Blog · Forecast and pipeline · Insurance brokers
How a commercial insurance broker joins the claims file to the placement ledger and the renewal outcomes to see how claims experience affects retention: loss ratio per client per line, the clients whose ratio moved past the carrier's appetite, the clients with a large open claim inside the renewal window, the historical non-renewal rate by claims band from the broker's own book, and the remarketing list ranked by both the risk and the premium.
A broker's placement team learns a carrier's view of a client's claims when the renewal terms arrive, six weeks before expiry, with a rate increase or a decline. The claims file joined to the placement ledger shows the same view four months earlier. This guide sets out loss ratio per client per line, the bands, the open-claim window, and the remarketing list.
Per client, per line, per policy year:
Loss ratio = incurred claims ÷ earned premium Band, from stated ranges Band movement = this year's band against last year's Large open claim in window = an open claim above a stated amount with the renewal inside a stated number of days
Per band, from the broker's history:
Non-renewal rate, and median rate change at renewal
Client and policy identifiers only.
every claim joins to a policy in the ledger, or is listed unmatched
Unmatched claims are usually a policy reference mismatch, and they are excluded from the ratio with a count.
| Loss ratio band | Policies in history | Non-renewal rate | Median rate change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 40% | 1,840 | 4% | +2% |
| 40 to 70% | 920 | 7% | +6% |
| 70 to 100% | 310 | 19% | +18% |
| Over 100% | 140 | 41% | +35% or declined |
Renewals in the next 120 days.
| Client | Line | Premium | Loss ratio | Last year | Band movement | Open claim in window | Historical non-renewal | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2207 | Property | $410,000 | 118% | 32% | Up three bands | $600,000 open | 41% | Remarket now |
| 4471 | Casualty | $190,000 | 64% | 58% | Same | 7% | Standard renewal | |
| 9034 | Property | $96,000 | 38% | 45% | Down | $180,000 open, 40 days to renewal | 4% by ratio; open claim | Watch: pre-empt the carrier |
| 1187 | Motor fleet | $240,000 | 91% | 74% | Up one band | 19% | Remarket |
Client 2207 has gone from a clean account to a claims problem in one year with a large claim still open, and the carrier will decline or load it. The remarketing exercise starts now, four months out, not when the terms arrive.
Claims and placements never joined. The claims team knows the losses; the placement team learns them from the carrier.
Ratio without the band history. A 91 percent ratio is a number; a 19 percent non-renewal rate is a plan.
Open claims ignored until settled. The ratio looks fine and the carrier declines.
Remarketing after terms arrive. Six weeks is not enough to go to market on a claims-hit account.
Mapped once, the claims file, the placement ledger and the renewal outcomes produce the ratios, the bands, the open-claim list and the remarketing list every month. Covirage builds this from the exports as they are. The insurance brokers page describes the setup, and the lost at renewal guide covers what happens to the accounts this list does not reach in time.
The carriers' bordereaux or the broker's own claims system, with client, policy, line, date of loss, incurred and paid amounts, and status. Joined to the placement ledger on the policy reference. Where a carrier's file lacks the policy reference, the join is on client and line with the confidence shown.
A stated set of loss ratio ranges, say under 40, 40 to 70, 70 to 100 and over 100 percent, per line. The broker's own renewal history gives the non-renewal and rate-increase outcomes per band, which is what turns a ratio into a risk.
A large claim reported two months before renewal, still open, is the case a carrier declines at renewal or loads heavily. It is on the list separately from the loss ratio, because the ratio may still look fine until the claim settles.