What documents does a buyer need to acquire an insurance agency?
A buyer acquiring an insurance agency needs three years of tax returns and monthly P&Ls, commission statements, retention history, carrier contracts and appointments, producer agreements and non-competes, E&O history, trust-account statements, and an AMS export.
Named policyholders wait for confirmatory diligence. The buyer’s own request list controls; have counsel review the cut. No association publishes a 24-file list.
Insurance-agency buyer document index (definition). The numbered evidence file behind one agency sale.
It proves commission and retention match the books, the AMS export is ID-swapped until confirmatory diligence, and carrier appointments and premium trust are in the room.
A generic company-sale checklist is not this index.
The index, sourced, not a vendor list
PIA Northeast’s legal checklist for insurance-agency buyers (25 September 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02) covers liens, producer agreements, carrier contracts, expirations and licenses. It does not publish a file count. AgileCap publishes an agency-acquisition due diligence checklist (retrieved 2026-10-02): financials, trust accounts, commission and retention, AMS reports, carrier mix, E&O and UCC. DealFlow OS publishes a due diligence guide for buying an independent P&C agency; it is not counsel. The general company-sale version of this index is what should be in a sell-side data room index. An insurance-agency sale adds carrier appointments, expirations, commission by line, producer non-competes, E&O and premium trust, and it blinds named policyholders until confirmatory diligence. How to share those files is how to share an insurance book of business with buyers without client names.
| Put this | Why it is in the index | Where the norm is written |
|---|---|---|
| Three years of tax returns and monthly P&Ls | The earnings the price is built on, month by month. | DealFlow OS: 3 years of tax returns and monthly P&Ls |
| Commission statements by line and by carrier | The number the buyer underwrites. Contingent and profit-sharing commissions sit next to core commissions. | AgileCap: commission reports and carrier percentages |
| Retention history | Whether the revenue stays after the owner steps back. | AgileCap: retention rates |
| Carrier contracts and appointments | Who is appointed, whether expirations transfer, whether consent is required. | PIA, September 2026: review carrier agreements before assuming the book transfers |
| Expirations ownership | The asset is the right to solicit the renewal. The appointment contract can cut the other way. | Independent Agent magazine, March 2021: National Fire v. Sullard |
| AMS export (Applied Epic, AMS360, HawkSoft) | Policy count, renewal dates and carrier data have to tie to the financials. Upload the spreadsheet. | DealFlow OS: request the AMS export |
| Anonymized book by account, before the LOI | Revenue by account without names. Names wait. | DealFlow OS: customer list with revenue by account (anonymized) |
| Producer agreements, non-competes, non-solicits | Who stays, who can walk with a book, who is key-person risk. Producer-owned books impair value. | PIA: producer employment agreements and restrictive covenants |
| E&O history and current policy | What the E&O file already shows. Undisclosed claims are a deal issue. | AgileCap: professional liability (E&O) |
| Trust-account statements | Premiums collected for carriers. A shorted trust is a deal issue. | AgileCap: confirm trust accounts are fully funded |
| Liens, UCC, judgments | Whether the seller can convey the book free and clear. | PIA: UCC, tax liens, judgments |
| Licenses and appointments at closing | The buyer has to bind and get paid the day after close. | PIA: licenses and appointments in place as of closing |
First-look, after LOI, keep out
First-look is what an NDA’d bidder sees with the aggregates and the ID-swapped export. After LOI is confirmatory sampling of named accounts. Keep-out is what does not belong in the open tree. 15 U.S.C. 6802(e)(7) is the federal sale-or-merger exception. Have counsel review. This page is not a template.
| Folder | First-look | After LOI | Keep out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financials | Three years of tax returns and monthly P&Ls, commission by line | Monthly P&Ls, add-back support in Excel, trust-account statements | A PDF of bank statements the quality-of-earnings has to unwind |
| Book | Blind revenue by account, retention, geography and premium bands | A sampled named set for confirmatory testing | The ID-swap key, and a raw AMS dump |
| Carriers | Appointment list and revenue mix | Agency agreements, contingent-commission statements, consent-to-assign | A hoped-for appointment letter that is not in hand |
| People | Org chart, role list | Producer agreements, non-competes, non-solicits | Employee SSNs in the open tree |
| E&O and liens | Current E&O declarations, a summary of open claims | Five-year claims file, UCC and judgment searches | A claim that the data-room vendor makes the agency compliant |
Milly Books (21 October 2025) tells buyers not to contact named clients during diligence. Named policyholders wait. See What is Cashpian?, and pricing.
FAQ
Who decides the final document list?
The buyer's own diligence request list.
PIA, AgileCap and DealFlow OS publish checklists, not a file count.
Have counsel review the cut. This page is not a template.
When does the AMS export go in?
An ID-swapped policy export after the NDA.
Named policyholder rows wait for confirmatory diligence.
Export from Applied Epic, AMS360 or HawkSoft and upload the spreadsheet.
Why do buyers ask for trust-account statements?
AgileCap tells buyers to confirm trust accounts are fully funded and used to pay carriers.
A shorted trust is a deal issue.
Have counsel review.
How does this index differ from a general company sale?
Carrier appointments, expirations, commission by line, producer non-competes, E&O and premium trust sit here.
Named policyholders wait for confirmatory diligence, the way named customers wait in a company sale.
Sources
- PIA Northeast, The legal checklist every insurance agency buyer needs, 25 September 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02. Liens. Producer agreements. Carrier contracts and expirations. Licenses at closing.
- AgileCap, Insurance Agency Acquisition: Due Diligence Checklist, retrieved 2026-10-02. Financials. Trust accounts. Commission and retention. AMS reports. E&O. UCC.
- DealFlow OS, How to Buy an Insurance Agency: The Complete Due Diligence Guide, retrieved 2026-10-02. Software checklist, not counsel. AMS export. Anonymized client list. E&O.
- Independent Agent magazine, Independent Agents Own Their Data But Contract Language Is Still Important, 2 March 2021, retrieved 2026-10-02. National Fire v. Sullard. Absent a contrary contract, the independent agent owns the expirations.
- Milly Books, A Guide to Customer & Book of Business Due Diligence, 21 October 2025, retrieved 2026-10-02. Do not contact named clients during diligence. Producer-owned books impair value.
- Cornell LII, 15 U.S.C. 6802(e)(7), retrieved 2026-10-02. Federal sale-or-merger exception.
If the files are already in a folder, grade which row they are on. Cashpian is a gated room for that packet. It is not a listing portal. It does not sell the company or run the deal.