Predictika · Commercial insurance appetite

An AI sales agent's insurance quote request, checked against the appetite guide before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a quote request for small and mid-size business insurance: a line of cover, the class of business, the limit and the policy period. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the Hiscox USA appetite guides and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: Hiscox USA appetite guides for eight lines (allied healthcare, architects and engineers, miscellaneous professional liability, cyber, terrorism, media liability, technology, crime): class of business appetite and the limit and period ceilings the guides state. See everything this validator covers

This validator models the public Hiscox USA appetite guides (June 2026 edition), not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Class of business appetite — about 400 classes across eight lines, each listed in the guide as strong appetite, conservative appetite or out of appetite. Out of appetite blocks the request; conservative appetite goes to a person to confirm before it is sent; strong appetite passes.
  • Terrorism — limits up to 250 million dollars and policy periods up to 36 months for the classes in strong appetite.
  • Crime — limits up to 5 million dollars for the commercial classes and up to 2 million dollars for the financial institution classes (investment advisers and funds, mortgage brokers and finance companies, small banks and savings and loans, insurance companies).
  • The other six lines — allied healthcare, architects and engineers, miscellaneous professional liability, cyber, media liability and technology: the guide states appetite by class only, so appetite is what is checked.

Any quote request for a class and line in these guides is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: prices and premiums, retentions, state availability and referral triggers (the guides publish none of these), the Hiscox small business package and any product outside these eight guides, and terrorism special events written for periods as short as one day (the model takes a policy period in whole months). The guide is a preliminary broker communication; the model reflects the edition read in October 2026, and the rule that conservative appetite is confirmed by a person is this model's reading, not a Hiscox statement.

The AI sales agentBuilds the quote request from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

8 scenarios in 4 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
About 400 classes of business, each with its own appetite level, across eight linesOnly with care
A lookup table can hold the classes, but it is a long list per line that has to be edited by hand whenever the guide is reissued, and the class has to be matched to the right line.		The class is chosen from the guide's tables and its appetite is checked on every call.
Limit and period ceilings that depend on the line and the group of classesOnly with workarounds
The terrorism ceilings, and the two different crime ceilings for commercial risks and financial institutions, each tie a number to a group of classes, so a rule is needed per group and they interact with the appetite check.		The class, the limit and the period are in one request and every ceiling is checked together with the appetite.
Conservative appetite that goes to a personOnly with care
Routing a class to an approval step is possible, but the list of classes that trigger it has to be maintained separately from the out-of-appetite list.		Conservative classes come back as an approval finding in the same answer as everything else.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a person often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1The class of business Allied Healthcare - Adoption/foster care has conservative appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide; a person should confirm with underwriting before the quote goes out.
2The class of business Allied Healthcare - Cannabis exposed risks is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
3The class of business Architects and Engineers - Building materials testing and engineering has conservative appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide; a person should confirm with underwriting before the quote goes out.
4The class of business Architects and Engineers - Aerospace engineer is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
5The class of business Miscellaneous Professional Liability - 1031 exchange agents has conservative appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide; a person should confirm with underwriting before the quote goes out.
6The class of business Miscellaneous Professional Liability - Attorneys is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
7The class of business Cyber - Accounting, payroll services and tax preparation has conservative appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide; a person should confirm with underwriting before the quote goes out.
8The class of business Cyber - Construction/engineering is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
9The class of business Terrorism - Adult entertainment venues is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
10The class of business Media Liability - Excess is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
11The class of business Technology - Software: Banking has conservative appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide; a person should confirm with underwriting before the quote goes out.
12The class of business Technology - Software: Autonomous AI is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
13The class of business Crime - Armored transport is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
14The terrorism appetite guide gives limits up to 250 million dollars; the quote asks for 251 million.
15The terrorism appetite guide gives policy periods up to 36 months; the quote asks for 37 months.
16The terrorism appetite guide gives limits up to 250 million dollars; the quote asks for 300 million.
17The terrorism appetite guide gives policy periods up to 36 months; the quote asks for 48 months.
18The class of business Terrorism - Cannabis is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
19The crime appetite guide gives commercial risks limits up to 5 million dollars; the quote asks for 6 million.
20The crime appetite guide gives commercial risks limits up to 5 million dollars; the quote asks for 8 million.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Terrorism limit and policy period: Terrorism cover for a retail property owner, with a limit and a period above the guide

    
The agent's request. Please quote terrorism cover for Harbor Row Retail Partners, a retail property owner, with a limit of 300 million dollars for 48 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Terrorism limit above the guide. The terrorism appetite guide gives limits up to 250 million dollars; the quote asks for 300 million.
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  • Terrorism policy period above the guide. The terrorism appetite guide gives policy periods up to 36 months; the quote asks for 48 months.
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2. Terrorism limit and policy period: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote terrorism cover for Harbor Row Retail Partners, a retail property owner, with a limit of 250 million dollars for 36 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Request summary. Terrorism - Retail quoted with a limit of 250 million dollars for 36 months; the guide states a limit ceiling of 250 million dollars for this class.
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3. Crime limit for commercial risks: Crime cover for a staffing company with a limit above the guide

    
The agent's request. Please quote crime cover for Northgate Staffing Group, a staffing company, with a limit of 8 million dollars for 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Commercial crime limit above the guide. The crime appetite guide gives commercial risks limits up to 5 million dollars; the quote asks for 8 million.
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4. Crime limit for commercial risks: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote crime cover for Northgate Staffing Group, a staffing company, with a limit of 5 million dollars for 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Request summary. Crime - Staffing companies quoted with a limit of 5 million dollars for 12 months; the guide states a limit ceiling of 5 million dollars for this class.
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5. Crime limit for financial institutions: Crime cover for a small commercial bank with a limit above the guide

    
The agent's request. Please quote crime cover for Lakeshore Community Bank, a small commercial bank, with a limit of 3 million dollars for 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Financial institution crime limit above the guide. The crime appetite guide gives financial institutions limits up to 2 million dollars; the quote asks for 3 million.
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6. Crime limit for financial institutions: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote crime cover for Lakeshore Community Bank, a small commercial bank, with a limit of 2 million dollars for 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Request summary. Crime - Form 24: Small commercial banks quoted with a limit of 2 million dollars for 12 months; the guide states a limit ceiling of 2 million dollars for this class.
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7. Class of business appetite: Technology liability for an ERP software firm

    
The agent's request. Please quote technology liability cover for Brightmark Systems, an ERP software firm, with a limit of 2 million dollars for 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Conservative appetite to confirm. The class of business Technology - Software: Enterprise resourced planning (ERP) has conservative appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide; a person should confirm with underwriting before the quote goes out.
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  • Request summary. Technology - Software: Enterprise resourced planning (ERP) quoted with a limit of 2 million dollars for 12 months; the guide states no limit ceiling for this class.
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8. Class of business appetite: Technology liability for a managed IT services firm

    
The agent's request. Please quote technology liability cover for Keystone Managed Services, a managed IT services firm, with a limit of 2 million dollars for 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Class of business is out of appetite. The class of business Technology - Services: Managed IT services is listed as out of appetite in the Hiscox USA appetite guide.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a quote request for small and mid-size business insurance: a line of cover, the class of business, the limit and the policy period. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the Hiscox USA appetite guides and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote terrorism cover for Harbor Row Retail Partners, a retail property owner, with a limit of 300 million dollars for 48 months. It is ready to send.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. The terrorism appetite guide gives limits up to 250 million dollars; the quote asks for 300 million. The terrorism appetite guide gives policy periods up to 36 months; the quote asks for 48 months.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned two blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for limit and period ceilings that depend on the line and the group of classes, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the limit to 250 million dollars and the policy period to 36 months.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. Both earlier findings are cleared.
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  13. Two problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    14.