Customer Service Request Handling Checklist

Open an activity in Applied Epic, AMS360, or your AMS of record. Capture channel (phone, email, portal), timestamp, and the named insured. The activity record is the system of truth if an E&O claim later traces back to this interaction.

Confirm the caller is the named insured, an authorized contact on file, or holds a valid LOA. Disclosing policy detail to a third party is a GLBA Privacy Rule violation and a frequent source of consumer complaints to state DOIs.

Pull the current dec page and check the policy period, any pending cancellation or non-renewal notice, and premium installment status. Lapsed-but-believed-active is one of the highest E&O exposure scenarios in agency service work.

Select the category that drives the resolution path. Mis-categorizing a new claim as a coverage question is the most common reason FNOL deadlines get missed under state prompt-pay statutes (e.g., Texas Insurance Code Chapter 542 — 15 business days to acknowledge).

Auto-populated AMS data drifts over multiple renewal cycles. Verify the dec page reflects current limits, deductibles, additional insureds, and any mid-term endorsements not yet imaged into the file.

Check ClaimCenter or the carrier portal for open claims, reserves, and any reservation of rights. Flag pending workers comp or GL premium audits — the answer to a billing question often turns on an unbilled audit.

Verify NPN status in NIPR for the state of risk before binding any change. A producer not appointed in the bind state can trigger carrier rescission and a market conduct finding.

Use ACORD 25 with the correct holder vs. additional insured distinction. Listing the management company as additional insured but not the property owner is the most common COI error in property and construction service work — and the most common source of contractual breach claims against the agency.

Submit the endorsement to the carrier via the appointed portal — never by email alone. Confirm the change does not exceed binding authority for hazard grade, line, or limits. Document the effective date the insured requested versus the date the carrier confirms.

Submit FNOL to the carrier the same business day the loss is reported. Capture date of loss, location, parties, and a narrative — not the insured's coverage opinion. State prompt-pay statutes (TX Chapter 542, NY Reg 64) start running from the carrier's receipt of notice; agency-side delays have been treated as carrier delays in litigation.

Pull the installment schedule from the carrier or premium finance company (e.g., IPFS, Premium Assignment). Confirm whether any audit additional premium or return premium is in flight before quoting a balance to the insured.

Record what was requested, what was done, who was contacted, and any coverage opinions communicated. Coverage opinions given verbally and not memorialized in writing are the leading fact pattern in agency E&O verdicts.

Email summary plus DocuSign envelope for any signed acknowledgments (rejection of UM, named driver exclusion, coverage waiver). Verbal confirmation is not defensible at an E&O hearing.

Required for mid-market commercial under NY Insurance Reg 187 and CA SB 250 equivalents. Many agencies miss this on service-driven changes (mid-term remarket, replacement carrier) because the renewal process treats it as already-disclosed at bind.

Set an AMS suspense at T-90 from renewal expiration or at the next audit window. For accounts with open claims, schedule a 30-day reserve check-in.

Required when a service request adds a new payee, certificate holder, or additional insured. Many agencies screen at policy issuance only and miss mid-term additions — an SDN-listed party can join the file via a COI request.

Spot-check: was every coverage opinion put in writing, was the dec page verified before any change, was the producer licensed in the state of risk, were AI/holder distinctions correct on any COI issued. Document any variance for CSR coaching.

Short post-interaction survey (one click in the email footer is enough). Trend the unsatisfied results by category and CSR for the monthly book review — service complaints predict non-renewal far better than premium complaints do.