Key points
- Start 60–90 days before renewal. Most avoidable renewal problems are timing problems.
- Gather five years of loss runs, current vehicle and driver schedules, and your contracts’ insurance requirements.
- Review limits, physical damage values, deductibles, and UM/UIM and PIP selections deliberately — not by default.
Commercial auto renewals tend to arrive at the worst possible time: in the middle of a busy season, with a renewal proposal that shows up two weeks before the policy expires. By then, the only realistic choice is to sign whatever is in front of you. A fleet renewal handled 90 days out looks very different.
90 days before renewal
Request loss runs. Ask your current insurance company or agent for currently valued loss runs covering at least the past five years, and request them from any prior insurance companies in that window. They often take time to arrive. (How to read loss runs.)
Update the vehicle schedule. Compare the policy’s vehicle list against what you actually operate. Look for sold units still listed, new units never added, outdated values, and wrong garaging addresses. Our fleet schedule template has the columns underwriters ask for.
Update the driver list. Every person who drives a company vehicle should be on it, with license state, date of hire, and CDL status. Remove people who have left.
Pull your contracts. Gather the insurance requirements from your largest customer, general contractor, and property management agreements. These often drive your liability limits and endorsements more than anything else.
60 days before renewal
Decide whether to market the account. If premium has risen sharply, service has been poor, your operation has outgrown the program, or a contract requires something your policy can’t provide, this is the time to have an independent agency review options — not the week before renewal.
Prepare the explanation for any large losses. Underwriters will see the claim. What they want to know is what happened and what changed afterward: a driver no longer employed, a new MVR standard, a camera or telematics program, training.
Review your limits. Compare your auto liability and umbrella limits to the highest requirement in your contracts and to the realistic size of a serious claim involving one of your heavier vehicles.
30 days before renewal
Compare proposals line by line. Premium is only one column. Compare liability limits, covered-auto symbols, physical damage deductibles, hired and non-owned auto, UM/UIM and PIP, endorsements required by contracts, and payment terms.
Confirm the umbrella schedules the new auto policy. If you change auto insurance companies, make sure your umbrella or excess policy still sits correctly above it.
Sign selection and rejection forms deliberately. In Texas, rejecting UM/UIM or PIP generally has to be done in writing. Make that decision on purpose.
Questions worth asking at every renewal
- Why did the premium change, and how much is rate versus exposure (more vehicles, more drivers, higher values)?
- Are there any drivers the insurance company has excluded or flagged?
- What would it take to improve the account’s position next year?
- Does this policy meet every contract we currently hold?
- Is our umbrella scheduled over this policy?
A well-prepared renewal won’t guarantee a lower premium. It does give you real choices, and it shows underwriters an account that is managed carefully.