Loss runs summarize a merchant’s historical insurance claims and coverage periods. They matter because they reveal frequency, severity, and open claim exposure that affect appetite, pricing, and deal sequencing.
Scrubbing for loss runs means checking, validating, and structuring the contents so the data is decision-ready. Heron automates these checks on arrival, turning mixed carrier formats into clean fields with clear flags and next steps.
Heron reads the document, verifies coverage windows, confirms claim counts and totals, and tests each figure against basic sanity rules. It also looks for missing months, unreadable pages, duplicates, and out of date reports.
The result is a reliable, standardized view that lets underwriters work faster. Brokers get specific, targeted requests instead of vague back-and-forth when something is missing.
Use Cases
- Catch missing or partial coverage periods: Heron compares the requested lookback window to the document dates and flags gaps. This prompts a precise missing info request that names the exact months needed.
- Validate claim counts and totals: Heron checks that rollups match line items and that open versus closed counts reconcile. Suspicious mismatches get a clear note so reviewers know what to confirm.
- Surface large loss and severity spikes: Heron highlights single claims above a configured threshold and clusters of high incurred values. Underwriters see the severity of the story without opening spreadsheets.
- Identify open claims with reserves: Heron extracts reserve amounts and last activity dates to show residual exposure. Items with recent activity route to targeted review.
- Detect carrier template anomalies: Heron spots unusual tables, missing headers, or nonstandard layouts that often hide key fields. Low confidence cases move to a quick review queue.
- Suppress duplicates and stale versions: Heron fingerprints files and compares date ranges and totals. Earlier or repeated versions are suppressed so queues stay clean.
Operational Impact
Scrubbing replaces manual spot checks with a consistent gate that runs on every file. Teams move faster because errors and gaps appear before underwriting begins.
Speed improves as repetitive checks become automated, and accuracy rises because values are validated against clear rules. Managers gain visibility into exceptions by carrier, period, and claim type, which makes coaching and template fixes straightforward.
What Heron Checks During Scrub
Heron applies a layered set of checks that convert a raw PDF into trusted signals. Each check adds clarity for the reviewer and supports downstream automation.
- Coverage window completeness: Heron verifies that the effective and expiration dates cover the requested lookback. Gaps generate a specific request that lists the missing months or policies.
- Claim rollup alignment: Heron compares totals paid and incurred to line-level sums and year buckets. Differences get flagged with a short description so an underwriter can confirm quickly.
- Open versus closed reconciliation: Heron confirms that the count of open and closed claims matches the table summaries. Status mismatches surface as focused exceptions.
- Large loss identification: Heron marks any claim above a configured dollar value and labels it as a large loss. Underwriters see severity without scanning every line.
- Reserve presence and aging: Heron extracts the reserve remaining and the last transaction dates. Items with recent activity or high reserves move to review.
- Carrier and policy identification: Heron pulls the carrier name, policy number, and insured name from headers and footers. Records link to the right merchant and period in the CRM.
- Document quality and integrity: Heron checks page count, readability, and text extraction quality. Unreadable pages add a quality flag and route to a quick capture step.
Turning Scrub Results Into Action
Scrub is valuable because it drives the next step without guesswork. Clean items move forward while exceptions get clear owners.
- Ready items go straight to underwriting: Files with complete periods and reconciled totals receive a ready tag. Underwriters start the analysis without opening the PDF first.
- Targeted missing info requests: When gaps exist, Heron drafts a message that lists the exact date range or policy that is missing. Brokers know what to send and where to upload.
- Priority routing for risk signals: Items with large losses or active reserves route to specialized review queues. This keeps high-impact work visible and timely.
- Structured notes and flags: A concise note summarizes period, carrier, total claims, large loss presence, and open claim count. Flags appear on the record so the status is clear to everyone.
- Suppression of duplicates: When a newer version arrives, the earlier one is marked as superseded. Users see one canonical record with a full audit trail.
Collaboration and Broker Experience
Scrubbed loss runs improve conversations with brokers and shorten cycle times. Two results appear quickly. Brokers receive clear, single-shot requests, and underwriters answer merchant questions with specific facts.
The CRM shows a short summary with period coverage, claim totals, and flags. Everyone works from the same snapshot, which reduces email loops and speeds decisions.
Data Integrity and Audit Trail
Scrubbing supports strong governance without adding heavy process steps. Each extracted field links back to its source page and cell when available.
Every update carries a timestamp, the acting user, and a short description of what changed. Version history is preserved so auditors can follow the evidence from field to PDF in a few clicks.
Performance and Analytics
Scrub outputs produce consistent metrics that help teams guide improvements. Leaders manage by numbers instead of anecdotes.
- Coverage completeness rate: Track the share of submissions that cover the requested period. Use the trend to refine broker instructions.
- Exception rate by carrier: See which templates create the most mismatches or low confidence cases. Focus training and sampling on those formats.
- Time to underwriting ready: Measure minutes from intake to ready tag. Tie improvements to queue speed and decision time.
- Severity and large loss frequency: Monitor the share of submissions with large losses. Use the view to tune appetite rules and early routing.
Implementation Best Practices
A light rollout with real files achieves fast value and builds trust. Start small, then expand coverage as accuracy stabilizes.
- Agree on the minimum checks: Pick the smallest set that defines readiness, like continuous coverage, open versus closed counts, and rollup alignment. Add more checks after week one.
- Seed with high-volume carriers: Train on the carriers that represent most traffic. Early wins make adoption smoother across underwriting teams.
- Tune thresholds and flags: Set a sensibly large loss threshold and reserve age cutoffs. Adjust after the first review cycle with real outcomes.
- Standardize the summary note: Use one sentence that names carrier, period, count, large loss presence, and open claims. Everyone learns to read the same shorthand.
- Create a weekly review loop: Look at exceptions, corrected items, and duplicate suppressions. Update phrases, ranges, and templates based on what you see.
Risk Signals Made Actionable
Scrubbing does more than catch errors. It highlights the risk patterns that matter for appetite and pricing.
- Frequency clusters: Claims grouped closely in time can indicate operational or behavioral issues. Heron highlights clusters so reviewers see patterns quickly.
- Single claim severity: A few large losses can outweigh many small claims. Heron calls out large losses and their dates so underwriters can probe context.
- Open claim exposure: Reserves and recent activity suggest unresolved risk. Heron routes these cases earlier so decisions reflect true exposure.
- Coverage gaps and recency: Missing months or old end dates reduce confidence. Heron turns gaps into simple asks, so the packet becomes current.
Exception Handling and Fallbacks
Not every document passes every check. Heron provides simple fallbacks that keep the flow stable while protecting quality.
- Low confidence extraction: Items with weak text quality move to a quick review queue. Reviewers confirm or correct three to five fields and move on.
- Unreadable pages: Heron tags unreadable scans and prompts a resend for the exact page. The rest of the file remains usable and visible.
- Conflicting totals: When rollups do not match line items, Heron adds a discrepancy note. Underwriters decide which source to trust without losing time.
- Mixed document packets: Combined PDFs are split and labeled. Each section is scrubbed on its own terms and routed correctly.
Team Roles and Ownership
Clear ownership makes scrub results stick. Operations teams monitor exceptions, underwriting handles risk flags, and broker managers oversee missing-info follow-up.
Heron records who owns each step and how long items sit before action. Managers spot bottlenecks quickly and rebalance work during spikes.
Compliance and Security
Loss runs contain claim histories that must be handled carefully. Heron processes files within SOC 2 Type II controls and uses encryption in transit and at rest.
Access logging shows who viewed what and when. Redaction on export is available for sensitive identifiers when files must be shared externally.
Operational Scenarios
These common scenarios show how scrub changes day-to-day execution and outcomes.
- Five-year history with a recent spike: Heron finds the spike in incurred amounts and flags two large losses in the last twelve months. The deal routes to a focused review of those claims with clear dates and amounts.
- Partial quarter missing from coverage: Heron detects a gap from April to June and sends a targeted request that names the exact missing months. The broker replies with the correct pages, and the file moves to ready.
- Many small closed claims and one open reserve: Heron summarizes the frequency and highlights the single open claim with a recent activity date. The reviewer knows to ask for an update on that one item.
- Duplicate resend of an older report: Heron suppresses the older file and keeps the newer version as canonical. The queue stays clean and the audit trail is complete.
Business Outcomes
Scrubbing creates a repeatable path from raw PDFs to decision-ready data. The payoff compounds over time as templates stabilize and exception rates fall.
Teams shorten the intake to decision, reduce rework, and spend more time on analysis. Brokers see faster responses and fewer requests to resend the same information.
Benefits of Using Heron for Scrubbing Loss Runs
- Speed: Automated checks replace slow manual review and move files to ready quickly.
- Accuracy: Sanity rules, reconciliations, and quality flags keep numbers trustworthy.
- Consistency: Every carrier format goes through the same gate and produces the same fields.
- Scale: High-volume days and batch submissions do not overwhelm staff.
- Clarity: Short summaries and visible flags keep everyone aligned on status.
FAQs About Scrub for Loss Runs
How is scrubbing different from parsing for loss runs?
Parsing extracts fields like coverage dates and totals into a structured schema. Scrubbing verifies that those fields are complete, consistent, and credible for underwriting. The combination produces clean data with clear confidence signals and next actions.
What happens if a loss run is missing months or policy periods?
Heron flags the exact gap and drafts a targeted request that lists the date range needed. The item remains visible in an exception state, and it moves forward automatically when the missing pages arrive and pass the checks.
Can Heron handle loss runs that mix multiple policy years in one PDF?
Yes. Heron splits the file into segments by period and policy identifiers. Each segment is scrubbed for coverage, totals, and status counts, then routed with a clear label so underwriters can compare year by year.
How does scrub deal with unreadable scans or image-only PDFs?
Heron runs text extraction and grades the quality. If pages are unreadable, the item gets a quality flag and a resend request that specifies which pages failed. The usable parts remain in the packet so work does not stall.
How does scrubbing improve compliance and audit readiness?
Every field links back to its source page, and each change is timestamped with user attribution. Duplicates are recorded and suppressed, and superseded versions remain accessible. Auditors can trace values from CRM fields to the original document quickly and confidently.
