A lost art: the submission letter

In the old days, before Zoom or Microsoft Teams, or even before (GISP) E -MAIL … When a bail agent would submit an account to a guarantee insurance, there were this weird thing that would be attached: a submission letter !!!! The letter would basically tell a story about the account that was submitted, giving information about its background who the owners were and thoughts about their future plans and goals. This letter did not replace a face-to-face meeting, but it would provide context to the other information submitted, such as accounts, bank letters and the contractor’s questionnaire.

In these days, in the crazy hustle and bustle of immediate communication, the letter of submission has all disappeared. You still see it occasionally – like a white rhino in a nature conservation, it’s out there, but so rarely it’s almost extinct. Agents these days are so busy running from one fire to the next that sitting down to write this letter seems like a waste of precious time. As a one -time agent, I was very proud to be able to design this letter to my accounts. It was my chance to immortalize their past results and speak their abilities in a clear and concise way that would not be lost in all the other information that was submitted.

When the insurers see a submission letter, I guarantee that they will stop and take notice, probably even wasting their afternoon leaves surprised. The first thing that a letter says to an insurance company is that the agent is invested in this account and actually knows them. A well -written letter will knit all standard information from a submission together. What is really said in the financial statements? What is really said in the contractor’s questionnaire? While the financial statements and the questionnaire can provide a lot of good information, they rarely give any back story or explanation of why things are as they are. The submission letter should give this back story or explanation.

A submission letter will also tell a story about the account, for example, who started the company and how old it is, which gives a sense of the type of experience the owners have in their niche. Were they a spinoff or a new company? Does the owner have a lot of experience or just a lot of gumption to go out on your own? What kind of projects have they worked on in the past and what type of owners have they worked for?

The submission letter can provide a lot of information about the account in a brief way, and most importantly, it can set the tone of the insurance process. A letter with solid background information and an honest back story will put everything else in a positive light. Compared to an E email with a few quick comments and 15 attachments, the submission letter will move your submission to the top of the pile, not to a folder in the insurance company’s inbox.