What is a Broker of Record in Insurance?


Insurance in the financial domain allows clients to prevent potential or unforeseen financial outages or personal loss. Therefore, the insurance company protects its clients by accumulating an insignificant amount of monetary compensation occasionally and using financial gains to protect the client and pay for losses. However, financial shield and protection regarding reimbursement against losses are based on terms and conditions and ensuring agreements. This concept is also observed among the small-scale business community as their owners tend to purchase insurance policies with the help of an insurance agent or a broker. Thus, insurance agents and brokers have similar functions with delicate comparisons.

BOR abbreviation in insurance means Broker of Record.

What is a Broker of Record?

Broker of Record or BOR in insurance represents an insurance agent who manages the policyholder’s insurance policy and acts as the middle man between the insurance company and policyholder. BOR represents and manages the insurance policy, receives notices and quotes from the insurance company.

A broker of record in the insurance term is defined as an agent or a representative stationed by the policyholder to declare, represent and administer the insurance policy. A broker of record has the key required essentials, including documents and other legal formalities that include communication documents to the policyholder. This representative has access to quotations, papers, policies, and significant notices available to the company on behalf of the policeholder. The agents working in alliance with the insurance companies frequently receive financial commissions to materialize the policies officially. Simply put, a broker of record has access to transfer servicing rates from one insurance entity to another. In addition, the broker of record can amend, generate and issue certificates and participate in policy changes. Such agents are mostly known for facilitating communication and channeling messages from one entity to the other. They also act as a license for the policyholder and are usually dictated under the legal settings, particularly used brokers, the policyholder, and the insurance company.

What is a broker of record letter?

The broker of record letter represents a formal agreement that defines the relationship between the agent, the insurance company, and the policyholder. Broker of record letter can be used for:

  • To define the relationship with a new broker and to grant rights to a new broker.
  • To terminate the agreement relationship between a policyholder and an existing agent.
  • To terminate the ability of the insurance broker or BOR agent to make any decision on behalf of an insurance client.

A broker of record is an essential pillar of an insurance company. They have the required information, insights, and knowledge to facilitate communication between individuals and the company. If individuals are interested in attending and deserving insurance, a broker of record can facilitate the process and make it super convenient for the employees and individuals. However, the broker will eventually receive financial profit every month from the health insurance company. These agents also have the independence to receive and analyze different insurance quotes and existing policies and suggest changes and amendments to the company’s current policies.

A letter is mostly formulated whenever a broker of record is present between the insurance company and the individuals. This is produced to avoid inconsistencies and abide by the legal formalities to establish the relationship between the individuals, broker, and the interested insurance company. This letter can also highlight or mention the broker of record for the initial time and replace the broker by finding an alternate. Additionally, if an individual decides to change the broker of record, then a new letter will be dispatched to clear the highlighted name and credentials of the new broker of record. The significance of the broker of record letter is valuable in the identification of the broker to the policyholder. This letter will help determine and remove any discrepancies the insurance company has, such as poor communication or negotiation purposes. As a result of this letter, the broker of record can easily identify rates, policy options; potential options claim assistance. This document will allow the insurance company and the individuals to remove any incongruities and bridge the differences between the broker and the company.

A broker of record letter has all the essential evidence irreplaceable to the client and the companies. The broker of record will try to mention and add specifications and personal information of the individual along with the selected plan and the broker’s name. Other requirements such as the date, the designation and current status of the broker, and terms and conditions of policy would be declared. If the policyholder requires other specific information regarding directives and policy amendments along with the communication channel of the plan can also be revealed by the negotiators.

The broker of record letter and the letter of authorization may appear to be used interchangeably, but there is a noteworthy difference between the two. The latter includes information about the insurance contracts, existing rates, policy options, surveys, retention, certificates, reserves, and other aspects of financial information. This letter is also written on behalf of the broker to the insurance company along with specifications of the individuals; however, this letter is not as meticulous, thorough, and influential as the broker of record letter because it does not contain the authority to the broker to communicate on behalf of the policyholder.

Broker of record and communication

A broker of record is considered influential in channeling the communication perspective with the policyholder and the companies. The broker also has the authority to conclude the formal and official contract between the insurance company and the broker. Moreover, the broker of record can temporarily suspend the broker’s opportunity to negotiate on the client’s behalf with the company. The existing dealer can also shift power and insurance to the new broker and declaring the officer’s authority to The new broker, and negotiate on behalf of the potential customer. A broker can also provide access to underwriting information on potential proposals for future consideration. Lastly, if the client desires to change the broker, the data will also exhibit the transition. This will give full disclosure to the significant parties and entities allowed within the letter. The participants will be and given the desired information in terms of the broker letter.

The functionality and impact of the broker of record letter can be challenging. Therefore, it is essential to welcome legal perspectives to understand the official relationship between the entities, especially if the policyholders expect to change the brokers. However, the clients cannot make this decision due to multiple reasons: dissatisfaction in terms of facilities and services offered by the existing broker’s service or command. In other cases, some clients tend to change their broker of record if a series of amendments and fluctuations within their business currently impact their income schedules and threshold.

Jason Martin

Jason Martin

Jason Martin is an experienced and knowledgeable professional in the insurance industry, with over 26 years of relevant knowledge under his belt. After completing his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Jason got Actuary Insurance Certification in 2005. From 2022., Jason writes educational insurance articles for Promtinsurance.com. Please read : Jason Martin biography Write email: jason@promtinsurance.com

Recent Posts