What is Send Workbench?¶
Send Workbench is a cloud-based underwriting platform built for the Lloyd's and specialty insurance market. It provides a configurable workflow environment that takes a risk from initial submission through appetite checking, quoting, document generation, and binding — all within a single, auditable system.
Who uses it?¶
| Role | What they do in Workbench |
|---|---|
| Underwriter | Reviews submissions, structures quotes, generates documents, binds risks |
| Underwriting Assistant | Supports the underwriter, manages tasks and document administration |
| Broker | (In some configurations) submits risks via Smart Submissions or external portals |
| Implementation Engineer | Configures the platform for each client — the primary audience for this documentation |
The key idea: configuration over code¶
Almost everything in Send Workbench is driven by JSON configuration files stored in a Git repository. You define products, workflow steps, form fields, document templates, and validation rules in JSON.
The client configuration repository is the single source of truth for a client's implementation. When you need to add a new product, change a form field, or update a document template, you edit a JSON file in that repository and deploy it.
The platform layers¶
At a high level, Workbench is made up of three layers:
The core platform — a versioned JAR dependency that provides all standard Workbench functionality: risk management, workflow engine, document generation, WebSocket notifications, and the rules engine. The core team releases updates approximately monthly.
The client microservice — a Spring Boot application specific to each client. It contains client-specific endpoints, custom business logic, and any Java code that cannot be expressed in configuration alone. This is what implementation engineers extend.
The client config repository — JSON files that configure every aspect of the client's Workbench instance: business classes, workflow, forms, documents, rules, and feature switches. Changes are deployed via the Send Partner Portal on request.
The Lloyd's context¶
Send Workbench is designed for the Lloyd's market. Key concepts you will encounter:
- Placing types — the type of insurance transaction: Open Market, Master (DUA), Declaration, FAC RI, Claim
- UMR — Unique Market Reference, the identifier for a risk in the Lloyd's market
- Bordereau — a spreadsheet-based submission of multiple risks under a delegated authority contract
- Coverholder / MGA — a delegated underwriting authority that binds risks on behalf of an insurer
Next steps¶
Read Key Concepts & Glossary to get familiar with the terminology used throughout this documentation, then The Underwriter's Journey to understand the end-user experience before diving into configuration.