Whoever holds authority. An insurer already decides who may settle which claims and accept which risks, through handling and underwriting authority limits. The people at the top of those limits, who will approve the agent's most consequential held actions, need training first. Counter-fraud, conduct and delegated authority leads join them. Handlers with lower limits follow.
Why use authority limits to decide the order?
Because they already describe who carries risk. A claims handler with authority to settle up to a few thousand and a technical claims manager who can settle much larger losses are making different decisions. When an agent drafts a settlement and holds it, the hold goes to someone with enough authority to release it. The higher the authority, the larger the consequence of a careless approval.
Mapping agent approval rights onto existing authority levels also keeps the change familiar. An insurer can adopt the practice of granting the right to approve agent actions at each depth only to people with both the authority and a current certificate.
Who is in the first wave?
- Technical claims managers and senior underwriters. They approve the largest held settlements and the referrals the agent cannot accept. Reviewer track, with a practicum on their own line of business.
- Counter-fraud lead. Agents surface patterns quickly; the fraud lead decides what the agent should hold and what signals it cannot see. Reviewer track.
- Conduct or customer outcomes lead. Agents draft letters to customers at volume; this person decides what fair looks like. Common grounding plus how to sample verdicts.
- Delegated authority manager. If coverholders or claims administrators run agents under your authority, this person needs to know what to ask them. Common grounding.
- Executive responsible for claims or underwriting. Common grounding on depth, limits and the record.
Wave two is the handlers and underwriting assistants who will approve smaller held actions. Wave three is everyone who takes a hand-off from an agent.
What may the agent do, and what stays with authority holders?
| Work | The agent | Depth | Stays with an authority holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| First notification of loss | Records the claim, requests documents | 3 | Coverage decisions |
| Settlements | Calculates and drafts | 2, payment held at 4 | Release above the handler's authority |
| Underwriting submissions | Summarises, checks appetite, drafts terms | 2 | Acceptance, loadings and declines |
| Customer letters | Drafts | 2 | Declines and anything a vulnerable customer will receive |
An example: a life underwriting referral
Take a life insurer where an agent reads application disclosures and medical reports, then drafts proposed terms. An applicant discloses a past heart condition; the attached specialist letter, which is external provenance, says it has resolved. The agent drafts a large premium loading based on the disclosure alone and holds it, because the insurer's own limits send every loading above a set level to a senior underwriter.
A trained senior underwriter reads both sources, sees the agent weighted the declared disclosure over the specialist letter, and revises the terms. An untrained one approves terms that look cautious and well reasoned. The applicant is overcharged or walks away. Under the EU AI Act, risk assessment and pricing for life and health insurance are listed as high-risk, which is one more reason this underwriter is in wave one. This is an explanation of the rules, not legal advice; confirm how they apply to you with counsel.
How does an insurer confirm wave one is ready?
A written test and a supervised period of real held decisions with no missed red line, signed off by someone outside the team. Then a certificate with an expiry, which the insurer can check at source rather than in a training log. Agent certificates lapse after 90 days, and a run that clears no depth drops an agent to depth 1 the same day, so authority holders should also rehearse working without the agent during a claims surge.
A training needs analysis template for AI agents helps list the authority holders by name. Then run a readiness assessment in an insurer and roll the training out across the insurer. Compare the answers for a bank and a fintech. The full approach is in training teams for AI agents.
Where the Academy fits
Pryme Intelligence Academy issues certificates through VerifyDoc.ai, so a delegated authority manager can check a coverholder's reviewers by number or QR code. A lapsed or revoked certificate shows as such on the same page, which suits binder audits.
Questions people ask
Should handlers with small authority limits wait?
Yes, briefly. They join in wave two, once the authority holders above them are certified and can answer their questions.
What about loss adjusters and third-party administrators?
If they approve agent work on your claims, ask for current certificates for their reviewers. Your oversight duty does not end at the contract.
Does the pricing team need training?
If agents draft rating changes or pricing decisions, yes, and early. Pricing errors reach every policy at once.