Underwriting
Built for the desks that decide
Line underwriters run the files. Staff underwriters set the rules. Both get a ranked queue, a memo they can sign, and prices from rates you actually filed — insurance, mortgage, and lending.
Who it's for
Built for every desk that says yes or no to risk
Whether you quote one account or steer a national book, this is for the people who say yes or no. Line underwriters work files in the branch. Staff underwriters at home office set the rules. Both desks. Every line. Words of the desk.
Commercial carriers & MGAs
Line and staff underwriters running commercial books.
A ranked queue, a memo you can sign, and a licensed person still on the yes — general liability, property, and specialty.
Personal lines carriers
Homeowners, auto, and term-life underwriting teams.
Prices from the rates you filed with the state. Prior-claims and driving-record checks (CLUE / MVR). No invented premium.
Mortgage lenders
Underwriters and processing teams.
Income, assets, and the property that backs the loan — across 30+ document types. Mortgage fairness rules (clear closing costs, honest credit pricing, fair reporting) are built in.
Commercial lenders
Credit and loan underwriting desks.
Consumer and business loan files. Credit scoring, a price that can move with the file, and equal-credit rules with a written reason if you say no.
Program administrators & aggregators
MGAs running books on behalf of carriers.
What you will write, across the book. Practice mode first (no policy issued). Go live when you say so.
Underwriting desks
Built for line and staff underwriters
Line underwriters in the branch run the files. Staff underwriters at home office set the policy the line desk follows. Rytera covers both — and the overlap on large or unusual accounts.
Line underwriter desk
Regional and branch underwriters implement the underwriting process.
- Coverage assist — broaden gaps or narrow terms instead of declining
- Producer & policyholder service — quotes, endorsements, certificates, renewals
- The file’s journey: sort the queue, price, memo, licensed sign-off
Staff underwriter desk
Home-office underwriters make and implement underwriting policy.
- Market research, coverage development, and rating-plan reviews (industry loss costs from ISO / AAIS / NCCI)
- UW guides, policy statements, and branch file audits
- Experience evaluation and technical training for line underwriters
Underwriting verticals
Every line you write, on one platform
From commercial lines to specialty, personal lines, mortgage, and lending — each desk has its own checks and prices from your filed rates. Abbreviations are spelled out on the cards. The full list is in In plain English.
Commercial lines
General liability, property, auto, and packages. Industry loss costs plus your expenses. A memo you can issue after you sign.
Workers' compensation
Class codes, experience mods, payroll audits, and state filing checks for workers-comp books.
Professional liability
Errors & omissions, directors & officers, and employment practices — applications, claims history, and how much is at risk.
Cyber
Security posture, breach history, and a cyber price without a week of waiting.
Excess & surplus / specialty
Risks the regular market will not write. Extra checks on what you will write and who is allowed to issue.
Inland & ocean marine
Cargo, hull, and inland marine — what moves, what it is worth, what sits in transit.
Personal lines
Homeowners, auto, and term life with prior-claims and driving-record checks, priced from your state-filed manuals.
Mortgage
Income, assets, and collateral across 30+ document types. Fairness rules for closing costs, credit pricing, and reporting are built in.
Lending
Consumer and business loans. Credit scoring, a price that can move, equal treatment, and a written reason if you say no.
The insurance book
12 sections on 1 workbench
Live means we price from rates you loaded. Catalog means we show the product honestly — no invented premium. Maternity is not outpatient. Third-party auto is not comprehensive. Cargo is not hull. Each section has its own checklist, state rules, and appointed-company gate before the file runs.
Life
Term priced from your filed manual today. Permanent and annuity products wait for their rate tables.
- Term life — indication from SERFF-filed rates
- Whole / universal / variable UL — catalog until loaded
- Paramed & mortality scoring from your life guide
Health
Individual through disability when your health rates are in the workbench.
- Individual & group medical — outpatient vs inpatient split
- Critical illness & disability — separate checklists
- ACA & state mandate rules applied per jurisdiction
Personal Lines
Motor, home, travel, marine, fire, cyber — visible coverage, honest pricing.
- Personal auto & homeowners — catalog until filed rates load
- Travel, marine hull, fire — each with its own SOV / ACORD pack
- Cyber — questionnaire vs live scan when connected
Commercial Lines
The commercial desk most MGAs live in — property, liability, and management lines.
- Property & business interruption with COPE scoring
- Directors & officers, E&O, workers’ comp, trade credit
- Key person & package policies from your appointed panel
Specialty Lines
Crop, livestock, pet, events, title, mortgage guarantee.
- Event cancellation & weather-index triggers
- Title & mortgage guarantee — catalog until contracted
- Pet & livestock — species-specific appetite gates
Admitted, Surplus & Reinsurance
Public vs private onboarding and B2B reinsurance structures.
- Admitted vs surplus-lines routing by state
- Reinsurance treaties & fronting arrangements
- Provider onboarding checklists — catalog until contracted
Engineering & Construction
Contractors’ all risk, erection, machinery breakdown, delay in start-up.
- CAR / EAR with project schedule & sub limits
- Boiler & machinery — inspection history required
- DSU tied to critical path milestones
Aviation
Hull, liability, and passenger exposure for fixed- and rotary-wing.
- Hull values vs bluebook / agreed value
- Passenger liability & war-risk routing
- Pilot hours, ratings, and loss history
Crime: Fidelity & Burglary
Employee dishonesty and third-party theft covers.
- Fidelity bond limits vs payroll & headcount
- Burglary / theft with alarm & guard credits
- ERISA fidelity where employee benefit plans apply
Catastrophe
Flood, earthquake, and weather-index covers with honest CAT data.
- Flood zones from FEMA / private flood models
- Earthquake deductibles & retrofit credits
- Parametric weather-index triggers
Excess & Niche Liability
Umbrella, pollution, K&R, political risk, and terrorism.
- Umbrella follow-form & underlying schedule
- Pollution gradual vs sudden & accidental
- K&R, political risk, TRIA terrorism routing
Warranty, Surety & Emerging
Surety, credit life, gadget, micro, UBI, and personal cyber.
- Surety bond capacity & indemnity review
- Usage-based auto — telematics when live
- Micro-insurance & gadget cover — catalog until rates in
Mortgage desk
Income, assets, and collateral across 30+ document types. TRID, Reg Z, and HMDA fairness rules built in.
Lending desk
Consumer and commercial loans with Reg B / ECOA equal-credit checks and a written adverse-action reason.
Ratemaking & Pricing
Rates built like an actuary builds them
Ratemaking means turning past claims into future prices. Rytera uses the three textbook methods — pure premium (expected claims), loss ratio (claims vs premium), and judgment — and checks every rate is enough to pay claims, not excessive, and not unfair. It also models money set aside for claims still open, investment income on that money, and expenses split fairly across lines.
Base-rate build-up
The three-step process: future claims (pure premium) + future expenses (expense loading) = base rate, then load for contingencies and profit.
Loss ratio method
Projected loss ratio (trend × loss development) vs permissible loss ratio to compute the indicated rate change.
Statutory review
Every rate is verified adequate, not excessive, and free of unfairly discriminatory classification before it is offered.
Industry starting rates
ISO, AAIS, NCCI, and Surety Association publish loss costs — a starting price for claims. You add your own expenses and profit. We do not skip that and invent a number.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
See it on your file
Thirty minutes with a real submission.
Bring one messy broker pack. We run it in practice mode — nothing binds until you say so. You still sign. We show you the memo, the math, and the paper trail.
Prefer email? hello@ryterainc.com