Polaris software uses a number of
standard dictionaries which define the information items associated with the
supported classes of business, eg personal motor or commercial packages. Details of which standard dictionaries are
currently available from Polaris are given under Dictionaries. For comparative rating at point of sale, where the
insurer’s system is entirely separate from that of the intermediary, it is
essential that the insurer, when writing the insurance scheme in ProductWriter,
and the intermediary, when selling and servicing policies , use the same,
market standard dictionary. If they do
not, data items on one system may not be available on the other and the scheme
will fail. However if the insurance
product is to be run purely within the insurer’s own system to provide rating
information, the Polaris supplied standard dictionaries can be supplemented
with insurer specific information. The
Dictionary Extension Toolset (DET) allows this to be done.
The DET sounds technical, but offers insurers a way of fine-tuning underwriting by using extra data.. This could come from in-house databases, eg details of whether the customer has other insurance products, or from third party suppliers, eg flood risk factors. It allows insurers to refine their underwriting approaches and so increase renewal retention rates.
The DET is suited to the following situations:
· Insurers offering renewals from in-house systems and advising intermediaries of terms and conditions via EDI, XML or paper
· Insurers running the RTE in-house for business through tied-agents
· Insurers running the RTE in-house for business direct with the public
· Insurers providing Polaris-based products for tied intermediaries (non comparative) to run on their owns site. However the intermediary would have to use the same dictionary extensions as the insurer.
· Any comparative rating or broker based scenario where the actual rating is performed by a call to the insurer’s system, possibly via a portal.
The DET is not appropriate for use in a comparative rating point of sale business environment where the rating is performed locally, although, as noted above, it can enhance renewal retention for insurer-led renewals in this model.
The Dictionary Extension Toolset is provided as an addition to the generic Polaris toolset. A separate licence for its use must be purchased.