Rate Groups

Rate groups help organize and associate rates together in the AsRateGroup table. Once a rate group is created a unique GUID is assigned and used to link the rate group to rates. The rate group stores a description for rates, the rate indexing method and rate criteria(s). These key pieces of information are required for the rate group and drive how the system will use the associated rates for configuration and policy events.

Key information required for rate groups:

  • Rate Description: A descriptive name that is used to identify the rates. This should be the name provided with the rate table. This is stored in the RateDescription column in AsRateGroup.

  • Integer Criteria: This is used as a means of identifying the name of the primary method of rate indexing. Rate indexing is a mechanism employed by insurance companies to track the amount of time or change affecting an insurance rate. Main indexes are generally age and policy duration (in years), which are both integer indexes. The actual index values, such as 1, 2, 3, etc., are actually stored in AsRate. The name of the index is stored in IntegerCriteria of the AsRateGroup table.

  • Rate Activation Date: This date is used in conjunction with a policy’s effective date to identify when a set of rates is active for a policy. The policy must be effective on or after the date listed here to use the set of rates. It is this date that is used as a way to distinguish multiple sets of rates tied to a single rate group name. Rates may change due to re-pricing after the launch of a plan or for various other reasons. While all other factors may remain, by creating an identical rate group with a different rate activation date, you can manage another set of rates for the same product.

Important   Rate Activation Date is stored as EffectiveDate in the AsRateGroup table.

  • Transaction From Date: A date used in conjunction with a transaction that requires the use of rates if a transaction occurs on or after this date, but prior to the ActiveToDate. This is stored in the ActiveFromDate column in AsRateGroup.

Important   Transaction From Date cannot change after it has been set, as the system would see this as a need for undo/redo or backdating.

  • Transaction To Date: A date used in conjunction with transaction that requires the use of rates if a transaction occurs before this date. This is stored in the ActiveToDate column in AsRateGroup.

Important   Transaction To Date cannot change after it has been set, as the system would see this as a need for undo/redo or backdating.

  • Criteria 1 through n: In these fields you will enter the criteria descriptions for the Excel spreadsheet with the rates. Criteria names must remain consistent for all rate groups in the system. For example, if UWClass is used, then there should not also be entries for Underwriting Class or UWclass. Keep the syntax and spelling the same for criteria with the same meaning. These criteria names will correlate to columns in your rate table. The system is based on XML and is case sensitive so your criteria casing must match. For example, the words Gender and gender are interpreted differently.

Important   In AsRateGroup, the StatusCode, TypeCode and XMLData columns are not used.

Rate Criteria Columns

OIPA supports to define 'n' number of rate criteria columns needed by a business. A user can pre-define the number of columns needed for a rate criteria under the AsCodeRateCriteriaColumns CodeName with a ShortDescription and checkin to the AsCodes table. It means the AsCodes table defines the maximum number of RateCriteria columns that can exist in the system across all Primary Companies. The system reads this pre-defined CodeValue from the AsCodes table and creates the specified number of rate criteria columns dynamically in the AsRate and AsRateGroup tables as follows:

  • If there is no pre-defined value specified, by default, 10 criteria columns are created.
  • If the predefined value is 15 and schema has 10, then scripts will be generated for the newly added 5 columns.
  • Scripts are generated only if the data in the dropped columns are null. Scripts are not generated if there is non-null data in any of the dropped columns. For example, if the predefined value is 15 and the schema has 20 columns with data in it, then the columns will not be dropped in database until the DBA/user has nulled the data in all of those columns.

An Administrator can create/alter any number of rate columns by running the SQL scripts on respective tables in the database. The CodeValue and the ShortDescription in AsCodeRateCriteriaColumns must be updated to the new number of rate criteria columns. When this code table is checked in, scripts are generated either when there is increase or decrease in the number of criteria columns. Palette generates and saves the scripts to the user's local file structure,

$USER\AppData\Roaming\Oracle\asgraphicruleside\PaletteEnvironments\RulesIDE\[palette version]\AsCodeRateCriteriaColumns.sql

Note   If the CodeValue and the ShortDescription in AsCodeRateCriteriaColumns has been decreased, Palette generates SQL delete scripts, if the columns that would be deleted do not contain non-null data. Deletions can be executed by the user when data in the potentially removed columns have been reconciled.
Important   A user must run these queries manually before proceeding with further modifications on Rates by copying the scripts from Palette and pasting in a DB utility.

Validation

An optional system property rateCriteriaConfiguration.enabled is added to the PAS.Properties. If this property value is set to Yes, the system executes a validation on database schema against the AsCode table; and also allows the user to alter the number of rate criteria columns. If the number of criteria columns in AsRate and AsRateGroup tables does not match the rate criteria number provided in AsCodeRateCriteriaColumns, the system generates an error message,

  • when a user attempts to log on to OIPA application.
  • at the start of batch processing such as cycle and DI.
  • during web service access and ExposedComputation, AsFile performs the validation after the credential verification is successful. The response can either be an error or the continuation of the action requested.
Important   When there is a change to the AsCodeRateCriteriaColumns, and a script is generated, it is necessary that the script is executed before any additional change made in the AsCodeRateCriteriaColumns is checked in.

If the system property does not exist or its value is set to No, then the system will not perform the validation and it does not allow the user to make any changes to the number of rate criteria columns in the system.

Import Rate Criteria

The import feature allows population of rate criteria fields by reading the input values from the source. In the import and export feature, the Legend sheet extends the criteria vertically, while the individual rate sheets extends the criteria horizontally.