Custom Question scopes
Scope determines whether the question is asked once per Submission or repeated per record (driver, vehicle, property, Insured). Pick scope based on what the answer is about. Changing scope after publishing is risky — old answers may not align with the new shape.
In short: Scope = “what is the answer about?” Per-Submission for the prospect overall. Per-record (Driver, Vehicle, Property, Insured) when the answer is about a specific record.
What scope is
Every Custom Question has a scope. Scope says: when this question is answered, what entity does the answer attach to?
Five scope options:
- Per-Submission — one answer per Submission, regardless of how many drivers/vehicles/etc. it has
- Per-Driver — one answer per driver on the Submission
- Per-Vehicle — one answer per vehicle
- Per-Property — one answer per property
- Per-Insured — one answer per Insured on the Submission
The scope shapes both the consumer experience and the data structure.
How scope shapes the consumer experience
A per-Submission question is asked once. A per-Vehicle question repeats — the consumer answers it once for each vehicle they’ve added.
Example: “How is this vehicle primarily used?”
- Per-Submission scope: bad fit. The consumer has multiple vehicles, each used differently — one answer can’t represent all of them.
- Per-Vehicle scope: right fit. The consumer answers “for commuting,” “for pleasure,” etc. once per vehicle.
Per-Submission for a vehicle-specific question would force a single answer that doesn’t match reality. Per-Vehicle for a Submission-wide question (e.g. “How did you hear about us?”) is also wrong — you’d ask the same broad question repeatedly.
How scope shapes data and exports
In exports and reports:
- Per-Submission answers appear once per Submission row.
- Per-record answers appear in the structured records block (one per driver, vehicle, etc.) — each record carries its own answer.
Integrations that map data to specific records (a Vehicle ID in a CRM, for example) need per-record answers to land correctly. Per-Submission answers on a Vehicle question won’t sync to a per-Vehicle field in the destination.
Picking the right scope
Ask: what is this answer about?
- About the prospect’s overall situation? → Per-Submission
- About a specific driver? → Per-Driver
- About a specific vehicle? → Per-Vehicle
- About a specific property? → Per-Property
- About a specific Insured (e.g. spouse, additional Insured)? → Per-Insured
When you’re not sure, default to per-Submission. It’s easier to migrate to per-record later than vice versa.
Changing scope after publishing
Changing a Custom Question’s scope after it has answers is risky. Past answers may not fit the new structure — a per-Submission answer can’t suddenly become per-Vehicle without ambiguity (“which vehicle does this answer apply to?”).
The cleanest path when you realize the scope is wrong:
- Build a new Custom Question with the right scope.
- Publish the new one and attach it to the relevant Forms.
- Archive the old Custom Question. Past answers stay on their Submissions.
Common questions
My Form has only one vehicle slot. Should I still pick per-Vehicle? If the answer is about the vehicle, yes. The consumer might add a second vehicle later (in Live Intake or via edit), and per-Vehicle scope handles that.
Can a per-Driver question be required? Yes — required works at the input level regardless of scope. Each driver record must answer it.
What if a Submission has zero drivers/vehicles? Does the question disappear? Yes. Per-record questions only render when at least one record exists. Per-Submission questions always render.
How do I see all the answers to a per-Vehicle question across my Submissions? Bulk export with the per-record block included. Each row in the export reflects one record’s answer.