Broker of record (BOR) letter

A broker of record letter is a document signed by a business that authorizes a new insurance broker to represent it with its carriers, replacing the previous broker, usually without changing the policies themselves.

For a commercial insurance producer, the BOR letter is the unit of winning. It moves the account, and the commissions, from the incumbent broker to the new one, and it can happen mid-term. Carriers typically honor it after a short notice period during which the incumbent can try to keep the account.

It matters for prospecting because it changes what a producer is asking for. The producer doesn't need the CFO to cancel anything or shop the whole program. She needs the CFO to sign one letter, and the reason a CFO signs it is almost always that the business changed and the incumbent didn't notice: a second state, an acquisition, crossing 100 employees, a bad renewal with no explanation.

An example

A distribution company crosses 100 employees and hires a new CFO. The incumbent broker sends the renewal letter the same as last year. A new producer, who emailed the CFO the week she started about what the threshold changes, runs a side-by-side, and the CFO signs a BOR letter for the P&C program. The policies stay where they are. The broker changes.

How it's used here

On our broker programs the BOR letter is the outcome the qualification line is built around, and the renewal date is the thing that times it. We capture the date, and the producer shows up 120 days before it with a reason.

Related terms

Buying signal · Trigger event · Appointment setting · Lead qualification

If you want this run for you, see our lead generation agency, or lead generation for insurance brokers.