How to quote a new commercial insurance account from scratch

Quoting a new commercial account is a multi-step process that most agents handle differently — and inefficiently. The best agents have a repeatable system that takes a prospect from first call to submitted application in a single business day. Here is that system, step by step.

Step 1: The initial client conversation

The goal of the first call is not to quote — it is to qualify the account and understand the risk well enough to know which carriers to approach. Ask:

• What does the business do, specifically?
• How long have they been in business?
• What coverages are they looking for?
• What is their current carrier and why are they shopping?
• Have they had any claims in the past five years?
• When does their current policy expire?

This conversation tells you whether the account fits your markets, gives you a rough sense of the risk, and starts the relationship. It takes 10–15 minutes. Do not spend more time on the phone than that before you have their full information.

Step 2: Collect complete information

This is where most agents lose time. Collecting all the information needed for a complete submission traditionally means multiple follow-up calls and emails chasing down missing details.

The fastest approach is to send the client a structured intake form immediately after the first call — while the conversation is fresh and they're still engaged. A good commercial insurance intake form captures everything you need in a single submission: business details, operations, loss history, prior coverage, payroll breakdowns, vehicle schedules — all of it.

Do not try to collect this over the phone or through a back-and-forth email chain. It takes three times as long and you always end up missing something.

Step 3: Request loss runs immediately

The day you speak with the prospect, send them a loss run request authorization to sign. Loss runs from their current carrier can take 3–10 business days, so requesting them early prevents them from being the bottleneck when you're ready to submit.

In most states, insureds are entitled to their own loss runs by law — the authorization form simply instructs the current carrier to release them to you. Get this signed during or immediately after the first conversation.

Step 4: Determine coverage needs

Once you have the intake information, determine what lines of coverage to quote and at what limits. Consider:

• What does the client's contract with customers require?
• What does their lease require (if they have a commercial space)?
• What is the standard for their industry?
• Are there any gaps in their current coverage worth addressing?

This is also when you decide whether to quote a Business Owner's Policy (BOP) or individual lines, and whether a commercial umbrella is appropriate.

Step 5: Select your carriers

Match the risk to carriers whose appetite fits. Consider:

• Does this class of business fall within the carrier's appetite?
• Is the revenue / payroll / fleet size within their standard range?
• How is their loss history compared to what the carrier typically accepts?
• Is this a preferred, standard, or E&S risk?

Submit to two or three carriers at most for a standard risk. Shotgunning a submission to every carrier in your market simultaneously is unprofessional and can hurt your reputation with underwriters.

Step 6: Build the submission package

Prepare the full submission package: cover letter, ACORD forms, supplemental applications, loss runs (if received), and prior carrier declarations. See the full submission checklist for what each line requires.

Review everything before sending. Check that every field on the ACORD forms is completed, that the business description in your cover letter matches the information in the application, and that loss runs are signed.

Step 7: Submit and follow up

Send the submission with a clear request: what lines you're quoting, effective date, and any deadline you're working with. Give the underwriter a reason to prioritize your file — a specific effective date and a client ready to bind are the most effective.

Follow up within 48 hours if you haven't heard back. A brief, professional check-in is appropriate and expected. If the carrier needs additional information, provide it the same day.

The bottleneck in most agencies

For most agents, Steps 2 and 6 are where time gets lost — collecting information and building ACORD forms manually. An account that could go from first call to submission in one day often takes a week because of back-and-forth information gathering and manual data entry.

AgencyAssist compresses Steps 2 and 6 into a single automated step: the client fills out a plain-English intake form, and the completed ACORD forms and underwriting summary are generated automatically. What takes most agents 3–4 hours of manual work takes minutes.

Quote new accounts in hours, not days

Send clients a smart intake link. Get completed ACORD forms and an underwriting summary automatically — ready to submit the same day.