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The BOR letter

Switching brokers is one signature.

No carrier change. No rate change. No plan change. Just a better broker doing more for the same money the carrier is already paying.

What is a BOR letter?

A Broker of Record (BOR) letter is a one-page document, signed by an officer of your company on your letterhead, that instructs your insurance carrier to recognize a new broker (Bindly) as the authorized agent for your existing group health policy. It changes who services your account, not the policy itself: same carrier, same plan, same network, same premiums, same renewal date. After the carrier processes the BOR (usually 5 to 14 business days), Bindly takes over servicing, every Bindly Group Concierge service marked available today turns on for your group, and the prior broker stops collecting commissions on future premium periods.

Everything you might wonder

What is a BOR letter?

A Broker of Record letter is a one-page document an employer sends to a carrier instructing them to recognize a new broker (Bindly) as the agent of record for an existing policy. It does not change the plan, the rates, the network or the renewal date. It changes who services the account.

Does it cost us anything?

No. Carriers pay the broker commission; employers do not. Your incumbent broker keeps every dollar they have already earned. Going forward the commission flows to Bindly, which is what funds the Concierge bundle.

What changes for our team?

Plan-wise, nothing. Same carrier, same network, same ID cards, same rates. What changes is service. On day one you get the 24/7 benefits assistant reading your own plan documents, our compliance calendar with reminders, bill-and-claim help for your employees, and our open enrollment platform for your next cycle. Services marked rolling out on the Concierge page reach you as they ship, and we tell you where each one stands rather than leaving you to find out.

What's the timeline?

Carriers typically process a BOR letter within about 14 days. In parallel we collect plan documents, build your compliance calendar, load your roster and introduce your employees to the benefits assistant, so the services that are available today are working for you within the first month.

Can our current broker fight it?

They can try. The employer is the decision-maker and carriers honor the BOR signed by the policyholder. Some incumbents will counter-pitch. We provide a plain template if you would like to keep that conversation brief and professional.

When in our plan year can we do this?

Any time. A BOR is not tied to renewal. You can switch in month 3 of a 12-month plan year and the policy continues uninterrupted. Most employers prefer to switch 60 to 90 days before renewal so we have time to model alternatives, but it is not required.

What about commission split mid-year?

By industry convention, commission for the remainder of the current term goes to the broker on file at the time of each premium payment. Bindly begins receiving commission on the next premium after the BOR is effective with the carrier.

Will the carrier know we're shopping?

Carriers are aware of broker changes and treat them as a normal part of the industry. They do not penalize the group, change renewal rates or treat the account differently because of a BOR. Many groups change brokers every 3 to 5 years.

One-click BOR generator

Pre-fill the BOR letter in under 2 minutes.

We email the draft PDF straight to your signer. Print and sign, or drop it into DocuSign. Return the signed PDF to us and Bindly handles the rest with the carrier.

Generate your BOR letter

We'll email the signed-ready PDF to your signer within a minute.

Your company
The carrier this BOR is for
Dates

Typically the day you sign. Carriers honor whatever BOR has the most recent date.

The signer

Must be an officer with authority to bind benefits decisions, typically the CEO, CFO, COO, or VP of People. The carrier verifies this before honoring the BOR.

We email the unsigned draft to the signer for review. We do not send anything to the carrier until you confirm.

Coverage stays in force throughout. A BOR is a designation of broker. It is not a request to cancel, replace or rewrite any policy.

Prefer a 20-min walkthrough first?See the Concierge bundle

What we'll do in the first 30 days

  1. Day 0: BOR signed and submitted to your carrier.
  2. Day 1 to 7: We collect plan documents, schedule of benefits, current contribution strategy and your current employee roster.
  3. Day 7 to 14: Carrier processes the BOR. We load your plan documents into the benefits assistant, build your compliance calendar from your plan year and your state, and name your Bindly contacts.
  4. Day 14 to 21: We introduce your employees to the benefits assistant and to the desk that answers a bill or claim question.
  5. Day 21 to 30: First check-in. Compliance calendar populated and reminders running. Open enrollment planned, if a cycle is coming.
  6. Day 30 and on: Operating mode. Every Concierge service marked available today is live for your group, and we tell you where each rolling-out service stands rather than leaving you to guess.

See which services are available today before you sign anything.