Pet Insurance MGA Carrier Reporting Requirements: What You Must Submit and When
Pet Insurance MGA Carrier Reporting Requirements: What You Must Submit and When
Your carrier is your most important business partner and they want to see the numbers. Carrier reporting isn't optional or casual. It's a contractual obligation with specific deadlines, formats, and accuracy requirements. Late or inaccurate reports damage trust, trigger audit inquiries, and in extreme cases, can be a default under your MGA agreement.
What Are the Core Reporting Requirements for Pet Insurance MGAs?
The core reporting requirements include monthly premium bordereaux, claims/loss reports, and financial summaries, plus quarterly performance dashboards and annual program reviews. Each report has specific deadlines, data fields, and format requirements defined in your MGA agreement.
1. Standard Report Schedule
| Report | Frequency | Due Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium bordereau | Monthly | 15th of following month | Carrier + reinsurer |
| Claims/loss report | Monthly | 15th of following month | Carrier |
| Financial summary | Monthly | 20th of following month | Carrier finance |
| Remittance statement | Monthly | Per MGA agreement | Carrier finance |
| Performance dashboard | Quarterly | 30 days after quarter end | Carrier management |
| Loss ratio trending | Quarterly | 30 days after quarter end | Carrier actuarial |
| Rate adequacy review | Quarterly/Semi-annual | Per agreement | Carrier actuarial |
| Annual program review | Annual | Per agreement | Carrier leadership |
| Regulatory filing support | As needed | Per state deadlines | Carrier compliance |
2. Monthly Premium Bordereau
| Field | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Policy number | Unique policy ID | Text |
| Insured name | Policyholder name | Text |
| Pet name | Insured pet | Text |
| Species/breed | Dog, cat, breed | Text |
| State | Policy state | 2-letter code |
| Effective date | Policy start | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Expiration date | Policy end | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Transaction type | New, renewal, endorsement, cancellation | Code |
| Gross premium | Total premium for period | Currency |
| Commission | MGA commission amount | Currency |
| Net premium | Premium less commission | Currency |
| Coverage type | Plan tier | Code |
| Status | Active, cancelled, lapsed | Code |
3. Monthly Claims/Loss Report
| Field | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Claim number | Unique claim ID | Text |
| Policy number | Associated policy | Text |
| Pet name | Insured pet | Text |
| Date of loss | Incident date | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Date reported | When claim was filed | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Condition/diagnosis | What was treated | Text/code |
| Claim status | Open, closed, denied | Code |
| Incurred amount | Total claim cost | Currency |
| Paid amount | Amount paid to date | Currency |
| Case reserve | Outstanding reserve | Currency |
| Denial reason | If denied, why | Code/text |
4. Quarterly Performance Dashboard
| Metric | Current Quarter | Prior Quarter | YTD | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policies in force | Count | Count | — | ↑↓ |
| New policies | Count | Count | Count | ↑↓ |
| Cancellations | Count | Count | Count | ↑↓ |
| Gross written premium | $ | $ | $ | ↑↓ |
| Earned premium | $ | $ | $ | ↑↓ |
| Incurred claims | $ | $ | $ | ↑↓ |
| Loss ratio | % | % | % | ↑↓ |
| Claims frequency | # per 100 policies | Prior | YTD | ↑↓ |
| Average claim size | $ | $ | $ | ↑↓ |
| Retention rate | % | % | YTD | ↑↓ |
| CAC | $ | $ | $ | ↑↓ |
What Data Quality Standards Must Carrier Reports Meet?
Carrier reports must meet a 100% accuracy standard every premium figure must match PAS records exactly, every claim must match the claims system, and report totals must reconcile to bank deposits. Carriers will reject reports containing errors, so building automated pre-submission validation checks is essential.
1. Accuracy Requirements
| Standard | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Premium accuracy | Must match PAS records exactly |
| Claims accuracy | Must match claims system exactly |
| Reconciliation | Premium report must reconcile to bank deposits |
| Completeness | Every policy and claim included — zero gaps |
| Timeliness | Submitted by deadline — no exceptions |
| Format | Per carrier specification — exact format |
2. Validation Checks (Pre-Submission)
| Check | What to Verify |
|---|---|
| Row count | Total policies matches PAS count |
| Premium total | Sum matches PAS gross premium |
| Claims total | Sum matches claims system |
| Policy status | All statuses are valid codes |
| Date ranges | All dates within reporting period |
| Missing data | No blank required fields |
| Duplicates | No duplicate policy or claim records |
| Reconciliation | Report totals match financial records |
3. Common Quality Issues
| Issue | Cause | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Missing policies | Data extraction error | Automated row count validation |
| Wrong premium amounts | Timing/endorsement issues | Daily PAS reconciliation |
| Claims status lag | System update delays | Real-time claims data |
| Duplicate entries | Multiple data sources | Deduplication logic |
| Format errors | Manual editing | Template-based generation |
For KPI metrics and data analytics, see our guides.
How Do You Build an Automated Reporting System?
You build an automated reporting system by connecting your data sources (PAS, claims system, payment processor, accounting) to a data warehouse, transforming data with dbt models, and generating reports with automated validation, scheduled delivery, and a review workflow before submission.
1. Reporting Architecture
Data Sources
├── PAS (policies, premiums)
├── Claims System (claims, reserves)
├── Payment Processor (collections)
└── Accounting (commissions, remittance)
↓
Data Warehouse (BigQuery / Snowflake)
↓
dbt Models (transform to report format)
↓
├── Automated Reports (CSV/Excel generation)
├── BI Dashboards (Metabase/Looker)
└── Email Delivery (scheduled distribution)
2. Automation Levels
| Level | Approach | Effort | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Export from PAS + Excel | High effort, monthly | Error-prone |
| Semi-automated | PAS export + automated calculations | Medium effort | Better |
| Automated | Data warehouse + automated generation | Low effort | High reliability |
| Fully automated | Scheduled generation + validation + delivery | Minimal effort | Highest reliability |
3. Implementation Steps
| Step | Action | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Map carrier report requirements to data sources | Week 1 |
| 2 | Build data extraction from PAS and claims | Week 2–3 |
| 3 | Create report templates matching carrier format | Week 3 |
| 4 | Build validation logic (pre-submission checks) | Week 4 |
| 5 | Automate generation on schedule | Week 5 |
| 6 | Set up review workflow (approve before sending) | Week 5 |
| 7 | Configure email delivery | Week 6 |
How Should You Prepare Carrier Reports for Audit Readiness?
You should maintain audit-ready documentation by retaining all monthly reports and supporting data for 7 years, keeping reconciliation records current, and ensuring that every report total can be traced back to PAS records and bank statements. Carriers will verify report accuracy during annual audits.
1. What Carriers Audit
| Audit Area | What They Verify |
|---|---|
| Premium accuracy | Report totals match bank deposits |
| Claims accuracy | Reported claims match claims files |
| Underwriting compliance | Policies issued per guidelines |
| Commission accuracy | Commission matches agreed rates |
| Regulatory compliance | Filings are current and accurate |
| Data quality | Reports are complete and accurate |
2. Audit-Ready Documentation
| Document | Retention |
|---|---|
| Monthly reports (all) | 7 years |
| Supporting data files | 7 years |
| Reconciliation records | 7 years |
| Carrier correspondence | 5 years |
| Correction/amendment records | 7 years |
For carrier audit preparation and annual report, see our guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What reports must you submit?
Monthly: premium bordereau, claims report, financial summary. Quarterly: performance review. Annually: program review. Per your MGA agreement.
2. How often?
Monthly reports due by the 15th–20th. Quarterly by 30 days post-quarter. Annual per agreement. Ad-hoc as carrier requests.
3. What quality standards apply?
100% accuracy. Reports must reconcile to PAS and bank records. Carriers reject reports with errors. Build automated validation.
4. How do you automate?
Data warehouse + automated extraction + report templates + validation checks + scheduled delivery. Most PAS platforms include basic reporting.
5. What is a premium bordereau?
A detailed policy-level report submitted monthly to the carrier and reinsurer, listing every policy with premium, commission, coverage type, and status fields.
6. What happens if reports are late or contain errors?
Late or inaccurate reports damage trust, trigger audit inquiries, and may constitute a default under your MGA agreement. Carriers reject reports with errors and require resubmission.
7. How long should you retain reporting documentation?
Retain all reports and supporting data for 7 years. Carrier correspondence for 5 years. These periods align with typical state regulatory requirements.
8. What BI tools work best for carrier reporting?
Metabase and Looker for dashboards, BigQuery or Snowflake for the data warehouse, and dbt for data transformation. Supplement your PAS's built-in reporting with these tools.
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