Property Insurance

Automations

Automations in 21RISK help you streamline your insurance workflow by automatically performing actions when certain conditions are met. Instead of manually updating items one by one, you can set up rules that do the work for you.

Why is it Smart?

Manual processes are time-consuming and prone to human error. When managing insurance items, you often need to:

  • Update item statuses as work progresses
  • Ensure items move through proper workflow stages
  • Keep team members informed about changes
  • Maintain data quality and consistency
  • Handle routine maintenance tasks like cleaning up overdue items

Doing these tasks manually means:

  • Hours spent clicking through items one by one
  • Inconsistent processes when different team members handle updates differently
  • Delayed reactions when items sit in the wrong status waiting for manual review
  • Missed notifications when team members forget to inform colleagues
  • Lost productivity from repetitive, mechanical work

Automations eliminate these problems by handling repetitive tasks instantly and consistently, freeing your team to focus on actual risk management and decision-making.

Benefits

Save Time

Automations work 24/7 without breaks. What might take hours to do manually happens in seconds:

  • Automatically update hundreds of items based on conditions
  • Run scheduled maintenance tasks while you sleep
  • Instantly react to changes as they happen

Real example : Instead of spending 30 minutes every Monday reviewing and updating overdue items, a scheduled automation does it in 2 seconds.

Ensure Consistency

Every automation follows its rules precisely, every time:

  • No variation based on who's working
  • No missed items due to oversight
  • Predictable workflow that everyone can rely on

Real example : When an item has all required planning details (responsible person, cost estimate, due date), it automatically moves to "In Progress" - no matter who added the last detail or when.

Improve Team Communication

Automated notifications keep everyone in the loop:

  • Responsible persons get instant alerts when assigned
  • Managers receive notifications for high-priority items
  • Custom messages with relevant context reach the right people

Real example : When a high-cost item (>€10,000) is created, managers automatically receive a notification with all the details, ensuring immediate awareness.

Enforce Business Rules

Make sure your processes are always followed:

  • Required fields are properly maintained
  • Items move through correct workflow stages
  • Quality standards are consistently met

Real example : Items automatically return to "To Do" status if required planning fields are removed, preventing incomplete items from staying in progress.

Reduce Manual Errors

Automation eliminates mistakes that happen when:

  • Someone forgets to update a status
  • A notification email doesn't get sent
  • An overdue item isn't noticed

Real example : Every item that becomes overdue is automatically moved to the right status on a schedule, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Scale Effortlessly

Whether you have 10 items or 10,000 items:

  • Automations handle any volume
  • No additional manual effort required
  • Same performance and reliability

Real example : A scheduled automation processes all matching items in seconds, regardless of whether that's 5 items or 500 items.

What are Automations?

An automation is a rule that watches for specific changes or runs on a schedule, then automatically performs actions when conditions match. Think of it as: "When X happens and Y is true, then do Z ."

For example:

  • When an item's responsible person, cost estimate, and due date are all set, automatically move it to "In Progress"
  • Every Monday at 9:00 AM, move all overdue items to "To Do"
  • When compliance status changes to "Non-compliant", send a notification to the responsible person

Key Components

Every automation consists of three main parts:

1. Trigger

The trigger determines when the automation should run. There are two types:

  • On any change (item-updated) : The automation runs whenever an item is created or updated
  • On a schedule : The automation runs at specific times (daily, weekly, or monthly)

2. Filters (Conditions)

Filters determine which items the automation should affect. You can create complex conditions using:

  • Field filters : Name, cost estimate, due date, compliance status, responsible person
  • Comparison operators : Greater than, less than, equals, contains, exists, etc.
  • Filter groups : Combine multiple conditions with AND/OR logic

For example, a filter might select only items that:

  • Have compliance status = "Non-compliant"
  • AND cost estimate >= 0
  • AND due date is in the future
  • AND have a responsible person assigned

3. Actions

Actions determine what should happen when the trigger fires and filters match. Currently supported actions:

  • Set Status : Automatically change the item's status to a specific value
  • Send Notification : Send an email notification with a message to specific users

How Automations Work

For Change-Based Triggers

  1. User creates or updates an item in the insurance board
  2. 21RISK checks all enabled automations with "item-updated" trigger
  3. For each automation, evaluates if the item matches the filters
  4. If filters match, performs the configured actions
  5. Records the action in the automation log

For Scheduled Triggers

  1. A background job runs every minute checking for due automations
  2. When a schedule is due (e.g., Monday 9:00 AM), the automation runs
  3. Queries all items in the insurance board matching the filters
  4. Performs the configured actions on each matching item
  5. Calculates the next run time based on the schedule
  6. Records all actions in the automation log

Automation Processing Order

When multiple automations could affect the same item:

  1. Automations are processed in the order they were created (oldest first)
  2. Each automation runs independently
  3. An automation triggered by a change won't trigger itself again (prevents infinite loops)
  4. All actions from one automation complete before the next automation runs

Common Use Cases

Workflow Automation

Automatically move items through your workflow stages:

  • To Do → In Progress : When all required fields are filled
  • In Progress → To Do : When required fields become empty
  • Overdue Cleanup : Move overdue items back to To Do every Monday

Notifications

Keep your team informed:

  • Notify responsible person when assigned to a new item
  • Send reminders for items approaching due date
  • Alert managers when high-cost items are created

Quality Control

Enforce business rules automatically:

  • Flag items missing cost estimates after 7 days
  • Move items without due dates to a review status
  • Ensure all non-compliant items have responsible persons

Suggested Automations

21RISK provides pre-configured automation templates to get you started quickly:

  • Auto-move to In Progress : Moves items to In Progress when responsible, cost estimate, and due date are all set
  • Auto-move to To Do : Moves items back to To Do when key fields are missing
  • Auto-move overdue to To Do : Scheduled automation that processes overdue items

These suggestions appear on the automations page and can be activated with one click, then customized to match your workflow.

Best Practices

Start Simple

Begin with one or two simple automations and gradually add more as you understand the impact. Test with filters that match a small number of items first.

Use Descriptive Names

Name your automations clearly to describe what they do:

  • ✅ "Move to In Progress when planned"
  • ✅ "Weekly overdue item cleanup"
  • ❌ "Automation 1"
  • ❌ "Test"

Monitor Automation Logs

Regularly check automation logs to ensure they're working as expected. The log shows:

  • When the automation ran
  • How many items were affected
  • What changes were made
  • Any errors that occurred

Disable While Testing

When creating or modifying an automation, keep it disabled until you've verified the filters match the correct items. Enable it only when you're confident it will work as intended.

Be Careful with Schedules

Scheduled automations can affect many items at once. Consider:

  • Running less frequently (e.g., weekly instead of daily) for maintenance tasks
  • Using specific times when system load is lower
  • Testing with restrictive filters first

Limitations and Considerations

  • Automations only work within a single board (e.g., the insurance board)
  • Maximum 20 items processed per scheduled automation run (batches for larger sets)
  • Change-based automations don't trigger on bulk operations (to prevent performance issues)
  • Automation actions can't undo themselves (one-way operations)
  • Deleted automations can't be recovered (but you can recreate them)

Next Steps

Ready to create your first automation? Check out our step-by-step guide to learn how to:

  • Create a new automation
  • Configure triggers and schedules
  • Set up filters and conditions
  • Add actions
  • Test and enable your automation
  • Monitor automation logs
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