes — and why it is wrong. The routing is by state and Coverage A, with a target of a decision within 4 business hours.
Marcus opens the drafted request to Tom: Form KP-RI-1 from an authorized inspector, photos of every slope and the attic decking, and the reason in plain words. Five or more years of remaining life and he approves with conditions; Tom binds. The form is due Friday 16 Oct.
If he chooses Decline: “Roof age alone cannot be the reason in Florida.”
The redline of §4.2.3 shows Revision 14 struck through and Revision 15 added, with why it changed: shingle roofs aged 15–20 years have run at 2.3× the expected wind and hail frequency since 2024. The portal and every answer show Revision 15; the June quick-reference card and agents' printed manuals still show Revision 14. Five Florida quotes since 1 Oct used the old text, four of them bound.
The conflict and gap finder put conflict C1 on Elaine's list on 2 Oct: the Florida agent quick-reference card still says shingle roofs are eligible to 20 years, and 212 appointed Florida agents can download it. The proposed fix is to reissue the card, withdraw the June one and notify the agents. The fix is proposed to Elaine for her approval; nothing changes until she approves it.
The finder proposes a fix. It never edits a guideline.
Every question from agents, the desk and underwriters is in the log with its verdict and the passage it rested on: 1,286 in the last 30 days, 312 of them on roof age and condition. Seven seconds median to a cited answer, against 4.1 hours by the inbox before — and three questions where a prohibited factor was removed before it was answered.
The same roof question, seen by the people who carry it — what their week looked like, and what it looks like now.
Five agents read the question, find the clause, apply state law and every version of the rule; an underwriter decides each referral.
Turns a question in plain words into the risk facts that decide it: state, county, form, year built, roof age on the quote date, construction, heating, Coverage A and dates.
Finds the passages in the manual, appetite memos, binding authority and bulletins that decide the question, each with its section, revision, effective date and page.
Applies statutes, regulations and the company's state exception pages over the company guideline for the risk state.
Finds every revision of each passage, which one was in force on the quote date, and where versions disagree.
Writes Yes, No or Refer with the deciding clause underlined and the next questions to ask, and drafts the referral for the routed underwriter.
Every night, compares the manual, memos, cards and portal text, reports where they disagree and what it affected, and groups what people ask that no guideline answers.
Decides referrals; the underwriting manager owns the rules. The agents propose; a named person decides.
The desk and the guideline owner can ask in plain words — or tell it what to send. Every answer cites the passage it rests on.
Why is the Duchesne quote a Refer when Tom’s manual says yes?
Tom’s printed manual is dated 12 Aug and carries Revision 14 of §4.2.3: shingle roofs up to 20 years are eligible. Bulletin UB-2026-031 replaced it with Revision 15 from 1 Oct: 15 years or older is referred. New business follows the quote date, and Tom’s quote is dated 6 Oct. The roof (March 2010) is 16 years 7 months old on that date. Florida law means the referral needs an inspection, and the roof alone cannot be the reason to decline.
Which quotes since 1 October used the old 20-year roof rule?
Five Florida quotes dated 1 Oct or later have a shingle roof of 16–19 years and no referral — in Fort Myers, Naples, Ocala, Lakeland and Gainesville. Four are bound. Under Revision 15 each should have been referred.
What must the roof inspection show?
Form KP-RI-1 from an authorized inspector — a licensed home inspector, roofer, general contractor or building code inspector. It needs the roof covering and age, the condition of every slope, any leaks or repairs, and the remaining useful life in years, with photos of every slope and the attic decking. Five years or more means Florida does not allow a decline for roof age alone.
What do agents ask that no guideline answers?
Four gaps, 36 questions in 30 days, all referred under §1.4: leased solar panels on the roof (14), short-term rentals booked by the night (11), permanently installed backup generators (6) and unlicensed home daycare in Georgia (5). Underwriters answered the 14 solar referrals the same way each time, so a short §4.2.6 would let agents answer them directly.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
How answers are made, who sees what and where referrals go. Every change is saved as a new rule version.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| New business: the revision in force on the | Quote date | Quote date · Policy effective date · Bind date |
| Renewal offers follow the | Renewal effective date | Renewal effective date · Renewal offer date |
| Show both versions when a revision changed within | 90 days of the quote date | 15 to 180 days, in steps of 15 |
| Refer when versions disagree | On | On · Off |
| Quote the deciding passage | Always on | Set by the guideline owner |
| Ask for a missing fact before answering | On | On · Off |
| Agents see underwriter notes | Off | On · Off |
| Referral routing | Florida homeowners to $1M → Marcus Hale, 4 h | A rule per state, line and Coverage A |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (Accenture / The Institutes P&C Underwriter Survey 2021 — about 45% of personal lines underwriters' time on non-core work). Fla. Stat. §627.7011(5) is named as context. People, carriers, agencies, addresses and quotes named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
A tool that answers eligibility questions from your own underwriting guidelines. The Underwriting Guidelines Assistant reads a question in plain words, finds the guideline passage, applies state law and every revision of the rule, and answers Yes, No or Refer with the deciding clause underlined.
The version resolver finds every revision of each passage and picks the one in force on the date set in Settings — the quote date for new business, the renewal effective date for renewals. When a revision changed within 90 days of the quote date, the answer shows both versions and which one applied.
Yes. The state exception checker applies statutes, state bulletins and your state exception pages over the company guideline, and a statute always wins. Binding suspensions and other bulletins are applied from the day they take effect.
No. The agents never bind, decline or change a guideline. When the answer is Refer, the referral goes to the routed underwriter with the facts, the clause and the state rule attached, and the underwriter decides.
Every night the conflict and gap finder compares the manual, appetite memos, quick-reference cards and portal text. It lists each conflict with both texts, what it affected and a proposed fix, and groups the questions no guideline answers. The underwriting manager approves every fix.
Every answer quotes its passage, and the same question gets the same answer. Prohibited factors such as race, religion or national origin are removed from every question, never used, and the removal is logged.
Yes. Underwriters decide every referral, the underwriting manager owns the guidelines and approves every change, and the answer rules are settings with a version history. Every question, answer and decision is kept on the record.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your underwriting manual, bulletins, binding authority and state exception pages — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own guidelines first.
Only the renewals whose hazard or roof changed reach an underwriter.
1-min demoAerial Imagery VerificationNo bind, cancel or nonrenewal resting on one out-of-date picture.
1-min demoRate & Form Filing AutomationGaps caught before a regulator sees them; objections answered from the record.
1-min demoWe’ll run the Underwriting Guidelines Assistant on your own manual, bulletins and a sample of last month’s agent questions.