> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.axle.insure/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Request a change to a policy on behalf of your user.

> [!WARNING]
>
> Policy updates are not enabled by default. Reach out to your Axle contact to enable them for your client.

Policy updates let you request carrier-side changes to a policy on behalf of your user. Once submitted, Axle processes the request and the policy changes once the update is complete.

## How it works

1. Your user connects their policy through an [Ignition session](https://docs.axle.insure/guides/initialize-ignition.md).
2. You [request a policy update](https://docs.axle.insure/guides/policy-updates/request.md) on that policy with an `operation`, the change to make.
3. Axle checks that the policy's insurance carrier and policy type support the operation, then sends the request to the insurance carrier.
4. Axle sends [policy update events](https://docs.axle.insure/guides/policy-updates/events.md) to your `webhookUri` as the update moves through its lifecycle.

## Operations

Which insurance carriers and policy types support an operation, which [input](https://docs.axle.insure/guides/policy-updates/request.md#input) fields it accepts, and whether it [processes instantly](#processesinstantly) depend on the operation.

| Operation | Description |
| - | - |
| [`update-third-party`](https://docs.axle.insure/guides/policy-updates/update-third-party) | Request that your organization become the primary lienholder on an auto policy, or the primary mortgagee on a home policy. |

For a policy whose insurance carrier or policy type an operation doesn't support, [Request Policy Update](https://docs.axle.insure/api-reference/policies/request-policy-update.md) returns `400` with `policy-update-not-supported`.

## `processesInstantly`

Every policy update returns a `processesInstantly` flag. It tells you whether the insurance carrier applies the change as soon as it accepts the request:

* **`processesInstantly: true`** - If the policy update succeeds, the change is reflected on the policy right away. Axle then retrieves the updated policy and sends `policy-update.policy-refresh-succeeded` or `policy-update.policy-refresh-failed` right after `policy-update.request-succeeded`.
* **`processesInstantly: false`** - The insurance carrier applies the change later, even if the request itself was successful, so you'll only receive events up through `policy-update.request-succeeded` or `policy-update.request-failed`. To find out when the policy has been updated, opt in to [Monitoring](https://docs.axle.insure/guides/monitoring.md) to receive the [`policy.modified`](https://docs.axle.insure/guides/policy-events#policy-modified) event.

The flag depends on the operation and the insurance carrier. Each operation's page lists it.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.