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The Commercial Insurance Renewal Process: A 120-Day Timeline for Agencies
Most renewal problems start the same way: the work begins too late, so there's no time to collect changes, chase loss runs, or remarket when the renewal comes back high. A commercial renewal usually goes well when the agency starts about 120 days out, works backward from the expiration date, and gives every open item an owner and a due date. This guide lays out that timeline, the seven steps of a renewal, what to collect from the client, when to remarket, and a worked example of a January 1 renewal with conflicting information.
By Isaiah Hall · Published · Updated
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The renewal timeline
These are typical internal targets for a commercial account, not legal deadlines. Adjust them for the account's size and the carrier's requirements, and start earlier for large or complex accounts.
| Days before expiration | What happens | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 120–90 | Open the renewal, confirm the expiring terms, and decide the strategy: renew as is, or remarket | Owner, strategy and key dates are set |
| 90–60 | Collect changes from the client and request loss runs | Changes are confirmed and anything missing has an owner and a date |
| 60–30 | Prepare and send submissions to the carrier, and to other markets if remarketing | Submissions are sent and receipts saved |
| 30–15 | Review offers, build the proposal, and present it to the client | The client has the proposal and knows the decision deadline |
| 15–0 | Get the client's decision in writing and bind | The carrier confirms the renewal or new placement |
| After documents arrive | Check the renewed policy against what was bound, then file and close | Corrections are requested and the renewal is closed |
Don't wait for the next milestone when something changes the picture, like a nonrenewal notice or a large increase. Notice requirements for nonrenewal and premium increases vary by state and line of coverage, so check the rules that apply to the account.
The renewal process, step by step
Open the renewal
Create one renewal record per policy, with the expiration date checked against the current policy, the account manager, the reviewer and the client's decision maker. Related policies can be linked at the account level, but keep their dates and statuses separate.
Collect what's changed
Ask the client what changed this year, using the list below. Record where each answer came from and when; don't treat last year's application as this year's facts.
Request loss runs
Request currently valued loss runs for every policy period the market will want, usually three to five years. Track each period until it comes back.
Prepare and submit
Reconcile the application or renewal questionnaire with the changes and the loss runs. Mark unknowns as unknown rather than leaving blanks that read as "no." Save the version you sent and the carrier's receipt.
Review offers and present
Compare each offer to the expiring program, including forms, conditions and subjectivities, not just premium. Build a proposal and walk the client through the changes.
Get the decision and bind
Get the client's decision in writing, for a specific option. Bind according to the carrier's process and keep the confirmation. A sent request or a payment isn't a renewal until the carrier confirms it.
Check the renewed policy and close
When the policy arrives, check it against what was bound and request any corrections. Close the renewal only when follow-ups like corrections or audits have their own owners.
What to ask the client
Most renewal surprises come from changes nobody asked about. Ask about each of these, and note who answered and when:
- Operations: new services, products or types of work
- Locations: added, closed or moved, with addresses and dates
- Payroll and revenue: actual figures for the last year and projections for the coming term, labeled clearly
- Vehicles and drivers: additions, removals and new drivers
- Property: building values, equipment and contents
- Contracts: new contracts with insurance requirements
- Claims and incidents: anything that hasn't been reported yet
When two sources disagree, like two revenue figures in the file, ask the client which is right instead of picking the newer one. Track anything missing as an item with an owner and a due date, such as "Loss runs for 2023–2025 GL: account manager, due December 2."
When to remarket
Remarketing takes time, so decide early. Common reasons to take an account to other markets:
- The carrier nonrenews or restricts coverage
- The renewal premium rises past the threshold your agency sets
- Claims activity changes how the current carrier views the account
- The client's operations have grown beyond the carrier's appetite
- The client asks you to shop it
If you remarket, start submissions by about 60 days out so carriers have time to quote. Fold the results into the same proposal, compared against the renewal offer.
Worked example: a January 1 renewal with conflicting information
A commercial package policy expires January 1. The agency opens the renewal on October 5. The client's recent email mentions a second location, but the expiring policy lists one, and the file has two different revenue figures with no clear period.
| Open item | Owner and due date | How it was resolved |
|---|---|---|
| Second location: address and start date | Account manager, November 20 | Client confirmed the address and start date on November 24 |
| Revenue: $1.8M or $2.1M? | Client's finance contact, November 20 | $1.8M was last year's actual; $2.1M is the projection for the coming term |
| Loss runs for the periods the carrier asked for | Account manager, December 2 | Received December 1 and checked against the carrier's requested periods |
With all three resolved, the reviewer approved the submission on December 2, and it went out December 3. The offer came back December 8 with one condition that needed clarifying. After clarification, the client chose an option in writing on December 16, the agency bound it, and the renewed policy was checked against what was bound when it arrived.
Had the agency started in November instead of October, the second location and the revenue question would likely have surfaced after submission, with no time left to fix them.
Decide your agency's rules before renewal season
A timeline only works if the decisions behind it are written down, not left to whoever picks up the file. Settle these before the busy season:
- How far before expiration renewal work starts, by account size
- When the agency remarkets, including the premium increase that triggers it
- Whether paid data pulls or reports are allowed, and who approves the cost
- When loss runs must be refreshed
- Which problems stop the work, and who resolves each one
Spend renewal season on clients, not paperwork
Most renewal time goes into assembling the file: pulling the expiring policy, chasing loss runs and building the comparison. Decla does that prep. It pulls the expiring policy from your AMS, assembles the renewal file, requests loss runs, builds the comparison and drafts the client email. Your team makes the recommendation and handles the bind.
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Prep your next renewal with Decla.