Broker changes
A broker of record letter is the insured's signed statement telling an insurer which broker represents it; New York's regulator calls it industry practice, not statute. A new broker gets in only after the employer decides to change brokers. The letter records that decision.
Book a demoLast updated October 6, 2026
The short answer
A broker of record letter is the insured's signed instruction telling an insurer which broker represents it. New York's regulator called it industry practice, not statute, in 2006. Louisiana regulates it by law. The letter records a broker decision the employer already made. Clean looks for evidence that such a decision is open, who owns it, and whether a new broker can take part.
A broker of record letter is a short, signed instruction from the insured to an insurer saying which broker or agent represents it on a policy. New York's insurance regulator put it this way in a January 9, 2006 opinion: "A broker of record letter is a written statement signed by an insured advising an insurer that a particular broker or agent shall act as the insured's representative." You will also see it called a BOR letter, an agent of record letter or, in Louisiana's statute, a producer of record letter. It is used for group benefits and commercial property and casualty alike.
The same opinion says the letter "is not a creation of statute or regulation; it was developed by the insurance industry as a means of conducting business transactions." New York found no rules on the procedure and no notice requirement; whether the outgoing broker had to be told depended on the agreements between broker, insured and insurer. There is no single national procedure: the carrier's process, and in some states a statute, set the steps.
This page is context, not legal or compliance advice. Read the rule's own text and check with your counsel and the carrier.
IRMI's glossary (read October 6, 2026) explains why the letter matters: "Most insurance companies will not disclose any information or discuss an insured's account with any agent other than the agent of record." To change agents, the insured "must submit a revised agent of record letter to the insurer authorizing them to release the insured's information and to discuss the insured's coverage with the new agent."
For the incoming broker, that is the whole point. The letter does not move the coverage and is not your service agreement with the employer. It changes who the carrier will talk to.
Not under any national rule, and the two positions we checked on October 6, 2026 differ. New York's 2006 opinion found no statute or regulation behind the letter. Louisiana wrote one.
Louisiana's RS 22:1564 requires insurers writing property, casualty, accident or health insurance, or bonds, in the state to recognize a producer of record selected in writing by the policy owner (or the first-named insured when there are several). A letter another producer secures cannot change the producer mid-term unless the owner or first-named insured asks. For a change the insured requests during a policy period, the insurer gives the producer "written notice ten calendar days in advance of the change or removal"; a request in the last ten calendar days takes effect at the renewal policy's inception.
Commissions split by line. Property, casualty and bond commissions go to the producer of record at inception for the full term, unless the policy runs longer than a year or continues until canceled. "Accident, health, or benefits commissions shall be paid to the current producer of record and shall change when the producer of record changes." The rule does not cover producers who are an insurer's employees or represent only one insurer or one affiliated group, or limited benefit health policies, and it does not force an insurer to work with a producer it has not appointed.
Treat Louisiana as Louisiana. We did not verify any other state, and nothing here is a national timeline.
Broker of record rules checked on 2026-10-06
| Question | New York (2006 regulator opinion) | Louisiana (RS 22:1564) | Any other state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is the letter set by statute? | No. Industry practice, not statute or regulation | Yes. Insurers must recognize a producer of record chosen in writing | Not verified here |
| Notice to the outgoing broker | No rule; depends on the agreements | Insurer gives ten calendar days' written notice for a change during the policy period | Ask the carrier |
| Benefits commissions after a change | No rule in the law; courts generally hold a broker earns its commission when it places the policy, absent an agreement | Follow the current producer of record | Check the carrier contract |
| P&C commissions after a mid-term change | Same court principle, absent an agreement | Stay with the producer of record at inception for the term (policies of a year or less) | Check the carrier contract |
If the carrier has its own change form, use it. Otherwise it is usually one page on the insured's letterhead. Each carrier and state can set its own requirements, so confirm with the carrier before the employer signs. Below is an example with placeholder names, not a required form.
Sample letter (example only): "[Date]. To: [Insurer name]. Re: [Insured's full legal name], policy or group number [number], [line of coverage]."
"Effective [date], [Insured's full legal name] appoints [Example Benefits Agency], license number [number], as its broker of record for the policy above, replacing any earlier appointment. Please release information about this account to [Example Benefits Agency] and discuss our coverage with them. Signed: [name], [title], [date]."
What carriers commonly look for:
The insured signs: New York's opinion describes a statement "signed by an insured", and Louisiana gives the choice to the policy owner or first-named insured. At an employer, that is whoever holds authority to appoint a broker: the owner or CEO at a small company, often the CFO or head of HR or People at larger ones. A title is not authority. Treat the signer's authority as unconfirmed until the employer shows it, and check whether a parent company decides.
You do not talk someone into the letter. It records a decision to change brokers, and the work is earning that decision. The reasons employers give for looking, from a cost check to new HR leadership, are collected on benefits buying signals.
When an employer runs a formal broker selection, the letter comes after you win it; see benefits RFPs. Ask for the letter once the employer says it is changing brokers, bring a clean draft, and confirm the carrier has accepted it before you expect account information or quotes.
Once the carrier accepts the letter, it releases information about the account to you and discusses the coverage with you. In Louisiana, the statute also requires the insurer to recognize the producer of record for quotations and proposals.
Nothing else changes by itself. A broker change is not a carrier change, and the policy keeps its terms and dates. Commission follows the carrier contract and any state rule, as the New York and Louisiana comparison above shows.
Do not expect the change to show up in annual plan reports. On a Form 5500, the insurance schedule lists the agents and brokers an insurer paid for a policy year ending within the plan year, in descending order of the amount paid, and none of its entries marks the broker of record (DOL, 2025 instructions). Our guide to that report covers its limits.
Only when the employer opens the broker seat. Three separate decisions sit between an employer and a signed letter: replacing coverage, considering a new broker, and picking you. A letter needs the second and third; the first can happen without either, because an incumbent can run a full coverage replacement with no broker change at all.
A renewal date is a calendar, not a decision: coverage ending December 31 does not mean the employer is shopping. And when an employer has just changed its benefits broker, treat this cycle as decided unless the employer says otherwise.
More in benefits buying signals and, for business lines, commercial insurance prospecting.
Is the broker seat open, and when could a letter follow?
| Moment | Is the broker seat open? | When a letter could follow |
|---|---|---|
| The employer asks for broker proposals with a deadline | Yes, for firms that clear the request's entry rules, until the employer picks | After the employer names the winner, not before |
| A new CEO, CFO or HR leader takes over | Not yet. A new owner of the decision is not a decision | Only if that person decides to change brokers |
| An ownership change or merger | Unclear. The parent may decide, and the signer may change | After whoever now holds authority decides |
| An insurer withdraws a product the employer holds | No. Coverage must be replaced, and the incumbent often runs it | Usually never this cycle |
| The employer just changed brokers | Closed for this cycle | Already signed, for another broker |
Clean finds employers with a real reason to review their benefits, shows the evidence behind each one, and names the people who own the decision. Clean keeps a coverage change and a broker change apart, because one does not mean the other. It separates employers with an open decision from employers that only have a renewal coming up.
When Clean cannot confirm something, such as the funding type, PEO status or whether a new broker is welcome, it marks it unknown instead of guessing. Each employer comes with the person who owns the benefits decision there, usually in HR, People or finance, and who in your team's network can introduce you. Clean can research the employers already in your book as well as find new ones. It does not need employee health records, census files or claims data.
Clean's own internal database goes well beyond Form 5500 filings.
Clean does not send messages; your team decides who to contact and what to say. For commercial lines, Clean finds businesses whose coverage needs just changed, like a contractor taking on a job with written insurance requirements, and names who buys the coverage. Start with the insurance overview or the employee benefits sales guide, or book a demo to see employers in your market with an open benefits decision.
A broker of record letter is a written statement, signed by the insured, telling an insurer which broker or agent represents it on a policy. New York's insurance regulator described it that way in a January 9, 2006 opinion and called it industry practice, not a creation of statute or regulation. Most insurers discuss an account only with the agent of record, so the letter is how a new broker gets the carrier to talk to it.
Win the decision first. The letter records a choice the employer already made to change brokers, so ask for it once the employer says it is moving. Get the signature from someone with authority to act for the insured, such as the owner, CFO or head of HR, and confirm that authority instead of assuming it from a title.
The rules we checked do not limit a change to renewal. New York's regulator found no procedural rules in 2006. Louisiana's statute, read October 6, 2026, covers changes the insured requests during a policy period: the insurer gives the current producer ten calendar days' written notice, and benefits commissions follow the current producer of record. Other states were not verified, so check the carrier and the state's insurance code.
The carrier starts releasing account information to the new broker and discussing the coverage with them. The coverage and carrier do not change by themselves, because a broker change is not a carrier change. In Louisiana, benefits commissions move to the new producer of record, while property and casualty commissions stay with the producer at inception for the term of a policy written for a year or less.
Not as a national rule. New York's regulator said in 2006 that the letter came from industry practice and that no laws or regulations set its procedure. Louisiana does legislate it, requiring insurers to recognize a producer of record the insured selects in writing. Carriers also set their own requirements, so check the state's insurance code, the carrier and your counsel before relying on any step.
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