Process flow for high volume quotes

The following illustration presents a simplified model of how an insurer can use these API classes to handle quote requests.

1. The web site of a comparative rater enables potential customers to view policy quotes gathered from multiple insurers. A potential customer on this web site enters basic policy information and requests quotes. One of these insurers uses PolicyCenter to handle these requests.
2. The comparative rater web site sends the policy information to multiple insurers. One of these requests goes to a insurer with PolicyCenter.

   The insurer can have multiple instances of PolicyCenter to handle these requests.

3. Your web service formats the request, creates a policy period (PolicyPeriod) that contains the information on which to quote, and verifies the data. The base configuration does not contain an example of this type of web service.

   Generating the policy period and quote access the PolicyCenter database attached to the PolicyCenter instance for handling quotes. This database is not a system of record. In this proposed implementation, neither the policy period nor the quote are committed to the system-of-record PolicyCenter database.

4. Your web service then calls the generateAndExportQuote method in a Gosu object that implements the Quote Data Manager interface (QuoteDataManager) to generate a quote. The generateAndExportQuote method calls the convertQuotePeriod method in a Gosu object that implements the Quote Converter interface (QuoteConverter). The convertQuotePeriod method formats the data into an archive XML model of a PolicyPeriod and an additional XML structure that contains information about entities to which the policy period refers.
5. The generateAndExportQuote method calls the storeQuote method in a Gosu object that implements the Quote Store interface (QuoteStore).

   The external quoting database, described in the next step, is optimized for storing the quoting information.

6. The storeQuote method stores the XML in an external database and generates and returns a quote reference number (QuoteKey). The quoting database can be partitioned so that it can concurrently handle requests from multiple instances of PolicyCenter.
7. If the potential customer decides to purchase the insurer’s policy, the PolicyCenter system of record retrieves the Archive XML representation of the quote from the external quoting database. The PolicyCenter SOR can use the quote reference number to retrieve the XML. You implement this step.

   Optionally, the Customer Service Representative can display the quote on the screen and make changes. The policy can be bound and saved to the PolicyCenter database.

See also

• Web services