Insurance loss runs are carrier-issued reports showing a business’s prior claims, payments, and open reserves. Your current or former insurance company provides them. The fastest request routes are your agent, the carrier’s service team, its online portal, or its loss-run email address. Include policy details, requested years, and your authorization.
If you are shopping for commercial insurance, an agent or underwriter may ask for loss runs before providing a firm quote. These reports help insurance companies understand your claims experience and evaluate your business.
Getting loss runs is usually straightforward. The main challenge is knowing whom to contact, what information to provide, and how far back the reports should go.
This guide explains how to request loss runs from an insurance company, including previous carriers, and what to do if the reports are delayed.
Key Takeaways
- Request loss runs from your current or former insurance carrier, usually through your agent, broker, carrier portal, or customer service team.
- Ask for three to five years of reports unless your agent or underwriter requests a different period.
- Include your business name, policy numbers, coverage types, policy periods, contact details, and proof of authorization.
- Request “currently valued” loss runs when possible so open claims reflect the carrier’s latest available information.
- A no-loss statement is not the same as a carrier-issued loss run.
- Procedures, response times, report contents, and policyholder rights can vary by carrier, coverage, and state.
- Start early so a delayed report does not hold up a commercial insurance quote or renewal.
What Are Insurance Loss Runs?
Insurance loss runs are reports produced by an insurance carrier. They summarize claims and reported incidents associated with one or more policies during a stated period.
A typical commercial insurance loss run may show:
- The insured business name
- Policy number and policy period
- Coverage or line of business
- Claim number
- Date of loss
- A short description of the claim
- Whether the claim is open or closed
- Amounts paid
- Expenses paid
- Outstanding reserves, when provided
- Total incurred loss
- The date the report was valued or generated
The exact format and content vary. Some carriers provide a detailed claim-by-claim report. Others provide a summary, especially when there were no losses.
In California, the Department of Insurance refers to workers’ compensation premium and loss history reports as loss runs. Loss-run formats for general liability, commercial auto, property, and other policies can vary by carrier. A loss run is a summary of loss activity, not the carrier’s complete claim file.
What Does “Loss Run” Mean in Commercial Insurance?
A loss is an event that led—or could lead—to an insurance claim. A loss run organizes those events by policy period and shows how the carrier handled them financially.
Commercial insurance loss runs may be requested for:
- General liability
- Commercial auto
- Workers’ compensation
- Commercial property
- Business owners policies
- Professional liability
- Employment practices liability
- Cyber liability
- Umbrella or excess liability
If different insurance companies covered these policies, you may need a separate report from each carrier.
How Do I Get Loss Runs From My Insurance Company?
Contact your agent or broker first. Ask for loss runs covering the policy years and coverage types required by the new insurance company. If the agent cannot provide them, send a written request directly to the carrier. Include your policy information and authorization, then follow up until the reports arrive.
Use this five-step process.
1. Contact Your Current Insurance Agent or Broker
Your current agent or broker is often the fastest place to start. Agents may be able to download loss runs from a carrier portal or send a request through an underwriting or claims contact.
Tell your agent:
- Why you need the reports
- Which policies are involved
- How many years are required
- When the reports are due
- Whether the new underwriter requested currently valued reports
Ask the agent to send the reports directly to you, even if the agent is also sending them to another insurance professional. Keeping your own copies can save time at the next renewal.
Changing agents does not automatically change which company holds the records. The insurance carrier that issued each policy remains the primary source of its loss information.
2. Contact the Insurance Carrier Directly
If your agent is unavailable, no longer represents the carrier, or cannot obtain the reports, contact the insurance company directly.
Look for a loss-run request option through:
- The carrier’s policyholder portal
- A commercial customer service department
- The claims department
- A dedicated loss-run email address
- An online request form
- The contact information on your policy declarations or billing notice
Some carriers publish specific instructions. For example, Travelers tells commercial policyholders to include the policy number, policy period, and line of business in a loss-run email. It also allows the requester to specify PDF or Excel format. See Travelers’ business claim resources.
Confirm that you are contacting the carrier, not only the insurance agency shown on an old certificate. If you cannot identify the carrier, check your policy declarations page.
3. Identify Which Policy Years Are Needed
Ask the new agent or underwriter how many years of loss runs are required. Three to five years is common, but there is no universal rule.
Also confirm whether the request applies to:
- Every commercial policy
- Only specific coverages
- The current policy year
- Prior policy years
- Policies issued under former business names
- Acquired or related companies
- Policies issued by more than one carrier
If you had three carriers during the requested period, you will normally need to contact all three.
Ask whether the underwriter wants loss runs valued within a specific number of days. A report printed many months ago may not show recent payments or changes to open claims.
4. Provide Your Policy and Business Information
Give the carrier enough information to locate the correct policies and confirm that you are authorized to receive the reports.
Your request should include:
- Legal business name
- Any former or trade names
- Policy number
- Policy type or line of coverage
- Policy period
- Requested years
- Your full name and title
- Email address and phone number
- Preferred report format
- Desired delivery date
- Signed authorization, if required
Some carriers will release reports only to the policyholder, an authorized employee, or an authorized agent or broker. Requirements can depend on the carrier and policy.
If you are requesting reports for a former business entity, explain your relationship to that entity. The carrier may ask for more documentation before releasing the information.
5. Follow Up If the Reports Are Delayed
Save a copy of your original request. If you do not receive a confirmation, follow up with the agent or carrier and ask:
- Was the request received?
- Is any information missing?
- Does the carrier need signed authorization?
- Which department is processing it?
- Is there a request or service ticket number?
- When should you expect the report?
Keep your new agent informed. The prospective underwriter may accept temporary documentation while the official loss runs are pending, but that decision belongs to the underwriter.
Do not assume that one response deadline applies everywhere. State requirements, coverage types, carrier procedures, and request circumstances may affect the timeline.
What Information Should I Include in a Loss-Run Request?
A complete request reduces delays. Include the following information in the first email whenever possible.
Business Information
Provide the exact legal name shown on the policy. Add any doing-business-as name, previous name, or related entity that may appear in the carrier’s records.
Policy Number
List every relevant policy number. Do not rely only on an account number or certificate number.
You can usually find the policy number on the declarations page, billing notice, insurance identification card, or prior renewal documents.
Policy Type
Identify each requested line of coverage, such as:
- Workers’ compensation
- General liability
- Commercial auto
- Commercial property
- Professional liability
- Umbrella liability
This is especially important if the carrier insured more than one part of your commercial insurance program.
Policy Period
Provide the start and expiration dates for each policy when available. This helps the carrier distinguish between renewal terms.
Requested Years
State the exact period you need. For example:
Please provide currently valued loss runs for all policy periods from January 1, 2021, through the current date.
If you need five completed policy years plus the current year, say so clearly.
Authorized Contact Information
Include your name, title, business email address, phone number, and relationship to the policyholder.
If you want the carrier to send the reports to a new agent, provide written permission and the agent’s contact information. The carrier may require its own authorization form or a broker-of-record document.
Loss Runs vs. Claims History, Currently Valued Loss Runs, and No-Loss Statements
These terms are related, but they do not always mean the same thing.
Loss Runs
A loss run is a formal report generated by an insurance carrier for specified policies and dates. It usually lists individual losses, claim status, paid amounts, and other claim information available from the carrier.
Loss runs are not the same as complete claim files. They generally do not include every adjuster note, investigation report, medical record, photograph, or legal document.
Claims History
“Claims history” is a broader term for a business’s record of claims and reported incidents.
A claims history might come from:
- Carrier-issued loss runs
- An internal business record
- A claims administrator
- A risk-management system
- An insurance application
Agents and underwriters sometimes use “claims history” and “loss runs” interchangeably. When an underwriter asks for loss runs, however, it is safest to provide carrier-issued reports unless another format is approved.
Currently Valued Loss Runs
A currently valued loss run reflects the carrier’s information as of a recent valuation date.
A currently valued report matters when claims remain open. California’s Department of Insurance explains that workers’ compensation loss reserves are estimates that should be revised as current claim information becomes available.
However, the fact that a carrier maintains reserves does not mean every loss run will display them. Report contents vary by carrier, coverage, and applicable requirements. Ask for “currently valued loss runs showing paid amounts, total incurred amounts, open or closed status, and reserves where available.”
See the California Department of Insurance workers’ compensation guide.
No-Loss Statements
A no-loss statement is a signed declaration stating that the business has had no known or reported losses during a defined period.
It may be used when:
- The business is new
- No claims occurred
- Carrier reports are temporarily unavailable
- The underwriter specifically allows it
- A gap must be addressed between the last loss-run valuation date and the requested coverage date
A no-loss statement is not a carrier-issued loss run. It also should not be used to hide a known incident or claim.
Some underwriting programs accept a no-loss statement in defined situations. For example, a Travelers underwriting checklist permits loss runs, completed application loss information, or signed no-loss documentation in certain files. That does not mean every insurer will accept the same substitute. See the Travelers underwriting checklist.
How Many Years of Loss Runs Do Insurance Companies Usually Request?
Commercial insurers commonly request three to five years of loss runs. The required period depends on the insurance company, coverage type, business size, claims activity, and available history.
For California workers’ compensation insurance, California Insurance Code Section 11663.5 addresses certain loss-history requests. When the section applies, the report covers the account’s tenure or the three-year period ending with the start of the current policy period, whichever is shorter, plus loss experience from the current policy period.
That statutory rule applies only to workers’ compensation and only under the circumstances described in the law. It does not prevent a prospective underwriter from requesting five years of history when evaluating a new account.
Ask your agent or underwriter whether they need:
- Three completed policy years
- Five completed policy years
- The current policy year in addition to prior years
- Reports from every prior carrier
- Reports valued within a certain number of days
- Separate reports for each coverage line
If the business has operated for less than the requested period, provide its complete available history. Explain that it is a newer business and ask whether the underwriter also needs a signed no-loss statement.
Ask your agent for the exact required period before contacting several former carriers. That can prevent unnecessary work.
Why Do Commercial Insurance Companies Request Loss Runs?
Commercial insurers use loss runs during underwriting. The reports help them evaluate the risk before offering, pricing, or binding coverage.
To Measure Claim Frequency
Several smaller claims may indicate a recurring safety or operational problem, even if no single claim was severe.
An underwriter may look for repeated vehicle accidents, employee injuries, water damage, customer falls, or similar incidents.
To Measure Claim Severity
A large loss can affect an insurer’s view of the account. The underwriter will often consider what happened, whether the cause still exists, and what the business did to prevent another loss.
One large accidental event may be viewed differently from repeated losses caused by the same unresolved problem.
To Review Open Claims
Open claims can continue to develop after the original date of loss. A currently valued report helps an underwriter see the most recent status and financial information the carrier provides.
To Evaluate Eligibility and Price
Loss information may affect:
- Whether a carrier will offer coverage
- The quoted premium
- Deductibles or retentions
- Coverage limits
- Exclusions
- Risk-control requirements
- Whether more information is needed
Travelers’ underwriting materials describe loss information as essential to proper policy pricing and eligibility. Procedures and underwriting decisions still vary among insurers.
To Verify the Insurance Application
Commercial applications commonly ask about prior claims and known incidents. Loss runs help confirm that the information submitted to the new carrier is complete.
Review the reports before sending them. If you find an error, contact the reporting carrier and tell the new agent that a correction has been requested.
The Who, What, Where, When, and Why of Requesting Loss Runs
Who Can Request Loss Runs?
The policyholder or an authorized representative usually makes the request. An authorized representative may be an owner, officer, employee, agent, or broker, depending on the carrier’s rules.
What Should You Request?
Ask for complete, currently valued loss runs for each required policy, coverage type, carrier, and policy period.
If there were no losses, ask the carrier for a zero-loss report or written confirmation of no reported claims.
Where Do You Send the Request?
Start with your current agent or broker. If necessary, use the carrier’s customer portal, claims department, commercial service team, online form, or published loss-run email address.
When Should You Request Them?
Request loss runs as soon as you begin shopping for insurance. Do not wait until the day a policy expires.
Reports may be needed when:
- Renewing commercial insurance
- Changing agents or brokers
- Moving to a new carrier
- Seeking competing quotes
- Preparing for a merger or acquisition
- Reviewing claims performance
- Confirming claim records
Why Are They Necessary?
Loss runs help a prospective insurer evaluate your prior losses, current open claims, risk controls, eligibility, and pricing.
They also allow you to spot inaccurate or outdated information before it affects an insurance submission.
What If My Insurance Company Won’t Send My Loss Runs?
First, determine whether the carrier has refused the request or whether the request is simply incomplete or Begin by confirming that the carrier received a complete written request. A delay may result from an incorrect policy number, missing authorization, an old business name, or a request sent to the wrong department.
Take these steps:
- Resend the request in writing.
- Confirm the carrier and policy numbers.
- List all relevant business names and policy periods.
- Include your name, title, and contact information.
- Ask whether signed authorization is required.
- Request a service ticket or reference number.
- Escalate the request to a service supervisor or claims manager.
- Keep copies of emails and notes from telephone calls.
- Tell the prospective agent or underwriter about the delay.
California Workers’ Compensation Loss-Run Requests
California has a specific rule for certain workers’ compensation loss-history requests.
According to the California Department of Insurance, the policyholder or an authorized broker-agent must make the request in writing. Under California Insurance Code Section 11663.5, an insurer has 10 business days to provide the report when one of these circumstances applies:
- The policy is canceled or nonrenewed.
- The request is made within 60 days before the existing policy’s renewal date.
- The insurer’s financial rating has been lowered as described in the statute.
- The insurer is conserved or ordered to stop writing business.
This requirement applies only to workers’ compensation insurance. It should not be presented as a universal 10-business-day deadline for commercial property, general liability, commercial auto, professional liability, or other coverage.
The statute also contains an exception when the policyholder already receives direct, ongoing access to claim information from the insurer.
If a workers’ compensation carrier does not comply when Section 11663.5 applies, the California Department of Insurance says the policyholder may contact the department for assistance. See the department’s workers’ compensation loss-history guidance.
For other commercial insurance lines, begin with the carrier’s request procedure. If the issue remains unresolved, contact the California Department of Insurance to ask whether it can assist with your specific policy and situation. Avoid promising that the same deadline or remedy applies to every request.
While waiting, ask the prospective underwriter whether it will temporarily accept older loss runs, a claims summary, or a signed no-loss statement. Acceptance depends on the underwriter.
Sample Loss-Run Request Email
Subject: Request for Currently Valued Commercial Insurance Loss Runs
Hello,
Please send currently valued loss runs for [Business Name] covering [requested years].
- Policy number(s): [Policy Numbers]
- Coverage type(s): [Policy Types]
- Policy period(s): [Policy Periods]
Please send the reports in PDF format to [Email Address]. I am [Name and Title] and am authorized to make this request for the policyholder.
Please confirm receipt and let me know if you need additional authorization.
Thank you,
[Name]
[Title]
[Phone Number]
Frequently Asked Questions About Commercial Insurance Loss Runs
Can a New Insurance Agent Request My Loss Runs?
A new agent may be able to request them if you provide the authorization required by the carrier. Some carriers may request a signed authorization or broker-of-record document.
You can also request the reports yourself and forward them to any agents you choose.
Can I Request Loss Runs From a Previous Insurance Company?
Yes. Contact the former agent or the carrier that issued the policy. Provide the old policy number, coverage dates, business name, and evidence that you are authorized to receive the report.
If you cannot find the policy number, send a copy of the old declarations page, certificate, invoice, or other available policy record.
How Long Does It Take to Get Loss Runs?
Response times vary. A carrier portal may produce a report quickly, while a manual or archived request may take longer.
Some states set deadlines for certain requests, but those deadlines are not uniform. Start early and ask the carrier to confirm its expected delivery date.
Do Loss Runs Show Claims That Are Still Open?
They commonly identify open and closed claims. A report may show paid amounts, expenses, reserves, or total incurred amounts, but the available fields depend on the carrier and applicable requirements.
Ask for a currently valued report when open claims exist.
What If My Business Has Never Had a Claim?
Request a loss run anyway. The carrier may issue a zero-loss report confirming that no claims appear for the requested policies and period.
If the carrier cannot provide one, ask the prospective underwriter whether it will accept a signed no-loss statement.
Should I Review Loss Runs Before Sending Them to a New Carrier?
Yes. Check business names, policy periods, claim status, claim descriptions, paid amounts, and other available information.
If something appears wrong, contact the carrier that generated the report. Explain the specific issue and request a corrected or updated version.
Do not alter a carrier-issued loss run yourself.
Get Help Shopping for Commercial Insurance
Loss runs can make the difference between a preliminary estimate and a firm commercial insurance quote. Request them early, review them carefully, and provide each prospective agent with the same information.
If you own a California business, Panorama Insurance can help identify the loss reports underwriters need, review your claims history, and compare commercial insurance options from available carriers.
Contact Panorama Insurance at (818) 781-6630 or their website to start your California commercial insurance review.
This article provides general educational information, not legal advice or a guarantee of coverage. Loss-run procedures, report contents, underwriting requirements, and state rules vary. Consult your insurance professional, carrier, or state insurance regulator about your specific situation.
