A commercial insurance renewal review has two jobs: decide whether the proposed insurance fits the business now, then check whether the issued policy matches the agreed placement. Comparing the old and new documents is part of that process; an unchanged policy is not proof that the business is adequately insured.
Before binding: refresh the business information
Begin before the renewal deadline so the insured and licensed adviser can resolve changes and obtain alternatives where needed. Timing, carrier requirements and applicable notice rules vary by jurisdiction and policy.
- Confirm named entities, locations, operations, products, services and territory; note acquisitions, new contracts or discontinued activities.
- Review payroll, sales, vehicles, property and equipment schedules, values and other exposure information relevant to each coverage part.
- Identify changes in contractual insurance requirements, prior claims and open recommendations. Record the source and date of each update.
- Review the proposed coverage, limits, valuation basis, deductibles, retentions, premium, fees and payment terms with the responsible adviser; do not treat last year’s terms as the target automatically.
Compare the agreed placement with the issued renewal
Keep the expiring policy, accepted quotation or binder, issued renewal, forms schedule and endorsements together. For every difference, record the prior value, proposed or issued value, source page, owner and resolution.
- Named insureds and scheduled interests: compare legal entities, DBAs, locations and required parties.
- Policy dates: identify gaps, overlaps, retroactive dates and reporting provisions that require review.
- Coverage parts, limits and sublimits: flag both reductions and increases for confirmation against the agreed placement.
- Deductibles, retentions and valuation: record percentage or minimum deductibles, replacement-cost or actual-cash-value terms, and applicable schedules.
- Forms and endorsements: compare identifiers and edition dates, additions, removals, exclusions and manuscript provisions against the actual wording.
- Additional insured, waiver and primary/noncontributory requirements: verify the applicable endorsements and their scope rather than relying on a certificate or form number alone.
Resolve differences before closing the review
Classify each finding as accepted, correction requested, supporting document missing or further coverage review required. Route substantive interpretation to the responsible licensed adviser. Keep the carrier response and final documents with the finding.
- Assign an owner and due date to every unresolved item.
- Ask the carrier or broker to confirm discrepancies in writing; save corrected endorsements and re-check the affected item.
- Communicate material changes to the insured and record the response and placement instructions. A comparison record alone does not guarantee coverage or prevent E&O claims.
- Escalate a missing or late notice under the rules applicable to that placement. Texas TDI’s material-change bulletin is one jurisdiction-specific example, not a nationwide deadline.
Keep a review record that another person can follow
Record the policy identifiers, review date, reviewer, documents and versions compared, findings, source pages, decisions, unresolved items and final follow-up. Use your agency’s approved retention and access procedures. The checklist is a working aid, not a substitute for the policy or professional judgement.
Where automated policy comparison helps
BindCheck compares the prior policy and renewal to surface changed fields, form identifiers and endorsements with source-page references. A reviewer still needs to check the source documents, interpret coverage and resolve missing or ambiguous information. Request access through Contact; this guide does not create an account or make a coverage determination.
Official sources reviewed
Consult the source documents for their scope and jurisdiction. This guide supports document review; the policy and applicable rules determine the placement.