Insurance Mentorship Program Checklist

Write distinct objectives for each track the cohort will run — typically producer (quote-to-bind, retention), underwriter (appetite, hazard-grade judgment, referral discipline), and claims (FNOL intake, reserve setting, ROR drafting). One blended track is the most common reason mentees disengage.

Tie each track to a recognized designation path — CPCU, AINS, AU, AIC, or CIC through The Institutes or The National Alliance. Mentees who can credit program time toward a designation stay engaged longer than those getting generic coaching.

Pair mentors and mentees with overlapping P&C, L&H, or surplus-lines authority — a personal-lines mentor cannot meaningfully shadow a mentee's commercial submissions. Document minimum book size, years of experience, and state-licensing overlap for each pairing.

State explicitly that mentees may shadow but not bind outside their own granted authority, and that any quote sent under a mentor's name remains the mentor's E&O exposure. Reference each appointed carrier's binding-authority letter — agencies with multiple carriers commonly have different limits per appetite.

Open recruitment with the agency principal or claims manager, not HR — visible sponsorship from a producer of record or a senior examiner produces a higher application rate than a generic L&D email.

Capture each applicant's track preference, current NPN, resident-state license, lines of authority, designation progress, and book or claim caseload.

Look up each mentor on the NIPR PDB by NPN — confirm the resident license is active, non-resident appointments cover any state where the mentee operates, and CE hours for the current biennium are on track. A mentor with a lapsed CE is unlicensed and cannot supervise quoting or binding.

If the NIPR check returns a CE shortfall, expired non-resident appointment, or a state action, pull the mentor from the cohort and source a replacement. Do not let the mentor self-cure CE during the program — the gap creates unauthorized-transaction exposure for any quote shadowed in the meantime.

Use a 20-minute structured interview keyed to the track competencies — submission triage for producers, appetite-fit reasoning for underwriters, reserve adequacy and ROR judgment for claims. Cross-track pairings rarely work; reassign mismatched applicants now rather than at midpoint.

Cover the scope of mentee shadowing vs. mentor responsibility, the carrier-specific binding authority limits, OFAC screening at quote and at claim payment, and the agency's recorded-statement consent policy. Agencies have lost E&O claims because a mentee took a recorded statement without disclosure under a two-party-consent state.

Include current appetite letters from each appointed carrier, the binding-authority matrix, ACORD form crosswalk (125, 130, 140, 25), and the agency's submission-quality standards. Update the handbook each cycle — appetite drift is the single most common mentee submission rejection.

For producer track, shadow a live commercial submission through Applied Epic or AMS360 — clearance, app completion, rater run, carrier submission, indication vs. firm quote, bind, and COI issuance. For claims track, shadow an FNOL through Guidewire ClaimCenter or the TPA portal: coverage analysis, reserve setting, ROR drafting if needed.

Provision a sandbox in the AMS so mentees can practice ACORD 125/130/140 completion without touching live policies. Auto-populated fields drift over multiple renewal cycles — running a sandbox renewal exposes the auto-population pitfalls without an actual filing risk.

Thirty minutes, biweekly, with a standing agenda — submissions or claims worked since last check-in, blockers, designation coursework progress, one specific feedback item from each side. Programs that drop to monthly typically fail at month three.

Score each pair against the track competencies set in design — producer hit ratio and quote quality, underwriter referral discipline, claims reserve accuracy and cycle time. Flag pairs at risk now; remediation at month five rarely recovers the program.

Diagnose the cause before changing the pair — most at-risk pairs are a calendar problem, not a chemistry problem. If chemistry is the issue, reassign rather than terminate; mentees who get pulled tend not to re-enroll.

Pull each participant's CE transcript from NIPR or the state DOI portal. If program coursework is being credited, confirm the provider filed the hours under each participant's NPN — provider filing lag of 30+ days is common.