Annual Insurance Renewal Review Checklist

1. 1

   Pull the current declarations page + endorsement list

   Your declarations page ("dec page") summarizes who is insured, what's covered, the limits, and the deductibles. The endorsements list shows everything modifying the standard policy form. Both should be one phone call or portal click away from your agent.

   If you can't quickly find your current dec page, that itself is a sign — agents who don't make documents accessible often aren't proactive at renewal either.

   💡 Tip: Save dec pages from the last 3 years. Year-over-year comparison reveals premium drift, endorsement drift (additions or removals), and limit changes you may not have noticed.
2. 2

   Compare current limits against current business reality

   The biggest renewal gap is limits frozen at when the policy was first bought. Walk through each coverage line:

   • General Liability: still $1M/$2M? If revenue or client size has doubled, consider $2M/$4M or an umbrella
   • Commercial Property: insured-value vs current replacement cost — building cost inflation 2020-2025 was ~30%
   • Workers Comp: Part B (Employers Liability) limit — typically $500K-$1M; review for adequacy if employees or wages grew
   • Commercial Auto: vehicle list current? new drivers added or removed? CSL limit still adequate?
   • Cyber / Pro Liab: applicable industries should match current business activity
3. 3

   Inventory mid-year business changes for the carrier

   Carriers expect material changes to be reported. Document everything that changed since last renewal:

   • New employees (W-2 + 1099 contractors)
   • New locations or operations
   • New service lines or product categories
   • New contracts with unusual insurance requirements
   • Any claims (even closed-without-payment)
   • Any incidents that didn't become claims but might surface later
   • Vehicles added/removed/changed primary use

   Failure to disclose can be grounds for claim denial. Disclose generously at renewal.

   💡 Tip: If you're unsure whether something is reportable, default to reporting. Underwriters generally appreciate over-disclosure and use it to write better-tailored policies.
4. 4

   Understand what's driving any premium change

   Premium up or down by more than 5%? Ask your agent for the breakdown. Common drivers:

   • Industry-wide hard market — carriers tightening; affects everyone
   • Your claim history — open or closed claims, even small ones
   • Your experience modifier (Workers Comp) — 3-year rolling claims data
   • Audit results — payroll or revenue higher than estimated
   • Carrier appetite change — your industry classification moved category
   • Limit changes — you or carrier added/removed coverage
   • Endorsement changes — new endorsements (good or bad) affect price
   💡 Tip: If premium is up >20% with no claims and no business changes, that's a flag to shop the renewal — your agent should help, or you should consider another agent.
5. 5

   Review COI list + active certificate holders

   If you have active Certificates of Insurance out to landlords, clients, or vendors, the renewed policy needs to satisfy those COI requirements (limits, Additional Insured language, Waiver of Subrogation, Primary & Noncontributory).

   Action items:

   • List every active certificate holder
   • Confirm each holder's contract still requires the same minimums
   • Confirm renewed policy still satisfies each
   • Have agent reissue COIs with new effective dates automatically
6. 6

   Get 1-2 comparison quotes (every 2-3 years minimum)

   Most agents are independent and can quote across multiple carriers. Ask yours to shop the renewal. If your agent is captive (one carrier only) or won't shop, consider getting an independent quote from another broker for comparison — this often saves 10-30% in hard markets.

   For small-business commercial, online platforms like Hiscox, NEXT, Insureon, and our own quote tool can provide fast comparison quotes.

   💡 Tip: Don't switch carriers every year — discontinuity hurts your loss-run history. But every 2-3 years, shop seriously. The current agent should welcome the comparison; if they push back, that's a flag.
7. 7

   Document the renewal decision and refresh internal records

   Save the new dec pages + endorsement list. Update internal records:

   • Calendar reminder 60 days before next renewal
   • Update vendor/HR/operations docs that reference policy details
   • Issue updated COIs to active certificate holders
   • File written renewal summary in the company records