Loss Run
Also known as: loss run report, claims history, loss history report
A loss run (or loss run report) is the official record of your claims history, produced by your insurance carrier. For each claim over a defined period it lists the date and type of loss, amounts paid, and amounts still reserved as of the valuation date. It is the single most important document an underwriter uses to evaluate and price your risk.
Insurers typically request 3–5 years of loss runs. A clean multi-year loss run is a direct lever for lower premiums; a history of frequent or severe claims raises rates or narrows terms. Note that open reserves — money set aside for claims not yet closed — count against your record even before the claim resolves, so large open reserves can hurt pricing until they settle.
Loss runs are standard across most commercial lines — workers' comp, property, commercial auto, GL, and professional liability — and are usually required to bind or renew coverage. Request them from your current or prior carrier or agent; many states set response-time requirements.
Real-world scenario
Ironclad Roofing LLC, a 22-employee contractor in Tulsa, decided to shop its coverage 75 days before its June 1 renewal because its incumbent carrier proposed a 19% increase. To quote the account, three competing carriers each demanded five years of currently-valued loss runs on the general liability, commercial auto, and workers compensation lines. Ironclad's agent ordered them from the expiring carrier at no charge, and they arrived showing a mixed picture: the GL policy (a $1,000,000 per-occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate form carrying a $5,000 deductible and $41,000 expiring premium) had one open claim — a 2024 slip-and-fall with $18,000 paid, a $47,000 case reserve, and $9,500 of defense costs, for $74,500 incurred.
The workers comp loss run was the deal-breaker. Against $63,000 of annual manual premium, it listed a 2023 fall-from-height claim with $210,000 paid medical, a $95,000 indemnity reserve, and $22,000 in loss adjustment expense — roughly $327,000 incurred on a single event. That claim drove Ironclad's experience modifier to 1.34, adding about $21,000 of surcharge. Two underwriters declined outright; the third offered $58,000 after crediting Ironclad's new safety program.
Because a stale reserve can distort pricing, the agent asked the carrier to re-value the open $95,000 indemnity reserve, which had been cut to $40,000 after the worker returned to modified duty — a $55,000 reduction. The corrected loss run lowered Ironclad's three-year incurred total from $412,000 to roughly $357,000, and the winning carrier re-quoted the workers comp line at $52,500 (down from its initial $58,000 offer) — a $5,500 swing created purely by an accurate loss run rather than any change in coverage.
How it affects your premium
A loss run itself is free to order, but what it reveals is one of the single biggest levers on a commercial insurance quote. Underwriters read these reports before they ever look at your building or fleet, and the following details move your price the most:
- Total incurred vs. earned premium (loss ratio): Underwriters divide incurred losses by premium to compute your loss ratio; anything sustained above roughly 60% typically triggers surcharge or non-renewal.
- Open reserves: A large open case reserve is priced as if the carrier will pay it in full, so stale or over-set reserves inflate your quote until they are re-valued or closed.
- Claim frequency vs. severity: Ten small claims often scares underwriters more than one large one, because frequency signals a controllable operational problem that drives the experience modifier.
- Valuation date and number of years: Carriers usually require loss runs valued within 90 days across 3-5 years; missing or old "as of" dates force conservative assumptions and higher rates.
- Open vs. closed status: Every open file carries uncertainty (potential for loss development), so accounts with all claims closed price better than ones with lingering litigation.
- Line-of-business mix: A clean GL history won't offset an ugly workers compensation record, since each line is rated and often carried by a different underwriter.
- Cause-of-loss patterns: Repeated water, theft, or same-injury-type claims suggest an uncorrected hazard and can push an account into excess and surplus markets.
Common misconceptions
Myth: A loss run showing zero claims guarantees me the lowest price.
Reality: A clean loss run helps, but underwriters still price on class code, payroll, revenue, and underwriting appetite — a brand-new business with no history is sometimes surcharged precisely because there is no track record to credit.
Myth: Once a claim is closed, it stops affecting my premium.
Reality: Closed claims remain on your loss run and continue to count toward your experience modifier and multi-year loss ratio for the standard three-to-five-year experience period, regardless of whether the file is open or closed.
Myth: My old carrier can refuse to give me loss runs to keep me from shopping.
Reality: Loss runs are your data, and most states require the carrier to furnish them on request — usually free and within about 10 business days — so a stall tactic is generally not enforceable and should be escalated to your state department of insurance if ignored.
Frequently asked questions
How many years of loss runs do underwriters usually want?
Does a loss run include claims where nothing was paid?
What does 'valued as of' mean on my loss run?
How do I get loss runs if I want to switch carriers?
Why did my quote go up even though my loss run looks clean?
Sources cited
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