Policy Issuance Checklist

Confirm ACORD 125 (commercial app) plus the line-specific supplements — 130 for WC, 140 for property, 137 for auto. Auto-populated fields from the prior renewal drift over multiple cycles; check payroll, sales, and locations against what the producer captured this cycle.

Look up the producer's National Producer Number on NIPR and confirm the producing agent is appointed in the state of risk for the line being bound. An unappointed producer can trigger rescission and an unauthorized-transaction finding at the next market conduct exam.

Screen the named insured, additional named insureds, and any signing officers against the OFAC SDN list before any premium is accepted. Re-screen at each renewal — parties get added to the list mid-policy.

Cross-check the risk against the carrier's binding authority letter — class codes, hazard grade, limits, TIV ceilings, and excluded operations. MGAs typically have separate binding authority per program; binding outside authority creates E&O exposure and can void the carrier's reinsurance recovery.

Use ISO classifications for GL/property and NCCI (or the independent bureau in NY, NJ, DE, PA, CA, MA, MN, MI, WI, TX) for workers comp. Mis-classed payroll is the most common premium audit dispute — get the governing class right before issuance, not at audit.

Run the SOV through the carrier's cat model for wind, quake, flood, and wildfire exposure. Note FL hurricane mitigation credits, CA WUI zones, and TX windstorm pool eligibility where they apply.

Rate in PolicyCenter, Duck Creek, or the rating engine of record. Confirm the effective date matches what was bound — back-dated effective dates can break the rate filing posture in prior-approval states.

Verify the state's posture for this line — prior approval, file-and-use, use-and-file, or no-file — and that the current rate/form filing in SERFF covers the effective date. Pushing a rate live ahead of PA approval creates unauthorized rates.

Anything over binding authority — limits, hazard grade, schedule mod outside the standard band — goes to the senior underwriter or program manager named in the authority letter. Capture the approval in writing on the file.

NY Reg 187, CA SB 250, and equivalents require written disclosure of producer compensation to commercial insureds. Send and file the signed acknowledgement before issuance — agencies regularly miss this for mid-market accounts.

Assemble the dec page, mandatory state endorsements, optional endorsements selected, and any TRIA disclosure/election form for commercial property. Confirm form edition dates match the filed forms.

Read the issued policy line-by-line against the signed binder: named insured spelling, address, effective dates, limits, deductibles, retro date for claims-made, additional insureds, and any manuscript endorsements. Discrepancies caught now avoid mid-term endorsement scramble.

Resolve the items called out at sign-off — wrong form edition, missing endorsement, mis-keyed limit — and re-route for re-approval before any document leaves the system.

Deliver via the agency portal or ePolicy with read receipt. Producer of record gets the full packet; insured gets dec page, forms list, and invoice. Update the AMS (Epic, AMS360, EZLynx) with the issued policy number.

Match the certificate-holder list from the prior policy and the binder. Watch the additional-insured checkbox — listing the management company but not the property owner is the most common COI error in real estate vendor onboarding.

If non-admitted, file with the state surplus-lines stamping office and remit premium tax within the state-specific window (commonly 30–60 days post-bind). Compliance ultimately rests with the producer of record even when the wholesaler files.

Index the issued policy, signed application, binder, OFAC results, commission disclosure, and underwriter sign-off in ImageRight or the equivalent. Most states require 5–7 years; workers comp commonly 10+ given lifetime medical exposure.