Contract certainty management that names every uncertain contract before inception, not after a claim
Uncertain contracts named before inception, not found after a claim.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Contract certainty means every term of the contract is agreed by the time the risk incepts, with the contract documentation provided promptly after. Contract certainty management tracks each bound risk to that point: every subjectivity cleared and the final wording agreed with the slip. This solution does it on one board, with agents reading slips, counting deadlines, drafting chasers and checking wordings.
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The slip is agreed and the risk is bound, but the contract is not finished. The insured still owes a signed Statement of Values, a survey or a questionnaire — the subjectivities — and the broker is still drafting the wording and its endorsements. Each deadline lives in a sentence on the MRC (“within 30 days of inception”, “prior to inception”), not in anyone’s diary.
So the contract-certainty analyst keeps a spreadsheet and chases brokers by email. A lapsed subjectivity is found when someone happens to open the file. A 38-page wording that carries an 18-month indemnity period where the slip agreed 12 is found on page 23, if at all. And the certainty rate is counted at quarter end from a sample — long after the moment it could have been fixed, and sometimes not until a claim turns on terms that were never agreed.
Estimated split of hours per bound open-market risk, by hand and with the solution.
Six agents read slips, count subjectivities down and draft chasers; the analyst releases, the underwriter clears and agrees.
Monday 12 October, London time. A new slip is bound at 15:40, and at 17:00 the signed Statement of Values for Harwell Quay Container Terminal falls due. Here is the afternoon, screen by screen, in the working solution.
James Whitlock binds Dunmore Port Authority — property damage and business interruption, GBP 180,000,000, Marlowgate Specialty 17.5% lead. In 6.1 seconds the slip reader lifts out three subjectivities word for word and turns “within 14 days of inception” into Sun 15 Nov 17:00. The flood defence plan has no date and no consequence, so it is flagged and a date query to the broker is drafted.
“S3 has no date and no consequence. The Contract Certainty Code asks for both.”
Hannah opens the board: 18 bound risks in four lanes — subjectivities open, wording in draft, wording agreed, certain. Each card carries a ring per subjectivity that empties as its deadline nears. October stands at 88.6% certain at inception against a 95% target: 62 of 70, with 8 not certain. Harwell Quay’s signed SOV has 1 minute 38 seconds left.
“Next deadline 17:00 · Harwell Quay · signed SOV — …by 17:00 London time on 12 October 2026, failing which Underwriters reserve the right to amend terms…”
She drags the look-ahead to +7 days. Everything that stays on time greys out; what will lapse by then stays lit, beside the two already overdue at Orrin Valley Foods and Brannock Mining. The filter chips keep the count: 2 subjectivities overdue, 4 risks lapsing within 7 days, 1 subjectivity with no date on the slip.
The Harwell Quay ring hits zero and the card turns red. In the chaser rail the agents work in view: deadline reached, placement inbox searched — only a draft SOV of 2 October, unsigned and undated — S1 quoted from MRC page 4, a draft to Callum Reeve at Fenwick Hale & Partners copied to James, and escalation set for Wednesday 14 October 17:00.
“Drafted in 4.4 s by 4 agents … Waiting for Hannah to release — nothing is sent without a person.”
The chaser quotes the subjectivity exactly as the slip has it, says what Marlowgate holds and what is missing, and states that if the signed SOV is not received by 17:00 on Wednesday, James Whitlock will review terms as the slip allows. Hannah reads it and releases it. Two minutes later Callum replies: “Apologies — signed SOV attached.”
The document matcher matches the attachment to S1: signed and dated 12 October by the insured’s CFO, TIV US$1,187,400,000 — 1.1% above the draft, inside the slip’s 10% tolerance. The survey report from Halden Risk Engineering, received 8 October with 4 recommendations and none critical, is matched to S2. Both are marked ready to clear; neither is cleared by an agent.
Agents read and draft. Only James Whitlock clears subjectivities and agrees wordings.
James sees each subjectivity in the slip’s own words beside the evidence that meets it, and signs. The meaning of his signature is recorded with it: the subjectivity is met as worded on the slip. Harwell Quay moves right, to wording in draft.
“Signed by James Whitlock · Class underwriter · meaning: the subjectivity is met as worded on the slip · 12 Oct 17:02”
The wording checker lined up the broker’s 38-page v2 with the slip — 41 clauses — and found two material mismatches: a maximum indemnity period of 18 months where the slip agreed 12, and the LMA5394 Communicable Disease Endorsement missing from the endorsement schedule. Aisha sends both margin notes to the broker. The wording cannot be agreed until v3 arrives.
“The wording gives 6 months more business interruption cover than the slip agreed.”
The certainty reporter counts every incepted risk under Marlowgate’s definition and shows where certainty slips — by class, broker and underwriter. Pemberly Sutton is at 8 of 10 this month, Tolland Marsh at 83.3%. The eight risks incepted without an agreed contract are listed with their owner and reason, and Rob signs and exports the audit-ready report.
The same risk, seen by the four people who carry it to certain — what their week looked like, and what it looks like now.
Six agents read slips, count subjectivities down and draft chasers; the analyst releases, the underwriter clears and agrees.
Reads each bound MRC slip and lifts out every subjectivity word for word, with its deadline — turning “within 14 days of inception” into a London date and time — its consequence and the evidence it needs.
Watches the placement inbox and matches SOVs, surveys, certificates, questionnaires and wordings to the open subjectivity or risk, checking they are signed, dated and for the right site.
Counts every subjectivity down to its deadline in London time, queues a reminder 3 days ahead, and marks it overdue the moment it lapses with no matching evidence in.
Drafts the chaser to the broker contact on the slip the moment a subjectivity lapses, copied to the underwriter: the subjectivity quoted with its slip page, what is held and what is missing, and the escalation date.
Compares the broker wording and its endorsements with the agreed slip, clause by clause — insured, period, limits, sublimits, deductibles, indemnity periods, LMA and NMA clauses, law and jurisdiction, sanctions, several liability — and writes a margin note on each material difference.
Every morning at 06:00 marks each incepted risk certain or not certain at inception under the definition in Settings, computes the rate by class, broker and underwriter, and builds the audit-ready report.
Analyst releases chasers; underwriter clears and agrees, signed. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask about any bound risk, subjectivity or wording — or say what to change. Every answer points to the board, the slip or the wording it came from.
Which subjectivities lapse this week?
Six, on four risks, by Mon 19 Oct 17:00: Harwell Quay S1 signed SOV today at 17:00; Kestrel Data S1 ransomware questionnaire on Wed 14 Oct and S2 MFA before inception on 15 Oct; Meridian Cold Chain S1 sprinkler report on Fri 16 Oct and S2 signed SOV on Mon 19 Oct; Saltire Offshore S1 proposal form on Mon 19 Oct. The board is set to look 7 days ahead.
Why is Harwell Quay not certain?
It incepted on 1 Oct without an agreed contract. S1, the signed SOV, was due today at 17:00 and only an unsigned draft from 2 Oct is held. Wording v2 gives an 18-month indemnity period where the slip agreed 12, and omits LMA5394. S2, the survey, is ready for James to clear.
Which broker slips most on certainty this month?
Pemberly Sutton: 8 of 10 certain at inception (80.0%) — Orrin Valley Foods (loss record overdue) and Arden Tidewater Ferries (condition survey open). Next is Tolland Marsh at 83.3%.
Send a date query for any subjectivity with no date
New rule: a subjectivity with no date gets a date query to the broker the same day, drafted by the chaser writer and released by you. The Code asks that every subjectivity state when it must be met. It already applies to Saltire Offshore S2, and it can be changed in Settings.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
What counts as certain, when chasers go and what the wording check treats as material are settings — changed by proposal, approved by the Head of Underwriting Operations.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Certain at inception | Every subjectivity cleared and the wording agreed with the slip by 00:01 on the inception date | Stricter than the market Code, which accepts a dated subjectivity with a stated consequence |
| Target, certain at inception | 95% | Reported to the board monthly · change by proposal |
| Documentation issued after inception | 30 days | Your reading of “promptly” · change by proposal |
| Reminder to the broker | 3 days before | Drafted at 09:00 · change by proposal |
| Chaser to the broker | At the deadline | Quotes the slip word for word |
| Escalate to the underwriter | 2 working days after the chaser | Then the Head of Underwriting Operations after 5 working days |
| A person releases every chaser | On | On · off |
| Report formatting and numbering differences | Off | On · off — off keeps noise away from the wordings team |
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 market data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (FSA via Insurance Journal: after the regulator’s 2004 challenge, 90% of subscription and 88% of non-subscription contracts were certain). Context: Lloyd’s, MR contract certainty (Contract Certainty Code of Practice reissued September 2018). People, companies and risks named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Contract certainty means every term of the contract is agreed by the time the risk incepts, with the contract documentation provided promptly after. Contract certainty management tracks each bound risk to that point: every subjectivity cleared and the final wording agreed with the slip. This solution does it on one board, with agents reading slips, counting deadlines, drafting chasers and checking wordings.
The slip reader lifts every subjectivity out of the bound slip word for word, with its deadline, its consequence and the evidence it needs, and turns relative deadlines such as “within 14 days of inception” into a date and time in London. A subjectivity with no date or no consequence is flagged, not guessed. The subjectivity tracker then counts each one down and queues a reminder 3 days ahead.
No. When a subjectivity lapses, the chaser writer drafts an email to the broker contact on the slip, quoting the subjectivity exactly and stating the escalation date. A person releases every chaser, and the quoted slip text cannot be edited.
The wording checker lines up the broker’s wording and endorsements with the agreed slip, clause by clause: insured, period, limits, sublimits, deductibles, indemnity periods, LMA and NMA clauses and editions, law and jurisdiction, sanctions and several liability. Each material difference gets a margin note with both texts and its page. It never agrees a wording; the class underwriter does.
Every morning at 06:00 the certainty reporter marks each incepted risk certain or not certain at inception under your definition, and computes the rate by class, broker and underwriter. Every risk not certain is listed with its owner and reason, and the audit-ready report is signed by the Head of Underwriting Operations.
Yes. What counts as certain, the target rate, the documentation period, when reminders and chasers go, when to escalate and what the wording check treats as material are all settings. Changes are proposed, approved by the Head of Underwriting Operations and recorded in the audit trail.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys Contract Certainty Management from your requirements and your own documents — slips, wordings and the rules you work to. It goes live once every quality gate has passed.
Yes. Agents read, match, count and draft; they never send, clear or agree. The analyst releases every chaser, the class underwriter clears subjectivities and agrees wordings with a signature, and the Head of Underwriting Operations signs the report and approves rule changes.
Control gaps found before the quote, each linked to the answer or scan.
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