Loss runs: what they are and how to request them

A loss run is a report from an insurer listing every claim made under your policies for a period, with dates, status and the amounts paid and reserved. Underwriters at any new carrier ask for the last five years of them, so they are the document that most directly sets your quote. You request one from your current or former insurer, usually in writing, and you should read it for errors before it goes to a single underwriter.

What a loss run shows

Format varies by insurer, but a typical report lists, for each policy term and each claim:

• Policy number, effective and expiration dates, and the line of coverage.
• The claim number, the date of loss and the date it was reported.
• A short description or cause of loss, and the claimant when it is a liability claim.
• Status: open, closed, or closed without payment.
• Amounts paid and amounts still reserved, split between indemnity (damages or benefits) and expense (legal and adjusting), with the total incurred.
• The valuation date, which is the day the numbers were calculated.

Maine's statute lists much of the same content when it requires insurers to give policyholders loss information: the insured's name, loss date, claim received date, a description, amounts paid and reserved, and whether the claim is open or closed (24-A M.R.S. § 3042). A loss run is not the same thing as a certificate, the declarations or an NCCI experience rating worksheet. It is a claims file summary.

Here is a small, invented example for a hypothetical restaurant, valued October 1, 2026:

Total incurred is $116,700. If earned premium across the same period was $190,000, the loss ratio is 61%, which is incurred losses divided by earned premium. Open claim GL-003 is the line to ask about, because the $30,000 reserve is an estimate that can move either way.

How underwriters use it

An underwriter reads frequency (how many claims), severity (how large), trend (getting better or worse), open claims and reserves, and whether the cause points to something fixable. Several small claims suggest weak day-to-day controls, and one large one that has been addressed may be treated as a bad event. They also look at claims inside your deductible, which may not have been paid by the insurer but still show how the business operates. Underwriters usually want five years, often valued within 60 to 90 days of the proposed effective date. See how to prepare an insurance submission underwriters will read.

For workers' compensation, the experience mod is built from the insurer's reported data. NCCI's ABCs of Experience Rating notes that insurers are not required to report policy data until 18 months after inception, so loss runs show recent claims long before a mod does (The experience modification rate (EMR) explained). Compare the two when the mod arrives.

How to request one

1. Ask in writing. Email or letter to the carrier, or through the agent or broker on the policy. Include your legal name, the policy numbers and the lines you want. An ACORD loss run request form or the carrier's own is fine.
2. Ask for all policies and carriers in the period, including prior years, canceled policies and any program or wholesale carriers. A business with an earlier insurer must ask that one too.
3. Specify the valuation date you want, or "currently valued."
4. Request five years or the full period you have been with the carrier, whichever is shorter.
5. Use the portal if there is one. Many carriers offer online loss runs; the broker can usually pull them too.
6. Follow up at the deadline, which depends on the state.

Deadlines are set by state

Several states set a time limit. Florida requires an insurer to provide a loss run within 15 calendar days after its designated person receives the insured's written request, covering the preceding five years or the full history if shorter (Fla. Stat. § 627.444). Oregon requires property and casualty insurers or their appointed producers to make commercial loss runs available within 15 calendar days of a policyholder's request, again with five years of history (OAR 836-080-0810). Maine allows 30 calendar days and bars an insurer from canceling or refusing to renew for nonpayment while it is failing to supply requested loss information, unless the insured asks fewer than 45 days before expiration (24-A M.R.S. § 3042). Other states have their own deadlines, and not every state has one. Your state insurance department can tell you yours and takes complaints when an insurer does not respond.

If a carrier is slow, tell your broker early. A quote cannot be finished without the report, and a late submission can push you toward a coverage gap (how to switch business insurance carriers without a gap).

Check it for errors

Loss runs are only as good as the claim files behind them. Before you send one out:

• Closed claims showing reserves. A claim marked closed with an outstanding reserve, or open for years with no activity, makes the account look worse. Ask the carrier to review.
• Claims that are not yours. A duplicate, a misapplied policy number, or a loss from a prior owner or location.
• Incident-only entries. Reports that never became claims should say "closed without payment," not carry reserves.
• Wrong cause or class. A property claim coded as liability, or a subcontractor's claim charged to you.
• Subrogation and salvage. Recoveries should reduce the net incurred amount.
• Missing deductible claims. The insurer may not show those you handled yourself.

Send corrections with the claim file or adjuster's note. Disputes about a reserve are normal, and carriers can lower reserves as facts develop, though a reserve is the carrier's own estimate. do claims raise business insurance premiums? covers how claims affect renewals.

When there are no loss runs

A new business has none (insuring a brand-new business with no loss history). A broker can provide a "no known losses" letter signed by the owner, stating that the business is unaware of any incidents likely to produce a claim. If you are buying an existing company, ask the seller for loss runs and the prior carriers' names (insurance due diligence when buying a business). Accounts with a bad record often need a narrative and corrective steps, and sometimes a different market (Declined for coverage? Where hard-to-place businesses find insurance).

Key takeaways

• A loss run lists claims by policy period with dates, status, paid amounts, reserves and a valuation date.
• Request them in writing for every carrier and line, and ask for five years; Florida and Oregon require delivery within 15 calendar days, and other states set their own limits.
• Read the report before underwriters do, and correct duplicate entries, stale reserves and claims that do not belong to you.
• Compare incurred losses with earned premium to understand how your account looks to a new insurer.
• Keep a current loss run on file each year so you can shop or answer a lender's request without a scramble.