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How to Request Loss Runs: A Step-by-Step Guide for Agencies
A renewal submission is due to the underwriter in two weeks. They want five years of currently valued loss runs. The account has had three carriers in that time, and one policy was replaced midterm. The fastest way through is to ask each carrier for every specific policy period you need, with the insured’s written authorization where it’s required and a valuation date recent enough for the market. Then track each period on its own until a report for it comes back and checks out. A reply email isn’t a loss run, and a missing year isn’t a clean year. This guide covers what to gather before you ask, a request letter and authorization letter you can copy, how to track and follow up, and what some states require of carriers. The last section shows the same process with Decla, which sends the requests, follows up on every missing period and reads the reports when they arrive.
By Isaiah Hall · Published · Updated
Copy the request letter
On this page
- What a loss run is, and who can get one
- Gather this before you ask
- Loss run request letter you can copy
- The process, step by step
- Worked example: three carriers, five years
- A follow-up that gets answered
- When a carrier is slow: state loss run laws
- Common problems and how to fix them
- Spend your time on the account, not the chase
- Related pages
- Sources
What a loss run is, and who can get one
A loss run is the carrier’s report of claims on a policy: each claim’s date, description and status, and what’s been paid and reserved, as of a valuation date. Underwriters use it to decide on and price the account, so most commercial submissions need one for every policy period they ask about, usually three to five years.
The claims history belongs to the insured, and the insured can always request it. An agency usually can too. The current carrier will typically send loss runs to the agent of record, while a prior carrier will usually want a signed authorization from the insured before releasing them to a new agency. Requirements vary by carrier, so check before you send.
Underwriters also care how recent the numbers are. Many want loss runs “currently valued,” with a valuation date within 30 to 90 days of the submission, depending on the market. A report valued last spring may get sent back.
Gather this before you ask
Most follow-ups trace back to something missing from the original request. Ask the underwriter what they need first, then list:
- The insured’s exact legal name, plus any prior names or entities on the older policies
- Each carrier, policy number, line and exact policy period, including policies replaced midterm or canceled early
- How many years the underwriter wants, and how recent the valuation date needs to be
- A signed authorization from the insured for any policy where you’re not the agent of record
- Where the report should go, and the format you want (PDF or Excel, if the carrier offers both)
Loss run request letter you can copy
Send this through the carrier’s loss run channel, one request per carrier, listing every policy period you need:
“Please send currently valued loss runs for [insured’s exact legal name] for the following policies: [line], policy [number], [start date] to [end date]; [line], policy [number], [start date] to [end date]. We need a valuation date no earlier than [date]. Please send the reports to [email] in [PDF or Excel]. If there were no claims in any period, please send a report or letter stating that. Thank you, [your name, agency, phone]”
If you’re not the agent of record on a policy, attach a signed authorization from the insured. Use the carrier’s form if it has one. Otherwise a short letter on the insured’s letterhead works:
“[Insured’s exact legal name] authorizes [carrier] to release loss runs and claim history for the policies listed below to [agency name, address, email]: [line], policy [number], [start date] to [end date]. This authorization does not change the agent of record on any policy. [Signature, name and title of an authorized officer, date]”
The process, step by step
Confirm what the market needs
Ask the underwriter how many years, which lines and how recent a valuation they’ll accept. Requesting five years when they need three wastes time. Requesting three when they need five means a second round.
List every policy period
Build the list from your AMS and the insured’s records: carrier, policy number, line and exact dates. Watch for policies replaced midterm, short-term policies and carriers the insured used before your agency. Each period gets its own line on your tracker.
Get authorization where it’s needed
For any policy where you’re not the agent of record, get a signed letter of authorization from the insured naming your agency and the policies. Some carriers have their own form; use it if they do.
Send it the way the carrier wants it
Use the carrier’s loss run channel: an agent portal, a dedicated loss run email address or a request form. A request sent to a general inbox, or to an underwriter who has moved on, can sit for weeks. Name each policy number and period, the valuation date you need and where to send the report.
Log each request
Record when and where you sent it, any reference number, and when you’ll follow up. Track one line per policy period, not one per carrier, so a partial response doesn’t look like a complete one.
Check each report when it arrives
Confirm the insured, policy number, line and period match what you asked for, the valuation date is recent enough, and every page is there. If there are no claims, make sure the report or a letter says so. A blank response isn’t proof of no losses.
Follow up on what’s still open
Follow up on the specific period or problem. “The 2021–2023 general liability term is still missing” gets answered faster than “checking on our request.” If a carrier is overdue, see the state rules below.
Hand off and close
Send the underwriter the reports that check out, and say what’s still outstanding. Close the request only when every period is either received and checked, or documented as unavailable with the reason.
Worked example: three carriers, five years
Sample Logistics LLC renews on March 1. The underwriter wants five years of loss runs for commercial auto and general liability, valued within 90 days. The current carrier has written both lines since March 2024. Before that, Carrier A wrote both, until the general liability moved to Carrier B in September 2023. Here’s the tracker two weeks before the submission is due:
| Policy period | Carrier and line | What came back | Status | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2024 – Mar 2026 | Current carrier, auto and GL | One report, valued last week, all pages | Checks out | Send to the underwriter |
| Mar 2021 – Mar 2024 | Carrier A, auto | Report valued eight months ago | Stale valuation | Ask Carrier A for a current valuation |
| Mar 2021 – Sep 2023 | Carrier A, GL | Nothing yet; requested nine days ago | Waiting | Follow up with the request reference and exact period |
| Sep 2023 – Mar 2024 | Carrier B, GL | Never requested; found while matching dates | Missing from the request | Get the insured’s authorization, then request from Carrier B |
Three of the four periods are still open, and one was never requested. That last one is easy to miss: the gap isn’t in any carrier’s response, it’s in the original list. Matching every period’s dates against the AMS before sending would have caught it on day one.
Tracking by period also keeps the stale auto report from hiding in plain sight. It arrived, so a carrier-level tracker would show Carrier A as “received,” even though the underwriter can’t use it.
A follow-up that gets answered
Name the exact period and problem, include the original request reference, and give a date. For the example above:
“Hi [name], following up on our loss run request for Sample Logistics LLC sent [date] (reference [number]). We’re still missing the general liability report for policy [number], March 2021 to September 2023. We also need the auto report for policy [number] revalued; the copy we have is valued [date], and the underwriter needs it within 90 days. Our submission is due [date], so we’d appreciate both by [date]. Please send them to [email]. Thank you, [your name]”
If a carrier has no claims for a period, ask for a report or letter that says so. Underwriters generally want something in writing for every year, not an absence.
When a carrier is slow: state loss run laws
Several states require insurers to send commercial loss runs within a set time after a written request. The details vary. Kentucky’s statute calls for five years of history within 20 days, with no fee. Tennessee’s calls for three years within 10 business days, also with no fee. Florida and New York have their own rules, and New York’s commercial lines provision doesn’t cover workers’ compensation.
These laws get amended, so check the current rule in the insured’s state before citing it. When a request is overdue, a polite follow-up that references the state requirement can help move it. Your state insurance department is the next step after that.
Common problems and how to fix them
| Problem | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The valuation date is too old | The underwriter may not accept it | Ask for a current valuation, and put the date you need in every original request |
| The report covers only part of the period | A short report looks complete at a glance | Compare the report’s dates to the period you asked for, line by line |
| The report is for a different insured | It’s another client’s claims history | Don’t forward it. Tell the carrier, and handle the file under your agency’s privacy procedures |
| No report comes back | Silence isn’t proof of no claims | Follow up, and ask for a no-loss report or letter if there are no claims |
| The prior carrier merged or left the market | Requests bounce or go nowhere | Find the successor company or runoff administrator; the state insurance department can usually tell you |
Spend your time on the account, not the chase
Requesting a loss run isn’t hard. Tracking a dozen policy periods across four carriers, and following up on each one until it comes back right, is what eats the week before a submission. Decla does that work, and your team reviews what comes back. Decla:
- Sends each request through the carrier’s channel, by email or agent portal
- Tracks every policy period and follows up on the ones still missing
- Reads each report when it arrives and checks it against what you asked for
- Summarizes the claims for your underwriter or client
- Start a free trial
Run your next loss run request through Decla.
Sources
- Kentucky KRS 304.20-100: loss run statement on request
Five years of history within 20 days.
- Tennessee Code § 56-5-323: commercial loss run history
Three years of history within 10 business days.
- Florida Legislature: loss run statements (2020)
Enacted as Chapter 2020-51.
- New York DFS opinion on workers’ compensation loss runs
Explains the commercial lines rule and the workers’ comp exclusion.