Policy checking means comparing the issued policy with what you quoted and bound, line by line, and chasing the carrier for anything that does not match. Do it within days of the policy arriving, record every discrepancy with a page reference, and keep a record that the check happened.
It matters because the most common agency E&O problem is coverage that was never procured the way the client expected. Research on members of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America puts "failure to procure" at roughly a quarter of all losses studied. A policy check is where you catch that before the client does.
Step 1: Gather the three source documents
You need the issued policy, the quote or proposal the client accepted, and the binder or bind confirmation. Pull the application too if it carries exposure details such as payroll, revenue or vehicle schedules.
Work from the documents, not memory. If any of the three is missing, stop and get it. A check against an incomplete record is how errors get signed off.
Step 2: Confirm the declarations page
Start with the facts that are easy to get wrong and expensive when they are:
- Named insured, including every entity that should be listed
- Mailing and location addresses
- Policy period and effective dates
- Carrier and policy number
- Total premium, taxes and fees against the quote
A wrong named insured or a missing location is a coverage problem, not a typo.
Step 3: Compare limits, deductibles and sublimits line by line
Go coverage by coverage. For each line in the quote, find the matching line in the policy and confirm the limit, deductible or retention, and any sublimits. Then go the other way: anything in the policy that was not in the quote is also a discrepancy.
Build a simple two-column table if it helps. Quote on the left, policy on the right, one row per coverage line. The table becomes your record.
Step 4: Check forms and endorsements against the binder
This is where most time goes. List every form and endorsement number on the policy and compare it with the forms schedule in the binder. Look for:
- Endorsements that were bound but not attached
- Additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and noncontributory wording the client's contracts require
- Exclusions that were not in the quote
- Edition dates that changed between quote and issue
If the client has contracts that require specific wording, check the endorsement text, not just the form number.
Step 5: Record every discrepancy with a page reference
For each difference, note the coverage line, what was quoted, what was issued, and the policy page it appears on. Page references save the carrier's underwriter time and get corrections back faster.
Save the completed check in the client file in your agency management system with the date and the person who did it. If a claim ever turns on this policy, you want to show the check happened and what it found.
Step 6: Chase the carrier and close the loop with the client
Send the discrepancy list to the carrier and diary a follow-up. When the corrective endorsement arrives, check it against the list and mark each item closed. Only then tell the client the policy is correct, and put anything that could not be fixed in writing.
Where AI agents fit
The comparison in steps 2 to 5 is high volume and rule-based, which makes it a good fit for an agent. At Agentic MSP, the agent reads the policy and quote, compares every line and delivers a discrepancy list with page references. Your account manager decides what to chase and what to tell the client, and each check is recorded in the Evidence File. It is billed only when every line has been compared and the list delivered.