BriteCore’s Lines (coverages) module—often referred to as Lines—has several core concepts you should familiarize yourself with before getting started.
Policy type
Policy type is a flexible term. It refers to either a line of business or a form within a line of business, depending upon your setup. Insurance agencies and agents may refer to a policy type as an insurance product or insurance package.
Primary Exposures vs. Policy Wide
Lines of business (LOB) and policy types are divided into two sections: Primary Exposures (Property) and Policy Wide (Policy). Both sections can contain line items and sublines.
Note: Items in the Primary Exposures section don't affect the Policy Wide section and vice versa.
Primary Exposures
The Primary Exposures section is for line and subline items that apply on a per property basis.
Example: Coverage A Dwelling Coverage
Policy Wide
The Policy Wide section is for line and subline items that apply to the entire policy, regardless of the number of properties.
Example: Policy Fee
Line items
A line item is an individual item on a policy. Each line item has three sections:
- Setup
- Rating (if the line item has a limit or rate)
- Supplemental Questions
There are several options for classifying a line item:
- Coverage
- Adjustment
- Non-ratable
- Fee
- Calculation
- Dividend
Subline
A subline is a collection of line items. When you add a new subline to a policy type, certain options are available.
Rate chain
A rate chain is a step-by-step order in which a line item's rate is calculated.
Rate objects
Rate objects are tools you can use to calculate rates.
Rounding
You can round limits and premiums.
Limits
You can round limits to:
- The nearest dollar ($125,315).
- The nearest hundred dollars ($125,300).
- The nearest thousand dollars ($125,000).
Premium calculation
You can round premiums at each step of the rate chain.
Note: By default, each step rounds to the nearest cent for precision. Since it's recommended to retain rounding to the nearest cent, you can’t change the setting on the interface. When you use the evaluation rate object to build a line item, you should set your rounding preferences.
Line item rounding
You can define line item rounding after you complete all steps of the rate chain for the line item.
Policy premium
BriteCore’s Policy Annual Premium Rounding setting makes it easy for you to configure global rounding for policy premiums.
You can choose how you want to round policy premiums:
- Leave them unrounded.
- Round them to the nearest dollar.
- Round them up to the nearest dollar.
To access the Policy Annual Premium Rounding setting:
- In the BriteCore menu, select Settings.
- In the Settings menu, under Modules, select Lines.
- In the Policy Annual Premium Rounding section, select the rounding option you want to use.
Warning: This setting isn't recommended. It restricts flexibility in configuring lines of business. For the most flexibility, use rounding at the line item level.
Supplemental questions
You can use supplemental questions to capture additional information:
- Underwriting questions
- Item descriptions
- Schedules
Components
Components are tools you can use to build lines of business.
Types of components
There are three types of components:
- Line Item Groups
- Deductible Groups
- Premium Groups (Min/Max)
Use components to build a line of business
To use components to build a line of business:
- In the BriteCore menu, select Lines.
- On the Effective Dates screen, select the effective date you want to use.
- On the Policy Types screen, select the Components dropdown list, and then select the type of group you want to build.
Underwriting rules
Underwriting rules add or remove line items and category options when you select a specified category option in Builder.