Underwriting referral and approval

How do we refer a quote that breaks an authority limit to the right underwriter with the whole case built, and get the decision written back to the quote?

Build the referral automatically from the quote and route it by authority. When a quote breaks a limit (premium, limit of liability, class, loss history, a rule exception) Callvu classifies the referral reason and the authority level it needs, assembles the case from the quote, the application, the reports and the documents already in the file with the reason highlighted, routes it to the underwriter or the referral desk with that authority in the Decision Desk with only the allowed outcomes, captures the decision and its conditions, and writes it back to the quote in the policy system so the agent or the portal continues without re-keying.

In scopeComplex: multi-party handoffsCallvu moves: classify, decide, write back

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Last updated November 7, 2026.

The problem today

The referral email had three attachments and no reason; the underwriter spent twenty minutes finding out why it was referred.

Today, without Callvu

An agent's quote hits a rule. The system says refer to underwriting. The agent emails the underwriter they know, attaching what they think matters. The underwriter opens the quote in one system, the application in another, the loss report in a third, works out the reason, decides, and emails back. Someone re-keys the decision into the quote, sometimes wrongly. Nobody can later say who approved what and why.

Authority rules are specific: who may approve what premium, limit, class, loss ratio or exception. A referral has a reason, and the case for the decision already exists in the file. The decision needs to go back to the quote as data, with the conditions, the approver and the time, because the policy issued on it will be examined against it.

The referral is a routing and a record, and both can be built by rule.

How it runs

From the requestto the system of record.

A quote in the agent portal, the direct flow or the underwriting system breaks an authority limit or a rule. Callvu opens the referral from the quote.

Agent or quoting user: Sees the referral status and the decision in the quote, and answers any question the underwriter sends.
Referral underwriter: Decides in the Decision Desk with the case built.
Callvu: Classifies the referral, builds the case, routes by authority, captures and writes back the decision.

Classify the referral
The rule or limit broken (premium above the quoting user's authority, a liability limit above the program, a class in referral appetite, prior losses above the threshold, a rule exception requested) is classified with the authority level it requires under the carrier's authority matrix, and the line and the state identify the underwriter or desk.
Build the case
The quote, the application, the rating worksheet, the reports already ordered (loss history, property data, motor vehicle, financial), the documents and the agent's notes are assembled with the referral reason and the specific data behind it highlighted; what the underwriter will need and the file lacks is requested from the agent through a link before the referral is presented.
Decide
The underwriter with the authority decides in the Decision Desk with the case and only the allowed outcomes for that referral type: approve as quoted, approve with conditions or a changed rate or limit, request more information, or decline with the reason; a referral above their authority escalates by the same rule.
Write back
The decision, the conditions, the approver and the time are written to the quote in the policy system as the system of record, the quote continues to bind with the conditions enforced, and the agent sees the decision in the portal without re-keying.

Where it ends: Every referral reached the person with the authority with the reason and the case in front of them, and the decision is on the quote as data with the approver recorded, enforceable at bind and examinable later. The Decision Trace shows the reason, the authority level and the decision; the Audit Trace shows the case assembled, the requests to the agent and the write-back.

Runtime enforcement

What is enforcedwhile the work runs.

The regulations preloaded in Callvu Studio and the bank's own policies, applied as steps that run, not lines in a binder. A step that breaks a rule does not run, so a completed run was compliant.

Regulations

Carrier underwriting authority matrix and underwriting guidelines: The authority matrix sets, by line, the premium, limit, class, loss history and exception thresholds each role may approve, with escalation above them; the guidelines define referral appetite and the conditions an approver may impose; both are the carrier's rules that regulators examine for consistent application.
State unfair trade practice acts and rate and form filing rules: Underwriting decisions must be applied consistently and on filed rules and rates; a referral decision that changes the rate or the terms must stay within the filed rating plan and the schedule rating or deviation rules of the state, and the file must show the basis.
State insurance code on applications and binding, and the record retention rules: The decision that led to a bound policy, who made it and on what basis is part of the underwriting file the state requires the carrier to retain for its period and produce on examination.

Company policies

A referral is classified by the rule broken and routed to the authority level the matrix requires, never to the underwriter the agent knows.
The case is built from the file before the underwriter sees it; the underwriter does not hunt across systems.
The decision is written back to the quote as data with conditions, approver and time; nobody re-keys it.
The policy system is the system of record for the quote and the decision.

Controls

Referral classification against the authority matrix.
Automatic case assembly with the reason highlighted.
Pre-referral requests to the agent for missing items.
Decision Desk with outcomes limited by referral type.
Escalation above authority by rule.
Write-back of decision and conditions to the quote.

Clocks and deadlines

Referral decision: The carrier's service level by referral type, with the agent seeing the status and the quote's expiration date.
Escalation: A referral not decided within its service level escalates by the authority rule.

Documents and checks

The quote and the rule or limit broken
The assembled case with the reports and documents
Any additional information from the agent
The decision with conditions, approver and time
The updated quote in the policy system

In the Decision Trace

The referral reason and the authority level.
The decision, its conditions and the approver.

In the Audit Trace

The referral's creation with time.
Each request to the agent and response.
The write-back to the quote.

The handoff

Between the front doorand the back office.

The front door

The agent portal, the direct flow or the underwriting system where the quote lives; the agent answers requests through a link.

The back office

Underwriters decide from a built case in their authority; nothing arrives by email.

The Decision Desk

The referral goes to the underwriter with the required authority in the Decision Desk with the case and only approve, approve with conditions, request information, or decline with the reason; above their authority it escalates by rule.

Proof

In scope.Proof at scale, not one process at a time.

The kind of process Callvu runs in production for customers in this industry. Ask for a reference on this exact process. The results below are the industry's published proof; each claim code links to its record on agents.callvu.com.

Phoenix put more than 100 processes live in under 3 months.

Across Callvu customers

More than 1,000 processes are live across Callvu customers.

Across Callvu customers

Questions

What buyers ask next,answered plainly.

Who gets the referral?

The underwriter or desk whose authority covers the rule broken, under the carrier's authority matrix, by line and state.

What does the underwriter see?

The quote, the application, the reports and documents already in the file, with the referral reason and the data behind it highlighted, and anything missing already requested from the agent.

How does the decision get back to the quote?

It is written to the quote in the policy system as data, with the conditions, the approver and the time, and the agent sees it in the portal.

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