Insurer Guide to SmartScore Reports

This guide is for insurance underwriters and brokers who receive SmartScore reports from Part 135 operators. It explains how to read the report, verify its authenticity, and understand what the score does and does not represent.

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Reading a SmartScore Report

A SmartScore report contains the following sections:

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Executive Summary

The first page provides a quick assessment with stoplight indicators (green, yellow, red) for each of the four pillars. This gives you an at-a-glance view of the operator’s strengths and areas of concern.

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Composite Score

The headline number on a 250—1000 scale:

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Four Pillar Scores

Each pillar is scored on the same 250—1000 scale:

• Organizational Foundation — structural elements: years in operation, fleet composition, organizational stability, external certifications
• Operational Excellence — day-to-day quality: maintenance compliance, dispatch quality, flight following, MEL usage
• Safety Risk Management — process maturity: reporting culture health, training completion, duty/rest compliance, systematic safety processes
• Human Capital & Resilience — crew strength: qualifications, experience depth, training investment, currency

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Reason Codes

The top 5 positive and top 5 negative factors influencing the score, presented in plain language. These are modeled after FICO credit score factors and provide the most actionable insight for underwriting decisions. Positive codes highlight strengths (e.g., “Fleet maintenance compliance rate exceeds 98%”). Negative codes highlight concerns (e.g., “Three overdue maintenance items in trailing 90 days”).

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Confidence Assessment

The confidence level reflects data completeness:

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Trend Direction

The report indicates whether the composite score is improving, stable, or declining over the trailing 12 months. An operator with a moderate score on an improving trajectory may present a different risk profile than one with a higher score on a declining trajectory.

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Verifying Report Authenticity

Every SmartScore report can be verified through three independent methods:

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Score Freshness and Validity

Every report includes freshness metadata. Use the following guidelines: The report fields generated_at, valid_until, data_as_of, and freshness provide machine-readable freshness information.

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What the Score Does NOT Include

SmartScore deliberately excludes certain categories of data to preserve the operator’s just culture and voluntary safety reporting programs:

• Individual safety reports — hazard reports, near-misses, incidents
• Investigation details — findings, root causes, evidence
• Corrective actions — specific remediation steps
• Individual pilot names or scores — no personal data
• FOQA/FDM data — raw flight data recorder information
• ASAP submissions — Aviation Safety Action Program data
• Confidential reporter identities

This exclusion is intentional and permanent. Safety data resides in a physically separate database (Zone B) that the scoring engine cannot access. This design ensures operators continue to report safety concerns honestly without fearing premium consequences.

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Score Watermarking

Each score delivery is watermarked with your organization’s identity. The data license agreement includes an anti-pooling clause that prohibits sharing scores with other insurers or data aggregators. Scores must be deleted within 24 months of receipt, and you must certify destruction upon request.

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API Access (Future Phase)

Direct API access for insurers is planned for a future phase. The API will provide:

• OAuth 2.0 client credentials + mutual TLS authentication
• Consent verification on every request (operator must have an active consent grant)
• JWS-signed responses for tamper-proofing
• Pull types: “Inquiry” (one-time) and “Monitor” (periodic, requires separate operator consent)
• Rate limits: 100 requests/minute, 10 lookups/day per operator

Interested insurers and brokers can contact support@planeconnection.com to register for the API pilot program.

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