> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bizaxl.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Managing policies
> The policy lifecycle from proposal to active to lapsed, surrendered, or matured, plus sum assured, premium, nominees, the premium schedule, and downloadable statements.
A policy is the live contract between your client and the insurer. It is created when an
application is approved, and it carries the cover, the premium, the schedule of what is
due when, the nominees, and every key date. This page explains the policy lifecycle and
the fields you work with, and where to download a policy statement or portfolio summary.
## The policy lifecycle
A policy moves through a set of statuses over its life:
The starting point, created from an approved application before it is fully issued.
In force. Premiums are due on schedule and cover is live.
Cover has dropped because a premium was missed beyond the grace window. It may be
revivable within the revival window.
The policyholder ended the policy early and took the surrender value.
The policy ran its full term and paid out on maturity.
The policy was cancelled, for example within the free-look period.
The system tracks the dates that drive these transitions for you: the next premium due
date, the grace end date, the free-look end date, and the revival due date. It also
scores each active policy for lapse risk (High, Medium, or Low) so at-risk policies
surface before they slip.
## Field guide: the policy record
| Field | What it means |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Customer | The policyholder. Required. |
| Product | The plan this policy is based on. Required. |
| Insurer | The insurer company behind the plan. |
| Agent | The advisor who owns the policy. |
| Application | The approved application this policy came from. |
| Policy Number | The policy's reference number. |
| Policy Category | Individual or Group. |
| Policy Status | Proposal, Active, Lapsed, Surrendered, Matured, or Cancelled. |
| Sum Assured | The cover amount paid on a claim or maturity. Required. |
| Base Premium | The core premium before any loading. |
| Health Loading | An extra premium added for health risk. |
| Annual Premium | The full yearly premium. |
| Per Installment Amount | What is due each time, based on the frequency. |
| Premium Frequency | Annual, Half-Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly, or Single. |
| Policy Term (Years) | How long the policy runs. |
| Age at Commencement | The client's age when cover started. |
| Total Premium Paid | The running total collected so far. |
| Commencement Date / Maturity Date | When cover started and when the term ends. |
| Next Premium Due Date | When the next installment is due. |
| Grace End Date | The last day to pay before a missed premium risks a lapse. |
| Free Look End Date | The last day to cancel without penalty. |
| Revival Due Date | The last day a lapsed policy can be revived. |
| Lapse Risk Score / Band / Reason | The calculated lapse risk, its band (High, Medium, Low), and why. |
| Premium Schedule | The list of installments, each with a due date, amount, and status. |
| Nominees | Who receives the benefit, with each nominee's share. |
| Health Dependencies | Health declarations linked to the policy. |
## Recalculating the premium
A **Calculate Premium** action works out the base, annual, and per-installment premium from
the plan's rate, the sum assured, and the client's age, so you don't have to key the figures
in by hand. It is available two ways:
* On the policy record's form (for a draft policy), the **Calculate Premium** button fills in
the premium fields; review them and save.
* In the advisor portal's policy detail, **Calculate premium** does the same for a draft policy
and saves it. For a policy that has already been issued it only *shows* the computed figure
(labelled **Verify premium**) without changing the record; repricing an in-force policy is
done through an amendment, not an edit.
## The premium schedule
The premium schedule is the timetable of installments for the policy. Each row is one
installment.
| Field | What it means |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Installment No | The installment's position in the sequence. |
| Due Date | When it is due. Required. |
| Amount | What is owed for this installment. |
| Status | Due, Paid, or Overdue. |
| Paid On | The date it was settled. |
| Payment | The premium payment that cleared it. |
When a premium payment is recorded, the matching schedule row is marked Paid and the
next due date advances. See [Premiums and commissions](./premiums-and-commissions).
## Nominees
Nominees are the people who receive the policy benefit. Every policy's nominee shares
must add up to exactly 100%.
| Field | What it means |
| --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Nominee Name | The nominee's name. Required. |
| Relationship | The nominee's relationship to the policyholder. Required. |
| Share % | The portion of the benefit they receive. Required. All shares must total 100%. |
| Date of Birth | Used to determine whether the nominee is a minor. |
| Is Minor | Marked when the nominee is under age. |
| Appointee Name / Appointee Relationship | Required when the nominee is a minor: the adult who receives the benefit on the minor's behalf. |
| Mobile | The nominee's contact number. |
A policy's nominee shares must total 100%, and any minor nominee must have an
appointee. The system enforces both, so a nominee set that does not add up or a minor
without an appointee will be rejected.
## Downloading policy documents
Once a policy is issued (that is, no longer just a Proposal), you can download its
documents as PDFs.
From **Policies** in the advisor portal, or from the client record, download a
single policy's statement. Customers can download the same statement from **My
Policies** in their portal.
From a client record, download a portfolio PDF that summarizes all of that client's
cover in one document. It becomes available once the client has at least one issued
policy. Customers can download their own portfolio from their portal.
### Printing a Policy Certificate
Open the policy record and use its print view to produce a formal **Policy Certificate**
on agency letterhead. You can read it on screen or save it as a PDF to send or file. The
agency name, address, logo, and contact details are filled in from your agency settings at
the moment you print, so keeping those settings current keeps every printed certificate
correct.
Applications, claims, illustrations, client profiles, leads, service requests, and advisor
cards all print the same way from their own records.
When a policy is activated, the client can also get a WhatsApp message confirming it, if
they have opted in. See [Customer self-service](./customer-self-service).
## Who does what
| Action | Responsible |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Issue and manage the policy, update status, set nominees | Advisor (with admin oversight) |
| Download the policy statement and portfolio | Advisor, admin, and the customer for their own |
| Request a nominee change from the portal | Customer (advisor reviews and applies) |
## Dependencies
* **Before a policy exists:** an application must be filed and approved. See
[Advisory tools](./advisory-tools).
* **What a policy needs:** a client, a product, a sum assured, and a nominee set that
totals 100%.
* **What a policy feeds:** the premium schedule drives payments, and payments raise
invoices and book commissions. See
[Premiums and commissions](./premiums-and-commissions).
## Best practices
* **Set nominees correctly at issue.** Getting shares to total 100% and adding an
appointee for any minor up front avoids a rejected save and a later service request.
* **Act on lapse-risk flags.** A policy banded High for lapse risk is telling you a
premium is slipping; reach out before the grace end date.
* **Watch the key dates.** The next premium due date, grace end date, and revival due
date are the difference between an in-force policy and a lapsed one.
* **Only issued policies produce documents.** A policy still in Proposal has no
statement yet; complete issuance before promising a client their PDF.