Loss runs: what they are, how to get them, why every quote needs them

Loss runs are the official claim history report for a business, produced by each insurance carrier that has covered it. The report lists every claim under the policy — date, description, status, amounts paid, and amounts reserved for open claims. Underwriters treat loss runs as the factual record of how a business has actually performed.

Underwriters price risk on evidence, and loss runs are the only verified evidence of claim history. Without them, a carrier either declines to quote or assumes the worst and prices accordingly. Currently valued loss runs — usually covering five years — are the first document every market asks for on a commercial account.

Email your current agent or broker and ask for "currently valued loss runs for the past five years, all lines." If you have no broker, contact each carrier directly — most have a loss-run request process, and your policy number speeds it up. Make the request in writing so the date is documented.

In California there is a statutory clock: after a cancellation or non-renewal, or within 60 days before renewal, Insurance Code section 679.7 requires the carrier to deliver a premium and loss history report within 10 business days of a written request — and section 11663.5 applies the same deadline to workers’ compensation. Request them the moment you start shopping.

Yes — always, and in your own words before the underwriter reads the bare entries. A claim with context ("a one-time event, here is what we changed") prices very differently from an unexplained line item. Brokers who work difficult accounts build this narrative into the submission; silence is what costs money.

It means the report reflects claim amounts as of a recent valuation date — paid totals and current reserves on open claims, not stale figures. Underwriters typically want loss runs valued within the last few months, because open-claim reserves change and they price on the present picture, not last year’s.