What Is Broker of Record (BOR) Letter?
A broker of record (BOR) letter is a document a business owner signs naming a new agent or agency as the one authorized to service their account and receive commission on it going forward, moving the account directly instead of waiting on a formal competitive bid.
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A broker of record (BOR) letter is a document a business owner signs naming a new agent or agency as the one authorized to service their account and receive commission on it going forward, moving the account directly instead of waiting on a formal competitive bid.
Broker of Record (BOR) Letter explained
A signed BOR letter is worth more than winning an open bid. Per Hylant, agencies win the business in fewer than 10% of contested competitive-bid situations, which is why the industry treats a signed BOR as, in Hylant's own words, "essentially the trophy" of new-business acquisition in commercial lines: it converts an account directly on the strength of the business owner's decision, without putting the account up for a side-by-side comparison the incumbent gets an equal shot at.
BOR letters are not permanent the moment they are signed. Hylant notes they typically carry a rescission period of 5 to 10 days, a window in which the business owner can still change their mind and revert to the incumbent agent. A signed BOR is real progress, but it is not a closed account until that window passes.
BOR activity also clusters around a specific point in the calendar: the account's x-date. Producers who work x-dates on the standard 45-to-90-day timeline described by Insurance Xdate and Datamangroup are talking to a business owner while switching agents is still a live, practical decision, the exact window in which a BOR letter is realistically winnable.
Why it matters when you're buying
If your new-business strategy leans on formal competitive bids, know you are converting fewer than one in ten of them, per Hylant's own published figure. A BOR strategy built around x-date timing, and a follow-up plan through the 5-to-10-day rescission window, converts on a completely different, better-documented mechanism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a broker of record (BOR) letter?
How often does a signed BOR letter actually win the account?
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