We speak insurance. If you don't – or if you want to make sure we mean the same thing – this glossary covers the terms you'll encounter across our site and in your migration.
A contract delegating underwriting authority from an insurer to a third party (coverholder or MGA). The coverholder can bind risks on behalf of the insurer within agreed parameters.
In migration: During migration, binding authority agreements create third-party data flows that must be mapped and preserved. Policies written under binding authority may follow different endorsement patterns.
The complete portfolio of insurance policies held by an insurer or underwriting team. Includes in-force policies, expired policies with run-off obligations, and associated claims.
In migration: The unit of migration. When we say "migrate the book," we mean the entire portfolio including all historical endorsements, claims, and reserves. Book complexity determines migration approach.
Detailed reports submitted by coverholders or managing agents to insurers, listing individual risks, premiums, and claims. Required for delegated authority monitoring and regulatory reporting.
In migration: Migrated data must produce clean bordereaux from day one. If migration corrupts the data underlying bordereaux generation, regulatory reporting breaks immediately.
The sum of an insurer''s loss ratio and expense ratio. Below 100% indicates underwriting profitability; above 100% indicates underwriting loss.
In migration: Migration''s impact on combined ratio is indirect but real: manual workarounds increase expense ratio; lost broker business reduces premium income. The ROI calculator estimates combined ratio impact.
An arrangement where an insurer delegates underwriting and/or claims handling authority to a third party. Encompasses binding authorities, coverholders, and MGAs.
In migration: Delegated authority agreements modify how policies are written and managed. During migration, these overlays must be preserved to maintain the contractual relationships that govern the book.
The sequence of amendments (endorsements) applied to an insurance policy after inception. Each endorsement modifies the policy terms, and later endorsements may reference or modify earlier ones.
In migration: The primary source of migration complexity. Generic ETL tools treat endorsements as independent records. Keystone traces the full chain and verifies the net coverage position at each point.
Non-standard risk types requiring specialist underwriting: marine cargo, aviation, political risk, kidnap and ransom, fine art, livestock, parametric weather.
In migration: Exotic risks have complex data structures that don''t conform to standard policy templates. Migration tools must handle the variability without forcing exotic policies into simplified schemas.
Reinsurance negotiated individually for each risk, as opposed to treaty reinsurance which covers a defined portfolio.
In migration: Facultative placements create one-to-one dependencies between original policies and reinsurance contracts. During migration, these links must be preserved or the reinsurance programme loses traceability.
The total premium written by an insurer before deducting reinsurance costs. A standard measure of business volume.
In migration: GWP is the primary sizing metric for migration scope. A book''s GWP determines the financial materiality of migration – and the financial case for investing in proper tooling.
A policy that is currently active and providing coverage. Distinguished from expired policies (which may have run-off claims obligations) and cancelled policies.
In migration: In-force policies are the highest-priority migration records. Any corruption of in-force policy data directly impacts current coverage, claims handling, and regulatory reporting.
A policy administration system that is outdated, unsupported, or no longer fit for purpose. May still be functional but imposes operational limitations, security risks, and competitive disadvantage.
In migration: The source system in any migration. Legacy PAS complexity – customisations, workarounds, undocumented features – determines migration difficulty.
A category of insurance products: personal lines (motor, home), commercial lines (property, casualty, liability), specialty (marine, aviation, political risk).
In migration: Multi-LOB migrations require sequencing and coordination. Different LOBs may have different data models, different regulatory requirements, and different stakeholder groups.
The event or condition that initiates a PAS migration: rescue (failed migration), acquisition (book consolidation), vendor sunset (end-of-life), modernisation (competitive pressure).
In migration: The four triggers map to Keystone''s four use case pages. Each trigger changes the migration dynamics: urgency, stakeholder alignment, budget availability, and complexity profile.
The core technology platform that manages insurance policies: quoting, binding, endorsement processing, claims handling, billing, and regulatory reporting.
In migration: PAS is the system being migrated from (source) and to (target). PAS complexity directly determines migration complexity.
A change to an insurance policy that applies to a past period. Common in commercial lines where coverage terms are adjusted after loss events or audits.
In migration: Retroactive adjustments create temporal complexity in endorsement chains. Migration must preserve the effective dates and the dependency chain of retroactive changes.
An amendment or addition to an insurance policy that modifies coverage terms. In specialty markets, riders can be highly bespoke and create complex dependencies.
In migration: Similar to endorsements but often used for more substantial coverage modifications. Migration must preserve the rider''s relationship to the base policy and any subsequent endorsements.
Insurance placed with non-admitted carriers (insurers not licensed in the state where the risk is located). Subject to state-specific filing requirements and taxes.
In migration: Surplus lines policies have additional regulatory data requirements (filing stamps, state-specific tax calculations) that migration must preserve. US-specific but common in complex commercial books.
Reinsurance that automatically covers a defined portfolio of risks, as opposed to facultative reinsurance (per-risk). Treaties define the reinsurer''s share of premiums and losses for the covered portfolio.
In migration: Treaty reinsurance creates portfolio-level dependencies. During migration, the relationship between individual policies and the treaty structure must be preserved for accurate cession calculations.
The power granted to an underwriter or team to accept risks up to defined limits. Delegated underwriting authority extends this power to external parties.
In migration: Migration must preserve the underwriting authority boundaries. If a migrated policy loses its underwriting authority metadata, downstream processing and compliance checks break.
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