What a Commercial Program Review Actually Involves

Program review6 min read

Start with operations, not the policy

A useful review begins with what your business does today — not what it did when the policy was first written. Operations drift: a contractor adds a service line, a retailer opens a second location, a restaurant extends its hours. Each of those changes the exposure, and none of them update the policy on their own.

Check the classification codes

General liability and workers’ compensation premiums are driven by class codes. A wrong code can mean either an overcharge you never notice or a coverage argument at claim time. Every review should confirm the codes match the actual work performed.

Verify the values

Building limits, business personal property, and stock figures are often carried forward year after year. Both directions are a problem: understated values can trigger coinsurance penalties at claim time, while inflated values simply cost premium.

Read the exclusions and endorsements

This is where programs genuinely differ. Two policies with the same premium can carry very different exclusions — for assault and battery, for subcontracted work, for water damage, for named storms. The endorsement schedule tells you more than the declarations page.

Compare the requirements you have agreed to

If you sign contracts or leases, those documents impose insurance obligations. A review should compare what you have promised against what your policy actually provides, including additional insured status, waiver of subrogation, and primary and non-contributory wording.

Look at the loss history in context

Loss runs drive pricing. A review should explain what your history shows, what an underwriter will infer from it, and what can reasonably be presented as context.