Should We Obtained Signed Applications from Our New Insureds We Obtain Via Broker of Record? 

• December 29, 2025

Our Ask an Expert service answers this question.  

Q.  Should we obtain a new signed application from a client we obtain via AOR or BOR? Or should we contact the former agent to obtain that application?  

A.  The prior agents have no reason to be involved in any way with this process. You are currently simply picking up the old agent’s E&O exposure. How do you know THEY handled the account correctly? 

The best practice is for you to have the insured complete an application with you and discuss its elements and discuss exposures that are insured, could be insured better, and need insuring now. This is just new business. The fact that it may be “easy” because the insured came to you does not lessen your responsibility to your insured. 

When you think about it, the vast majority of your new business had an agent. Why do you assume this is different? Yes, you need an application and full new business processing. You don’t get applications simply because “carriers require them.” You get applications and handle new business correctly because you want the insured taken care of properly and your own E&O exposure to be as low as possible. 

The previous agency has no obligation to release signed applications to you. You would be asking them to do your work for you, and they have no responsibility to do so. I strongly believe you should do your own applications as part of your coverage check process. The previous agent likely made some mistakes, and without a thorough review, you will just be repeating them. As an insurance expert witness, I’ve seen E&O lawsuits against the agency that took over an account promising better service and just continued the previous insurance mistakes. Not just to make the insurance carriers happy, but for your own agency protection, get new signed applications so that you have it on record that the insured agrees to the current coverages. As part of best practices, review those coverages and make appropriate recommendations. 

I believe AOR/BOR letters should be temporary to give you time to rewrite the account with a signed application. Otherwise, you are just taking on the errors of the previous agent. The previous agent is not required to send you anything.  

Your new customer (not client, unless they pay you fees) should provide you with a document that states their request for you to become the Agent of Record. If you receive commissions, it should be an AOR request. If you are working on a fee basis as a broker, and do not take commissions from the carriers, then the BOR should also come directly from the insurance buyer. 

A.   Obtaining new apps is a great idea. But the previous agent probably will not get them for you, and even if they did, you do not want to get them from the old agent anyway. You want to gather that information yourself, fresh from the client.  

The purpose for getting new apps is to verify the client’s current situation and identify any coverage gaps the previous agent may have missed. So, it’s a great practice for protecting your clients’ best interests and preventing E&O claims against your agency. 

I recommend you always create a new application and have the client sign it, regardless of whether it is a personal or commercial lines account. Your E&O exposure begins once you start as the client’s agent, and you want documentation that policies are issued based on the limits and coverage requested by the client. 

It is important that an agent who takes business via an AOR/BOR be as thorough as it would be when writing new business. That involves speaking with the client about exposures, discussing coverage options, and completing applications which should be signed by the client. Without these steps, you could be inheriting the prior agent’s mistakes; that is bad for the client and the agency. I cannot imagine that the prior agent who just got fired by the client would be willing to share their applications with you, and there is certainly no requirement that they do so. Even if you did have the apps (perhaps the client kept a copy), it is not a good idea to use them. You have no way of knowing if the information on them is correct.  

A. Yes, you should create new applications for the insured to sign. Ask the insured for their copies of apps they have previously signed. You can ask the former agent for copies, but they have no obligation whatsoever to assist you or their now-past insured. 

Best practice is to thoroughly review risks and coverage with the client and document it whether it be new applications, letters, or proposals. And of course, make updates with the underwriters. 

I have reviewed litigation where the new producer files a BOR but does not conduct a thorough risk and coverage review and instead relies on what the prior producers did. Then while with the new agency, a loss occurs, and coverage is denied or limited based on the prior agency’s work. The insurer and new agency get sued for the denial. The underwriter is found at fault for not requiring an updated application from the new producer and the and the new producer gets hit with an E&O claim for not updating the account. It is a mess. Treat a BOR client as though it is a new client – which it is. 

A. The onboarding process should be consistent for all new business, and that should include a factfinder and signed application. I cannot imagine any justification for gathering less information just because a client was previously insured by another agent. That does not sound like much of an E&O defense to me. And good luck if you expect the previous agent to open his files to you.  

An agency should always obtain new signed applications when it takes over an account on an agent of record or broker of record letter. The insured may need coverages and limits that the prior agency did not address. Also, signed applications provide a defense against errors and omissions liability claims. State laws vary, but I doubt that the prior agency has any legal obligation to provide you with copies of their work (the applications,) and they are likely not inclined to do their former client any favors. The best practice is for your agency to treat the account as new business since that is what it is. 

A. My suggestion is to treat every BOR like any other new client. That includes all the exposure identification with discussions of coverages and new applications. Explain to the carrier that you do not want to depend on someone else’s work, without making any judgments on how good that previous work is. 

Why would you presume the policy terms and conditions are accurate and truthful? Are you relying upon the previous agent’s knowledge and that no issues have changed since the contract was issued? Answering yes to either or both questions is a testament that your agency does not underwrite, nor are you allowing the carrier to be aware of any operational aspects regardless of whether commercial or personal.  

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