Policy Checking Workflow Basics

You can compare your documents in a variety of ways through Policy Checking. Some comparison tool options are more effective than others in certain situations, and you may need to use several in the course of a single check to ensure accuracy. The comparison options you choose may depend on the types of documents you are comparing, similarities or disparities in their page count, and the goal of your comparison.

The following sections provide an overview of the tools you will use most often in your policy checks, Applied’s workflow recommendations for several common policy checking scenarios, and some frequently asked questions about using Policy Checking effectively. The colors referenced in this article are system defaults, which are subject to change by system updates or user customization. You can modify them by accessing the My Settings option from the menu button.

Policy Checking tools

Selecting the right tools for the task is the key to performing an effective check. Especially if you have experience checking policies manually, familiarize yourself with each of the tools. As you learn which steps of your own process each one corresponds to, you will find that Applied Epic Policy Checking helps you complete your familiar policy checking workflows in a fraction of the time they used to take.

The following tools are generally the most helpful in most policy checking situations:

Snippet view: Displays snippets of either or both documents in which the conditions (key words) of a standard check are met. For this reason, we refer to snippet view as a “positive check”—a positive display of the areas in a document where the check occurs. You can click on snippets to expand them for ease of viewing.

To navigate to the previous (or next) page in the document while viewing a snippet, single click at either the beginning or end of the expanded snippet and page up or down (double clicking on a word launches a text search).
Match view: Provides a top-to-bottom view of two documents in tandem, highlighting matched areas, partial matches, un-matched areas and moved paragraphs by default. When you perform a year-over-year policy check in Match view, Applied recommends removing (deselecting) matched areas so that you can ignore portions of the document you do not need to check, while focusing instead on areas of difference. The following Highlight options are available in Match view:

Matched areas: You can either select or eliminate areas with a 100% match. Eliminating 100% matched areas is considered a “negative check.” Please note that deselecting Matched areas does not eliminate 100% matched areas on Microsoft Excel documents.
Un-matched areas: Areas with no match in another document are highlighted in red.
Partial matches: Highlighted in black and red. Hover over these areas to display a percentage indicating the strength of the match.
Moved paragraphs: When carriers modify their coverage forms, wording often shifts to a different location in the form while the verbiage remains the same. In this situation, the moved paragraph displays in yellow in Match view.

To disable any of the highlighting options in Match view, click the Highlight all/Highlight button and deselect the checkbox for the highlight option you want to remove.

Lock scrolling: Allows two documents to scroll in tandem—relative to their match percentage—for easier viewing of their similarities/dissimilarities. Enable this option when comparing mostly similar documents with slight variations, like an expiring policy and a renewal policy.

To enable Lock scrolling functionality in Match view, click the menu button beside the Show Data button and select Lock scrolling from the dropdown menu. Lock scrolling uses Page Down, Page Up, and the scroll bar to keep the documents aligned.

"One Click" Realign: When you use Lock scrolling, document pages sometimes get out of sync. Hover over a word or paragraph with a 100% match and single click on it to realign the pages (double clicking on a word launches a text search).
Anchor Document: When validating varied documents, you can select any document in the check to be anchored on the left side of the workspace automatically. The Policy document is anchored by default. Select the document you want to anchor from the dropdown menu in the tab above the currently anchored document to change this selection. You may anchor different documents at different points in a check to validate the contents of each one.
Comment: You can add and save comments throughout the document. They display as carets in the scroll bar for easy identification. Comments are helpful if multiple people are reviewing documents and need to share notes, but they cannot be viewed once the check is finished. To retain a copy of the check with comments in the client’s Attachments list, select Send Document from the menu to the right of the search field above the anchored document. Then edit this attachment to change its name; otherwise, it will have the same name as the completed check.

Depending on the contents of your documents and the purpose of your check, you may also find custom checks and text searches helpful in some situations:

Custom Check: Custom checks are helpful for itemizing any items you check beyond the eight standard checks and flagging any potential discrepancies you find during the check, as they are written to the results document. You can add additional checks to any individual policy check, but to return results, you must enter a corresponding text search from the custom check. To perform a Vehicle Schedule check, for example, add it to the checklist and enter Vehicle schedule as a text search. Any results display in the mode you are currently using (Snippet view, Whole document, or Match view). Review these results and complete the check/search.
Text Search: Launch a text search when you need to find a specific word, coverage, or condition in your documents. Enter your search term in the Find text field above the currently anchored document.
Paragraph Search: To validate policy wording, select a paragraph and right click to perform a search. This search helps you identify the corresponding wording in another document.

Common Policy Checking scenarios

For most policy checks (including the examples in the table below), Applied recommends beginning the check in Snippet view for positive identification of the eight standard checks, switching to Match view when you reach the schedule of forms and endorsements, and then checking the documents in their entirety in Match view. The one exception is a spreadsheet-to-spreadsheet comparison, for which Applied recommends using Match view only.

All of the following scenarios assume a year-over-year renewal with the same carrier. The examples listed for each scenario are not exhaustive. See the Common workflow questions section for recommendations on alternate scenarios. Applied University courses on specific use cases are available in the Applied Epic Product Information area on the Applied Community, for an in-depth walkthrough.

Scenario	Examples	Attributes	Recommended process
Single line of business	Professional Liability Management Liability Crime and related coverages	Limited endorsement activity Predictable listing of limits and deductibles Consistent coverage declarations pages Consistent carrier forms	Single pass through the eight standard checks (beginning in Snippet view and switching to Match view when you reach the schedule of forms and endorsements)
Single line of business with simple schedules	Monoline coverages Property General Liability Umbrella or Excess Liability Workers Compensation	Simple location schedules Limited endorsement activity Variable listing of limits and deductibles Consistent coverage declarations pages Consistent carrier forms	Single pass through the eight standard checks (beginning in Snippet view and switching to Match view when you reach the schedule of forms and endorsements), with special attention to validation of coverage schedules
Simple package coverages	Businessowners Policies High Net Worth personal lines policies Small commercial package policies (e.g., Artisan Contractors)	Simple location schedules Limited endorsement activity Predictable listing of limits and deductibles Consistent coverage declarations pages Consistent carrier forms	Begin with a single pass through the eight standard checks (beginning in Snippet view and switching to Match view when you reach the schedule of forms and endorsements). For multiple lines of coverage (e.g. BOP with Umbrella), consider an additional pass through some or all checks for each line (e.g., limits, deductibles, and forms), if appropriate.
Complex package or policy coverages	Commercial Package policies (Property, General Liability, Other Coverages) Workers Compensation policies (multiple locations) Monoline Property policies (multiple locations)	Multiple location schedules Limited endorsement activity Variable listing of limits and deductibles Consistent coverage declarations pages Consistent carrier forms Automobile Coverages Schedules/risk spreadsheets	Break the check down into multiple passes by line of coverage. These checks may consist of more than two documents (e.g., a proposal, a summary, and a quote), so you may have to anchor different documents throughout the check to validate each one.

Common workflow questions

Beyond the four scenarios listed above, some behaviors in Policy Checking are common to comparison situations that transcend policy type. These FAQs address some differences in functionality you may encounter based on variables such as page count, document type, and file format.

My policies’ page counts are similar. What should I expect to see?

In Match view, Policy Checking enables all available highlight options (Matched areas, Partial matches, Un-matched areas, and Moved paragraphs) and disables Lock scrolling by default.

If your documents have similar page counts, enable Lock scrolling and deselect the Highlight > Matched areas option. With the option disabled, 100% matched areas are grayed out.

My policies’ page counts differ significantly. What should I expect to see?

If your documents’ page counts differ significantly, treat these documents as dissimilar in Match view. Enable Lock scrolling and deselect the Highlight > Match areas option to hide 100% matches and focus on areas of discrepancy instead.

I’m checking policies from the same carrier in Match view, and I see a lot of red and yellow in the scroll bars. What do the colors mean?

Red or yellow in the scroll bars draws your attention to differences in the documents. However, not all differences are significant:

Carriers sometimes change their logos, which display as differences in page headers. You can ignore these changes during a policy check.
Large blocks of red in a scroll bar sometimes indicate a document with pages that have no counterparts in the comparison document. This situation is common when carriers issue full documentation on a policy but only declarations pages on a renewal.
Yellow indicates paragraphs that have corresponding verbiage in the comparison document, but on different pages. Policy Checking regards these as “moved” paragraphs.

Which documents do I need to complete a check?

That depends. Ask yourself these questions:

Is endorsement activity limited? If so, checking the expiring policy against the renewal policy may suffice.
Is the renewal automatic, or does it need to be negotiated? If it is automatic, comparing the expiring policy to the renewal is often acceptable. If you have a negotiated renewal with corresponding carrier documents (quotes, binders, etc.), including these additional documents can improve the accuracy of the check.
Did you create a proposal document, summary of coverage, or other renewal documents? If so, include all relevant documents to increase the check’s overall accuracy. Make sure your Applied Epic proposal and Summary of Insurance are configured to include all fields you want to compare (e.g., forms and endorsements).
Did the carrier provide a quotation or binding document? If so, include all relevant documents to increase the check’s overall accuracy.

If I include other documents (quote, proposal, binder, etc.), how should I check them?

That depends a great deal on your own working style and comfort level. Depending on the focus and content of your check, you can anchor whichever document you are currently validating to the left side of the screen in order to validate it against the others. For instance, you might anchor the carrier quotation document on the left, and validate carrier quote terms to the policy.

For more complex checks, repeat this process for all documents to ensure accuracy.

The expiring policy has all coverage wording, forms, and endorsements. The renewal policy includes just the declarations pages and a list of forms and endorsements. How should I complete this check?

Use Snippet view for a positive check and then Match view for a negative check. Remember that coverage forms on the expired policy will not show matches in Match view and that this does not indicate a problem. Instead, concentrate your check on the standard checks and any “checks on the fly” you might add, and take time to validate the forms and endorsements listed on both policies. If you find discrepancies in these lists, you may want to initiate another check that includes other documents, so you can investigate them in detail.

What if the coverage renews with a different carrier?

Did the change in carriers include other steps, such as quotations and proposals? If so, you may want to include those documents in the check.

You can compare policies from different carriers using the standard checks, but Policy Checking only identifies differences; it does not perform any coverage (wording) analysis. This analytical work is still up to you.

I need to anchor a different document for the next step of my check. How do I do this?

Click the tab above the currently anchored document and select the document you want to anchor from the dropdown menu.

I added a custom check for the documents I was checking. Can other users in my agency use it on their policy checks as well?

Not at this time. Any custom check you add is valid only for the current policy check. You must re-add it on subsequent policy checks.

What if I have a lot of locations or property schedules?

In a year-over-year carrier check, it is usually easiest to “rule out” these items in Match view. Make positive identifications during Snippet view standard checks, then deselect the Matched areas option in Match view to concentrate on only the changes.

What about vehicle schedules?

Add a custom check and a corresponding text search to assist you in identifying and validating vehicle schedules. Oftentimes, you may include your proposal or summary as well as the policy. Carriers use different verbiage and ordering in their automobile declarations pages, so use a limiting text search (VIN, vehicle identification, etc.). Vehicle is too broad a search term, as it will return results for every instance of that word in the policy documents. You may also want to set up an alternate search for makes.

I’m comparing risk exposure spreadsheets, rather than the policies themselves. Does Policy Checking handle spreadsheets any differently than other documents?

Policy Checking treats spreadsheet cells as paragraphs. You may see the yellow highlighting that indicates moved paragraphs on individual cells. Red highlights indicate added or deleted cells. Lock scrolling does not work on spreadsheets, which have no page breaks and can scroll horizontally as well as vertically.

In Match view, concentrate on unmatched text/partial matches and items highlighted in red to spot the differences in the schedules. Red in the scroll bar on either document can point you quickly to the differences between risk schedules.

Some of my documents contain images. Will that affect the results of my policy check?

Slight differences in images (such as carrier logos) may display as differences between documents. Disregard these when reviewing results. If one of the documents in your check is a Microsoft Word document that contains images, we recommend removing the images or converting the file to a PDF before including it in the check. Images in Word documents can sometimes overlap or alter the positioning of text, making OCR less reliable. These issues do not occur once the documents are converted to PDF files.