# Underwriting referrals: a system map of keys | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/guides/underwriting-referral-triage-records-across-systems
Last updated: 2026-10-19

Five joins rebuild an underwriting referral across systems: submission to referral flag, flag to referral question, question to approval, approval to the bound policy's conditions, and conditions to the evidence that cleared them. The submission or quote number is the hinge, carried forward as the job number and then the policy number. The broker email thread is the join most often missing, because it lives in a mailbox keyed to nothing but a subject line.

This system map is part of the [underwriting referral triage guide](/guides/workflow-underwriting-referral-triage), which covers what to inventory before a platform change. Here the question is which system holds each record, which identifier carries it to the next, and who owns it, so an insurance transformation advisor can describe a client's evidence without handling it.

## The five systems a referral passes through

- **Rating engine or rules.** Compares the submission with the authority grid and raises the referral. It knows the trigger, but rarely the outcome.
- **Underwriting desk system.** Holds the flag, the referral question, file notes and the sign-off. In Guidewire PolicyCenter, the flag is called an underwriting issue and sits on a job or policy; the person assigned can ask a more senior colleague to approve it, and that approval can be bounded by a value and a time period.
- **Mailboxes.** Broker questions, senior underwriter discussions and attachments. Often the only place the reasoning was written down.
- **Policy administration and document store.** The binder, the schedule and the subjectivity wording as bound.
- **Loss control or inspection system.** Reports and clearing notes that show whether conditions were met, often filed by location rather than policy.

## System, record, linking key and owner

| System | Record | Linking key it should carry | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating engine | Referral trigger and reason code | Submission number, grid version | Underwriting operations head |
| Desk system | Referral question and notes | Submission or job number, author | Line underwriter's manager |
| Mailbox | Broker and senior correspondence | Submission number in subject, if used | IT and records management |
| Desk system | Approval with conditions | Job number, approver ID, timestamp | Chief underwriting officer |
| Policy administration | Binder and subjectivity wording | Policy number linked to submission | Underwriting operations head |
| Loss control | Inspection report and clearing note | Policy number or location ID | Loss control manager |
| Spreadsheet or guidelines | Authority grid by year | Grid version and effective date | Chief underwriting officer |

The grid version row is easy to forget. Limits get revised, so a referral raised in one year might not have been raised in the next; the effective date of each grid lets a reader tell a mandatory escalation from a cautious one.

## One fully joined case (Illustrative)

Fictional data for a fictional 420-person regional commercial insurer. Not a real account, broker or policy.

A broker submits a commercial auto fleet of 60 vehicles for a regional food distributor. The three-year loss history exceeds the frequency trigger in the line underwriter's grid, so the account must be referred.

| Step | System | Record | Key that joins it to the next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rating engine | Frequency trigger fired, grid version 7 | Submission SUB-60418 |
| 2 | Desk system | Referral question: accept with a telematics requirement? | Job J-60418-1 from SUB-60418 |
| 3 | Mailbox | Broker sends driver training records; subject quotes SUB-60418 | Submission number in subject |
| 4 | Desk system | Senior approval: telematics on all units within 60 days; approval valid for 30 days | Job J-60418-1, approver ID |
| 5 | Policy administration | Policy bound with telematics subjectivity | Policy CA-20871 linked to SUB-60418 |
| 6 | Loss control | Telematics installation confirmed on all 60 units; condition cleared | Policy CA-20871 |

Every record carries a key the next one recognizes. Step 3 works only because the broker quoted the submission number in the subject line; without it, the training records would be an unmatched email. The [worked warehouse case](/guides/underwriting-referral-triage-exception-examples) shows a different referral, traced day by day.

## Where the joins break, and what to ask

**Email to submission.** If subjects carry no submission number, matching relies on broker name and dates. Ask whether underwriters were expected to quote the number, and whether shared referral inboxes exist. In Microsoft 365, when a departed employee's account is removed, mailbox data is kept for 30 days and then permanently removed, unless a hold or retention setting made the mailbox inactive first. Ask whether that was in place for underwriters who left. The [email archive versus backup page](/systems/email-archive-vs-backup) explains why a backup may not be searchable later.

**Approval to bound wording.** Conditions typed as free text in the approval often differ from the subjectivity wording on the binder. Ask whether anyone reconciles them.

**Clearing evidence to policy.** Inspection reports filed by location need a location-to-policy link. Ask whether loss control records the policy number.

**Platform replacements.** A new underwriting platform may have issued new job numbers. Ask whether a cross-reference was kept.

## Qualification and what stays unknown

The map describes records and owners; it does not decide rights. Policyholder, broker and carrier data may be limited by agreements, which is why [data rights](/proof/why-data-rights-matter) are reviewed first. The [who can say yes decision tree](/questions/who-can-license-underwriting-referral-triage-records) covers whom to introduce. The broader file-note record is on the [underwriting notes page](/data-types/underwriting-notes-ai-training), other insurance records are on the [insurance industry page](/industries/insurance), and a different underwriting setting, transaction insurance, has its own [call questions page](/guides/rwi-underwriting-call-questions).

The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application, and one partner is credited per company. Never ask for referral files or mailbox exports. Buyer interest, the rights outcome, de-identification and any offer stay unknown until SourceX reviews the opportunity.

## Next step

> **Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000.** Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

If the map shows an insurer whose referrals still join from submission to cleared condition, [register as a partner](/register), check the insurer against [who qualifies](/who-qualifies), and read the [program terms](/terms) before introducing its underwriting leadership.

## Sources

- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms
- https://docs.guidewire.com/cloud/pc/202411/cloudapibf/cloudAPI/topics/124-PCsupport/00-underwriting-issues/c_underwriting_issues_in_policycenter.html
- https://docs.guidewire.com/cloud/is/202603/cloudapibf/cloudAPI/PolicyCenter/job-support/underwriting-issues/c_managing_underwriting_issue_approval.html
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/inactive-mailboxes-in-office-365