July 7, 2026 · Updated September 7, 2026
Commercial quoting involves more than entering a business name into several portals. The team needs current operations and exposures, appropriate markets, required applications, and a clear way to compare what comes back.
Automation is useful when it helps complete a defined part of that work. Start with the account and the deliverable, then establish which steps the tool supports. A long application is not proof that every field can be answered automatically.
Build a readiness view before approaching markets
Use the documents the client already has, such as dec pages, schedules, prior applications, and requested loss runs. Identify changes and missing answers. Existing paperwork may describe an earlier period or omit information a new market requires.
| Information | What the team should confirm |
|---|---|
| Insured and operations | Correct entity and an accurate description of the work |
| Locations and schedules | Current properties, vehicles, or other exposures |
| Payroll or sales | Relevant period, classification, and whether figures are estimates |
| Loss history | Required policy years and report valuation date |
| Requested coverage | Lines, effective date, limits, and client priorities |
| Market-specific answers | Required forms, supplements, and signatures |
Assign each gap to the person who can resolve it. A visibly incomplete answer is preferable to a complete-looking application based on an assumption.
Check the market path
Some commercial accounts use a comparative quoting product, some use a carrier portal, and others go to an underwriter, wholesaler, or MGA. The path depends on the market and risk. Tarmika, for example, publishes a commercial quoting offering across participating markets.
Confirm appetite and required information before preparing carrier-specific work. Do not assume that every supplemental is inside a portal or that a rating connection exposes only a fixed set of simple fields. Ask for the actual workflow your agency uses.
Choose an automation task you can inspect
Application preparation is one possible starting point. A tool reads supported source information and prepares a draft. The team checks the facts, missing answers, form edition, and requirements for the intended market.
A configured browser task is another. The product performs supported actions and returns the available outcome. Watch the task, but also inspect the result: a quote, indication, referral, decline, or question for the team. Authentication or an unfamiliar requirement may interrupt the process.
Proposal preparation comes after results arrive. The draft should preserve relevant coverage differences, conditions, and deadlines. A price-only table is not a complete client comparison.
Test a supplemental with an uncertain answer
Choose a question that requires current client knowledge, such as a security control or the split of operations. See whether the tool leaves the question for confirmation or invents an answer from loosely related text.
The review process should keep the exact question, source evidence, and confirmed answer together. Software can help prepare the form; it cannot make an unknown operational fact true.
Measure the complete commercial task
Record preparation, waiting, review, correction, and the next handoff separately. Compare similar account types. Use the cost worksheet to value observed time with your actual agency inputs.
Include cases that need an underwriter or unusual document. A tool that completes routine work can still be useful if the team understands its boundaries and has a workable path for exceptions.
Starting with Relay
Bring a representative commercial file and identify the next deliverable. Confirm the supported application, proposal, document, or browser task during setup. Review the actual output before expanding the workflow to more accounts.
Explore ACORD generation, proposals, and AI Quoting according to the step your team wants to improve.
Use the commercial quoting demo scorecard to compare vendors on the same account.
Start with one commercial account and review the work Relay prepares.