A broker can only place business with a carrier it is appointed with, in the states it is appointed in. When it buys an agency, every policy with a carrier it is not appointed with has to be appointed, moved or let go — and the first renewals arrive weeks after close, whether the paperwork is done or not.
This post follows the illustrative Ironwood Risk Partners, where 58.7% of premium sits with carriers the acquirer is not fully appointed with. The carrier mapping agent finds it at the memo stage, prepares the appointment requests, and the integration planner turns them into day-30 tasks. Carriers named are invented.
| Actors | Deal lead, integration lead, the acquirer's carrier-relations team |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Analyze (integration fit step) |
| Agency Illustrative | Ironwood Risk Partners — $22.47M of premium across ten invented carriers |
| Agents involved | Carrier mapping agent, integration planner, supervisor agent |
| Controls that fire | UNAPPOINTED_CARRIERS (over 20% of premium — warn: start appointments before close) |
| Decisions and authority | Requesting appointments (deal lead, capped at ask first); adopting the plan (integration lead) |
| Outcome | Appointments requested for the carriers worth keeping; small books planned to move at renewal |
| What is measured | Premium by appointment status (appointed, some states, not appointed); appointments outstanding by day 30 |
Three statuses, two actions
The engine compares each carrier's states in the book with the acquirer's appointments:
- Appointed in every state the target writes it — nothing to do.
- Some states — the acquirer holds the appointment but not everywhere the book needs it. Request the missing states.
- Not appointed — request an appointment where the premium justifies it, or plan to move the business at renewal where it does not.
the target's book"] --> S{"Acquirer
appointment?"} S -->|"all states"| OK["Appointed"] S -->|"some states"| RQ["Request the
missing states"] S -->|"none"| SZ{"Premium worth
an appointment?"} SZ -->|"yes"| RA["Request an
appointment"] SZ -->|"no"| MV["Move at renewal"] RQ --> D30["Day-30 tasks"] RA --> D30 MV --> D90["Day-90 tasks"]
| Carrier (invented) | Share | Acquirer | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silverbirch Specialty | 29.3% | Some states | Request an appointment |
| Northvale Indemnity | 11.5% | Some states | Request an appointment |
| Kestrelgate Fire & Marine | 9.1% | Not appointed | Request an appointment |
| Oakhurst General | 6.1% | Not appointed | Request an appointment |
| Crestmoor Insurance | 2.7% | Not appointed | Move at renewal |
Step by step
Ten carriers against the acquirer's appointments; 58.7% of premium not fully appointed; cited per carrier.
Start appointments before close.
Request appointments with four carriers, each with its share of premium.
Recorded for the carrier-relations team to send.
Day 30: get appointed with each; day 90: plan moving the smaller books at renewal.
Task status updated on the Integration zone.
The plan from an integrating agency shows how this looks after close: appointment tasks at day 30 flagged high risk where the premium is large, overdue dates in red, and the move-at-renewal tasks at day 90.
| Agent | What it prepared | What it cites | Who decides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier mapping agent | 58.7% of premium is with carriers the acquirer isn't fully appointed with; request appointments with 4 carriers | 282, 101, 97, 64 and 41 book rows by carrier; the acquirer's appointments | Deal lead |
| Integration planner | Day-30 appointment tasks and day-90 moves at renewal | The carrier finding | Integration lead |
| Section | Hit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Carriers | UNAPPOINTED_CARRIERS: 58.7% of premium | warn |
For the deal team
Appointment work starts while the memo is being written, with the carriers ranked by what is at stake.
For IT
Appointments are a carrier-by-state table; the comparison is recomputed whenever the book or the appointments change.
For corp-dev leadership
The share of the book that cannot be placed on day one is a number in the memo, not a surprise in the first renewal month.
Questions we get asked
Does the agent submit the appointment application?
No. It prepares the decision to request appointments; a person submits them.
Where does appointment data come from?
From the acquirer's carrier appointments, held in InsightRollup per carrier and state.
Keep reading
A fifth of the revenue renews before day 90
The renewal calendar around a close, and the cross-sell the book points to.
Read article
How InsightRollup connects to the rest of the suite
Pulse 360 for who the companies are; Placement, Proofing and Advocate for the book after close.
Read article
Putting your first acquisition through it
One closed deal you know well, re-run — then the live one.
Read article