Understanding the Over-Abused AOR/BOR Form

If you haven’t had much experience working with multiple agents for insurance quotes, it’s important to understand what AOR/BOR forms are and how they’re sometimes misused.

An Agent of Record (AOR) or Broker of Record (BOR) form gives one agent exclusive rights to represent your account with an insurance company. Once you sign it, that agent controls your access to that market. No other agent can approach the same company for a quote on your behalf unless you revoke the form.

At Reliance Partners, we often see these forms used as a shortcut. Some agents use them to “take over” a market they didn’t initially approach or to gain access to quotes our team worked hard to obtain. That’s not how we operate. We believe in earning your business the right way: through transparency, expertise, and results

Why It Matters

Every insurance quote involves significant work behind the scenes. Most of the markets we work with rely on human underwriters, not automated systems. Each submission takes time, documentation, and review. When multiple agents submit the same risk, underwriters usually stop processing duplicate submissions—meaning the first agent to approach that market “blocks” it.

That’s why it’s so important to know which agents are shopping which markets.

If one of our agents has already submitted your account and you sign an AOR/BOR without understanding its impact, it can delay the quoting process and limit your access to the best options.

Reliance Partners represents more than 10,000 trucking clients and manages over $500 million in premium. Our scale and expertise allow us to bring you the strongest carrier relationships and most competitive quotes. But signing unnecessary AOR/BOR forms can muddy the waters and reduce our ability to move efficiently on your behalf.

The Reliance Partners Difference

At Reliance Partners, we don’t rely on paperwork tricks to win business; we rely on trust and performance. We approach every market strategically and communicate openly with you about where we’re quoting and why.

Our goal is simple: to bring you the best coverage and pricing available, with full transparency throughout the process. You’ll always know which markets we’re pursuing, and we’ll never ask you to sign an AOR/BOR unless it’s truly in your best interest and you fully understand the implications.

When an AOR/BOR Can Be Helpful

There are legitimate reasons to use an AOR/BOR form, such as when:

You want to move your existing policy to a new agent without changing carriers.

You believe another agent (like Reliance Partners) can better service your account.

You need a more experienced partner to handle claims, renewals, or compliance more effectively.

In those cases, our team will walk you through the process, explain what the form means, and make sure you remain fully in control of your coverage decisions.

Bottom line: An AOR/BOR is a powerful tool—but one that should be used carefully. At Reliance Partners, we’re here to help you understand your options, protect your business, and keep the process honest, transparent, and always in your best interest.