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Items marked Start here are the five to pull first. The more complete your data, the more thorough the evaluation — and the stronger the offer your book can support.
| Item and period | Why it matters | Notes / status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The book — Start here — this moves the number most | |||
| ☐ | 6. Policy list / production report — to measure retention Start here From January 1 three years ago to the most recent date available. Must include: A unique policy or customer ID (names are not needed — de-identified is fine); Carrier and product / line of business; Written premium and agency commission; Effective date and expiration date; Transaction type: new business, renewal, rewrite, endorsement, cancellation; Status; Cancellations and non-renewals — not just the policies in force today; If your system will only export active policies: the same report run as of twelve months ago, so lapses can be worked out | This is the single most important document. Without the cancellations there's no denominator, so retention can only be guessed — and retention moves the offer more than anything else. | |
| ☐ | 7. Carrier appointment and transfer confirmations Current. Must include: For every material carrier, and every wholesale, MGA and surplus lines code: written confirmation that the appointment or code can transfer to a buyer | A book is only worth what can actually move to the new owner. | |
| ☐ | 8. Agency network, cluster, aggregator and wholesaler relationships Current agreements. Must include: Each agreement; The fee or commission split; Who owns the book of business; Notice and termination terms; Whether it transfers | In a cluster or aggregator, the seller may not own what they're selling. | |
| ☐ | 13. Your agency management system — and proof the data can be exported Current. Must include: Which system you run (and version, if you know it); Written confirmation from the vendor or your admin that the book and its history can be exported in full | A book that can't be exported can't be migrated. | |
| Financial — What the agency really earns | |||
| ☐ | 2. Commission and premium by carrier, by month Start here Carrier commission statements for the 12 months ending with your last closed month, plus a premium-and-commission-by-carrier-by-month report for the two most recent complete years and year to date. Must include: Carrier statements are the preferred source; the monthly report can be a system export; Commission income and agency fee income shown separately, by carrier | Commissions and fees are valued differently. Commission is the base a multiple applies to. | |
| ☐ | 3. Income statements (profit and loss) Start here The two most recent complete years plus year to date. Must include: Owner compensation shown separately from staff wages; The cost-of-sales or pass-through schedule, line by line — who was paid, and for what; A short written note on any line that looks unusual, including how written premium is shown compared with amounts paid to carriers | In agencies we've reviewed, reported “Total Income” has often run two to three times true commission revenue, because premium or pass-throughs were running through the income line. | |
| ☐ | 1. Federal tax returns Start here The two most recent filed years. Must include: The full returns as filed | Ties the management accounts to a filed document. | |
| ☐ | 9. Commission and contract structure Current agreements. Must include: Commission schedules by carrier; Contingency, profit-sharing, override and bonus agreements; Any premium finance arrangement (for example, money collected from clients and passed on to a finance company); Anything else that affects what the agency actually keeps | This is revenue that never appears on a P&L — and premium finance flows are regularly mistaken for income. | |
| Risk — What a buyer could inherit | |||
| ☐ | 4. Loss reports from your top carriers The most recent available from each carrier, plus every historical period each carrier can provide. Must include: Loss runs or loss-ratio reports by carrier | Loss ratios live with the carriers, and they drive contingency income and carrier appetite. | |
| ☐ | 5. A written explanation of any elevated loss ratio Current. Must include: The cause; Any carrier action taken or expected — appetite restriction, non-renewal, termination | A known, explained problem is priced; an unexplained one stalls a deal. | |
| ☐ | 12. Errors & omissions policy and claims history The current policy plus five years of claims. Must include: Declarations page and policy; Any claims or notices in the last five years | Buyers need to know what they could inherit. | |
| The agency — What else is being sold | |||
| ☐ | 10. Website, search and lead-generation assets Current. Must include: Websites and domains, with hosting and registrar access; SEO work and vendors; paid search and social ad accounts; Lead vendors and subscriptions, CRM, email lists and templates; Social accounts, online reviews and listings; All business phone numbers; Confirmation that each one transfers | These are part of what's being bought — and some are tied to a personal login or a vendor contract. | |
| ☐ | 11. Outsourced, offshore and contract staffing Current agreements. Must include: Contracts and amendments; Fees and service terms; Notice and termination terms; Confirmation of transferability | Service costs and notice periods change what the book earns after closing. | |
| ☐ | 14. Ownership and authority to sell Start here Current. Must include: All owners and their percentages; The entity that owns the book; Who is authorized to sign | Deals have reached diligence before anyone learned the book was owned 50/50, or that the named seller couldn't convey title. | |
Hi your AMS support, I need two exports from our agency's data and want to make sure I get the right reports: 1) A policy / transaction history covering January 1 three years ago through the most recent date available. It must include: - A unique policy or customer ID (names are not needed — de-identified is fine) - Carrier and product / line of business - Written premium and agency commission - Effective date and expiration date - Transaction type: new business, renewal, rewrite, endorsement, cancellation - Status - Cancellations and non-renewals — not just the policies in force today If the system can only export active policies, please also run the same report as of 12 months ago. 2) Premium and commission by carrier, by month, for the last two complete years and year to date, with commission income and agency fee income shown separately. Customer names are not needed; IDs are fine. Excel or CSV works best. Can you tell me which report(s) produce this, or run it for us? We'd also like written confirmation that our full book and its history can be exported. Thank you.
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Selling an insurance agency, a book of business or an MGA — directly to buyers who are actively acquiring, with no fee to the seller.
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Nothing on this site is an offer to buy, a valuation of your agency, or legal, tax or accounting advice — talk to your own advisers before you sign anything. Market figures are from the sources linked beside them, read 2026-09-28; they describe the market, not your agency.
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