How-to · Insurance underwriting · Federato · Oct 20, 2026
Set Federato Control Tower objectives and guardrails, and have the underwriter approve every drafted quote
Federato’s Control Tower turns portfolio goals into Objectives and submission-level Controls that clear in-appetite risks, flag referrals, and decline out-of-appetite submissions as they arrive. Its agents can then prepare first-draft quotes for underwriter approval. This page shows how to set those guardrails deliberately and keep every quote behind an underwriter.
Who this is for
Chief underwriting officers, underwriting managers, and underwriters at P&C carriers and MGAs using Federato for underwriting. The job here is portfolio guardrails and quote approval. For intake, clearance, and bind or decline on Kalepa — a different job — see Kalepa submission clearance underwriter approval. For checking a recommendation’s citations before declines and broker emails, see Sixfold rationale and citation check.
How to do it
This is a how-to, not a ranking of underwriting tools. Per the Federato AI review, Control Tower launched 13 October 2025 with Objectives, Controls, and Insights, and can draft objectives and controls from uploaded guidance; Federato says its agents prepare quotes with stated reasoning for underwriter approval. Federato now also pitches a full core system; this page covers the underwriting layer only. The ground rule: no control acts until the underwriting manager approves it, and no drafted quote reaches a broker until an underwriter approves it.
1. Write three portfolio objectives and have the manager approve every guardrail
What it is: Put three portfolio goals into Control Tower, then read every control it drafts against the current appetite guide and treaty before any of them can act.
- Write three objectives in plain words, such as a target rate change on one line or a cap on one territory.
- Upload only the current appetite guide and treaty summary.
- Read each drafted control against the guide; mark match, wrong, or outdated.
- Set automatic declines to flag-only for the first month.
- Name the underwriting manager as owner of every control.
An underwriting manager uploads the current appetite guide and treaty summary. Control Tower drafts fourteen controls: eleven match, two decline classes the team reopened in the spring, and one sets a property limit lower than the treaty allows. She fixes the three and sets declines to flag-only.
Read every Control Tower control against your appetite guide, fix any that are outdated, and set automatic declines to flag-only for a month.
2. Triage one queue and check the top of it
What it is: Federato ranks each submission by fit, goals, winnability, and urgency. Check the highest-ranked submissions against the written guide before the ranking decides who works what.
- Pick twenty of the highest-ranked submissions from last month.
- Check each against the written appetite guide.
- Review every submission the flag-only controls would have declined.
- Send ranking misses to whoever maintains the guidelines.
- Re-check after any guideline change.
Of twenty top-ranked submissions, sixteen fit. Three are in a coastal territory the team capped in July, and one is a habitational risk the guide excludes, ranked high because the broker described it as mixed use. All four go to the guideline owner.
Check the twenty highest-ranked submissions against your appetite guide before the queue order is trusted.
3. Underwriter approves every drafted quote
What it is: A first-draft quote with reasoning is easy to approve without reading. The underwriter checks the terms and the stated reasoning line by line before it goes to a broker.
- Read each draft quote’s deductible, limits, and forms.
- Check the cited guideline section is the current version.
- Check the loss run for anything that should trigger a referral.
- Record every change made before approving.
- Keep full reads until the change log is quiet for several weeks.
A senior underwriter reviews ten draft quotes for small contractors. One applies the wrong deductible for a roofing class, citing a guideline section rewritten in June; another misses a loss that should have triggered a referral. She fixes both and asks for the guideline to be reloaded.
Before approving any Federato draft quote, read the terms and the reasoning line by line and record every change.
Pricing context (October 2026)
This how-to isn’t a price sheet. Per the Federato AI review, Federato does not publish prices. When we checked on Oct 20, 2026, federato.ai/pricing sent us to the home page with no price list. Treat it as quote-only and ask for the underwriting layer and any core-system modules to be priced separately. Dated October 2026.
Checked Oct 20, 2026 on the vendor’s own site: Federato publishes no prices; federato.ai/pricing sent us to Federato’s home page with no price list. This page quotes no Federato dollar figure; ask Federato for a written quote and see our review for what is known.
Uncertainty: The only prices this site sells here are the optional $9 AI toolkit spreadsheet and $19 AI toolkit audit.
When this helps (honest take)
Useful when you have heavy submission volume, a written appetite guide and portfolio targets kept current, and an underwriting manager who will own every control.
Not useful when you are an agency, you only want recommendations on top of your current workbench, or you want automatic declines from day one.
Related options (educational)
| Need | Where to look | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio guardrails and drafted quotes | Federato AI | Primary path; quote only |
| Intake, clearance, and bind or decline | Kalepa submission clearance underwriter approval | A different job |
| Recommendation citations before declines | Sixfold rationale and citation check | A different job |
| Choosing between the two | Sixfold vs Federato | Side-by-side explainer |
FAQ
What is Control Tower?
Per our review, a set of portfolio controls launched 13 October 2025: Objectives, Controls that clear, refer, or decline submissions, and Insights that track performance.
Does Federato write quotes on its own?
It prepares first-draft quotes with stated reasoning for underwriter approval. An underwriter should read each draft before it goes to a broker.
How much does Federato cost?
Federato does not publish prices. Treat it as quote-only (checked Oct 20, 2026).
Optional next step
If you want a one-page toolkit map for the tools you already pay for, use the optional $9 AI toolkit spreadsheet. If you want a short review of seat waste and unused tools, use the optional $19 AI toolkit audit. Neither is required to follow this how-to.