# Policies

Policies are the durable protection records that exist after a quote is bound.

## Policy Role

A policy is where the public contract stops being a tentative quote and becomes
an active protection record with a clear lifecycle.

## Quote And Bind Foundation

The policy surface starts one step earlier than the durable read model itself:

- `POST /quotes` creates the priced starting point for a program request
- `GET /quotes/{quote_id}` lets a partner inspect that priced record
- `POST /policies` converts the quote into a durable policy

That grouping now anchors the API tab whenever the current page or section is
about quoting, binding, or policy creation.

## Lifecycle Position

```text
quote
  -> bind
  -> policy active
  -> trigger or expiry
  -> claim / payout / archive outcomes
```

## Public Expectations

- policies should be addressable as stable public objects
- their lifecycle status should be externally understandable
- policy reads should not require the console to be the source of truth
- policy history should align with event and claim timelines

## What Partners Need To See

At minimum, public policy material should explain:

- identifiers and status posture
- effective / expiry timing
- the relationship between a bound policy and later claims
- how policy state shows up through reads and events

## Policy Read Model

Once a policy exists, `GET /policies/{policy_id}` is the canonical public read
surface for that protection record.

This is the anchor the API tab now uses for policy-read highlighting and for
the endpoint summary that links policy objects back to their lifecycle context.

## Why This Page Exists Early

The API tab can later use this page as a context anchor when highlighting
policy-related endpoints and summaries parsed from the live OpenAPI contract.