Multi-Channel Ingestion
Any Format.
Validated.
First Time.
40+ column naming conventions normalised automatically across Excel, PDF, CSV, API, and SFTP — without a data analyst.
The condition
Every cedant sends the same field with a different name. Every quarter.
Your largest cedant sends a PDF. Again. Your Takaful MGA sends an Excel file with columns that do not match last quarter's file, and Wakala and conventional risks mixed in the same rows with no separation flag. Your broker sends a consolidated spreadsheet in a format your policy administration system cannot read without a third-party conversion tool that breaks on every vendor update.
You have a data analyst whose role, in its entirety, is to clean and reformat bordereaux before submission. They spend 35 hours per week on this work. That is one full-time employee — at $70,000 per year in fully-loaded cost — doing work that should not require a person at all.
40+ column naming conventions for the same field — “gross premium”
CedeOS normalisation taxonomy covers 40+ column naming conventions common across African, Middle Eastern, and Asian cedants — including ACORD-derived, IRA-standard, and local-market formats. All normalised to one canonical field. Attribution: CedeOS internal analysis of African and Asian bordereaux formats, 2023–2024.
The cost
$70,000 per year. 35 hours per week. For format conversion.
Format conversion is not a data quality problem. It is an infrastructure problem. The analyst cost is the visible line item. The errors that pass through despite the analyst are the invisible one.
The $70K figure is calculated as 1 FTE at $70K fully-loaded annual cost. The 35 hrs/week figure is from MGA operations baseline; pilot validation in progress.
What good looks like
Format handling is infrastructure. It should be invisible.
The standard is not “faster manual processing.” The standard is no analyst touching format conversion at all. Every cedant sends what they have. The platform handles the rest.
The cedant sends in whatever format they use.
No reformatting instructions. No preparation by your team. No conversion tools.
Column headers are mapped automatically at ingestion.
Not by a spreadsheet lookup table your analyst maintains. By a normalisation engine that covers 40+ conventions.
Takaful structures are separated at ingestion, not manually.
Wakala and Mudaraba pools identified from policy data. Mixed bordereaux separated automatically.
The validation engine sees canonical data, not source formats.
Treaty validation runs on clean, structured fields. It never encounters a format problem.
Pilot outcome
A Gulf-based MGA (AED 95M contribution income) was receiving bordereaux from 14 cedants across six column naming formats for the same premium field, with Wakala and conventional risks unseparated in 9 of 14 files. CedeOS normalised all 14 formats and separated Takaful structures automatically on first ingestion. Analyst time on format conversion: from 38 hours per week to under 2 hours.
Advisory
Former Chief Operations Officer · Gulf-based composite MGA · Advisory engagement, 2024
Validated metric
$70K
Analyst cost recovered per operation per year
1 FTE at $70K fully-loaded annual cost; 35 hrs/week recaptured for relationship and cedant work. MGA operations baseline; pilot validation in progress.
Five ingestion channels
Every format your cedants use. One normalisation engine.
The ingestion layer is not a file converter. Each channel has a specific processing mechanism designed for how that format arrives in practice from African and Asian cedants.
Excel & CSV Upload
Column header recognition maps source field names to the canonical CedeOS schema. Confidence-scored per field. Multi-sheet workbooks handled. Batch upload for multiple bordereaux in a single session.
Handles xlsx, xls, csv, and tsv. No template required from the cedant.
REST API — System-to-System
JSON or CSV payload via REST API. Direct integration from your cedant's policy administration system. No manual export step. Continuous or scheduled ingestion. API key authentication with per-cedant scoping.
Documented API with JSON schema available in the Technical Brief.
PDF Layout Recognition Engine
Bordereaux received as PDF are processed by CedeOS's PDF layout recognition engine. Table structures, column boundaries, and multi-page layouts identified programmatically. Not OCR of scanned images — structured PDF table extraction.
Common in smaller cedants with legacy print-to-PDF workflows.
Email Attachment Processing
Bordereaux received as email attachments routed directly into the ingestion pipeline. Excel, CSV, or PDF. The cedant continues sending as they always have. No portal login required on their side.
Deduplicated by attachment hash. Re-sends handled without creating duplicate records.
SFTP & Webhook Integration
SFTP drop folder or outbound webhook from your policy administration system. Files deposited on a schedule or triggered on policy event. No manual touchpoint in the data flow once integration is live.
Integration typically live within two weeks of pilot kick-off.
Takaful — native, not configured
Takaful is not an edge case. It is the market.
In Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Pakistan, and Malaysia, Takaful and conventional business coexist in the same portfolios, submitted in the same bordereaux, requiring separate pool calculations and distinct regulatory treatment. Most platforms treat this as a custom configuration. CedeOS treats it as designed behaviour.
Wakala & Mudaraba Separated at Ingestion
CedeOS identifies Wakala and Mudaraba structures from policy data as the bordereaux is ingested. Separation into the correct contribution pools is automatic. The manual separation that currently takes three days per quarter takes three minutes.
Mixed Bordereaux, Distinct Submissions
Bordereaux with Takaful and conventional risks in the same rows — the common format from Gulf and Southeast Asian cedants — are separated, applicable cession rates applied to each pool, and distinct validated submissions produced for each.
Regulatory Treatment by Pool
SAMA, DIFC, and Bank Negara-regulated Takaful business each carry different cession and reporting requirements. CedeOS applies the applicable regulatory treatment per pool, not a single rate across mixed business.
No Configuration Required
Takaful support is not a configuration option or an add-on module. It is designed behaviour in the ingestion and normalisation layer. It works on the first bordereaux you submit without setup.
Normalisation mechanism
From source format to canonical schema. Three steps. No analyst.
The normalisation engine maps source column headers to the CedeOS canonical schema regardless of naming convention. Confidence-scored per field. Currency identified and normalised. Takaful structures identified and separated. The validation engine never sees a format problem.
Receive
Bordereaux arrives via any channel in any format. Excel, CSV, PDF, API payload, or SFTP drop. CedeOS receives it as-is. No reformatting required from the cedant. No preparation by your team.
Normalise
Field recognition maps source column headers to the CedeOS canonical schema. 40+ naming conventions covered. Confidence-scored per field. Currency identified and normalised. Takaful structures — Wakala and Mudaraba — identified and separated into correct pools automatically.
Validate
Clean, structured data enters the validation engine. The engine operates on canonical fields only — it never encounters a source format. Treaty validation, cession rate checks, and exclusion logic all run on correctly structured data.
Methodology
CedeOS normalisation taxonomy covers 40+ column naming conventions common across African, Middle Eastern, and Asian cedants — including ACORD-derived, IRA-standard, and local-market formats. Takaful separation logic identifies Wakala and Mudaraba structures at the ingestion layer. Attribution: CedeOS internal analysis of African and Asian bordereaux formats, 2023–2024.
The path
From first bordereaux to clean, validated data in four weeks.
Technical Brief
Download the Technical Brief. Ingestion architecture, normalisation taxonomy, PDF layout recognition methodology, Takaful separation logic, and data residency details for your CTO and operations lead.
Pilot Assessment
Submit one quarter of bordereaux from your three largest cedants. We return a format mapping report, normalisation confidence scores, and a Takaful separation audit. No commitment required.
Live Demo
A 20-minute session using your actual bordereaux files. We show you the normalisation output, the field mapping confidence scores, and the Takaful separation for your specific cedant formats.
First Clean Ingestion
Pilot go-live. All five ingestion channels available. First quarter processed with automatic normalisation active. Analyst format conversion time target: under 2 hours per quarter.
Stop reformatting data. Start using it.
Start with the Technical Brief. Request a Pilot Assessment when ready. Book a Live Demo to see your own bordereaux formats normalised.
Your next quarterly close should take 3 hours. Start your pilot assessment