Insurance renewal review letter: an agency's annual review agenda

Most agencies promise their commercial clients an annual insurance review. Fewer manage to hold one with every client, every year. The reviews that do happen tend to go to the largest accounts, while the small contractor or the family-run shop gets a renewal notice and nothing else, even though their business may have changed just as much.

This guide is for account managers and producers at independent agencies. It covers what an annual review is for, how to scale it to the account, what to prepare and the questions to ask, and gives an insurance renewal review letter you can send to the clients you will not meet in person.

What the review is for

An annual insurance review has three jobs:

1. Catch what changed. New locations, new kinds of work, more employees, new vehicles, large contracts. Changes like these are what leave a client underinsured, or surprised by an audit bill.
2. Check that coverage still fits. Limits, deductibles and coverage lines chosen three years ago may not fit the business today.
3. Keep a record. A dated note of what you asked and what the client said is the record of the conversation.

The renewal itself is the natural moment for it, because you need current figures for the submission anyway. Doing the review 60 to 90 days before renewal means anything it uncovers can still go into the quote.

Scale the review to the account

Not every client needs a meeting. A workable approach for a small agency:

The written check-in is still a review. It asks the same questions in a form a busy owner can answer in a few minutes. What matters is that every client is asked, not only the ones big enough for a meeting.

Prepare before you ask

For each account, gather:

• Last year's exposures: revenue, payroll, employee count, locations, vehicles, square footage. Pull them from the prior application, the dec pages and the schedules.
• The current coverage summary: lines, limits, deductibles and key endorsements.
• Claims since the last renewal.
• Notes from last year: anything the client mentioned they were planning, such as a new location or a big contract.
• Audit results, if any line was audited. A large audit adjustment is a sign the estimates were off.

Sending the client last year's figures before the conversation saves time. They can check the numbers with their bookkeeper instead of guessing on the call.

The questions to ask

Keep the list short and about the business, not the policy.

Operations

• Have you added, moved or closed any locations?
• Are you offering new products or services, or doing new kinds of work?
• Have you stopped doing any work you used to do?

People and property

• Has your employee count or payroll changed much?
• Have you bought, sold or replaced vehicles or major equipment?
• Have you made improvements to buildings you own or lease?

Contracts and risk

• Do you use subcontractors for more, less or different work?
• Do you have any large contracts or projects coming up?
• Have any of your contracts asked for different insurance requirements?
• Has anything happened since last year that could lead to a claim?

Looking ahead

• What are you planning for the next year?
• Is there anything else we should know?

Do not collect sensitive personal data, such as Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers or injury details, as part of the review. If a carrier needs those later, collect them through your agency's secure process.

An insurance renewal review letter template

For accounts you will not meet, send a short letter or email. This works for small, stable accounts and as a lead-in to a call for larger ones.

Subject: [Agency]: your annual insurance review before your [line] renewal on [date]

Hi [first name],

Your [line] policy renews on [date], and before it does we want to make sure your coverage still fits your business.

Here is what we have on file from last year:
- Annual revenue: [figure]
- Payroll: [figure]
- Employees: [figure]
- Locations: [figure]
- Vehicles: [figure]

Has anything changed? For example: new or closed locations, new kinds of work, new vehicles or equipment, changes in subcontracted work, or large contracts coming up.

If nothing has changed, a reply of "No changes" is all we need. If something has, reply with the details or call me at [phone], and we can talk it through.

It is your responsibility to report changes to us. If we do not hear from you, coverage will be renewed as currently written.

Thanks,
[AM name]
[Agency] · [phone]

Utica National's E&O guidance suggests stating that "coverage will continue as currently written if no response is received." Have your E&O carrier review your exact wording, since what it should say can depend on your state and agency agreements. For a full reminder sequence, see the insurance renewal email templates guide.

After the review

• Write it down the same day. Who you spoke to, the date, what changed and what they said did not. Save it to the account.
• Update the submission. Put the new figures into the renewal application before it goes to market.
• Follow up on coverage gaps. If the review showed a gap, such as a new operation the current policy may not cover, put your recommendation in writing. If the client declines coverage you suggested, record that too.
• Chase the ones who did not answer. A letter with no reply is not a review. Remind them, then call.

Making sure every client is asked

The hard part of an annual review program is consistency: asking every commercial client, every year, and following up with the ones who do not answer. Renewal Check-in handles the written part for commercial renewals. Ninety days before each renewal it emails the client last year's confirmed figures and asks what changed, with a one-click "No changes, renew as is" option and no login. It reminds them at 75 and 60 days, flags changes for the account manager, and keeps a dated log you can export.