From Spreadsheets to Speed in Insurance Underwriting: How Bordereaux Reporting Is Finally Growing Up

For decades, bordereaux reporting has remained one of the insurance industry’s most persistent process headaches. It’s a function everyone depends on, but few want to own. From formatting inconsistencies and manual reconciliations to missed deadlines and delayed insights, bordereaux has historically been a burden and an afterthought relegated to the back office. 

Those days are numbered. 

As program business expands and delegated authority models gain traction in the U.S. market, the bordereaux function is being pulled into the spotlight. It’s no longer just a reporting requirement, but a strategic advantage if leveraged appropriately. 

Yesterday’s Bordereaux: A Necessary Evil 

If you’ve worked in insurance for any length of time, you’ve likely encountered the legacy version of bordereaux reporting: Excel spreadsheets passed around via email, formatted differently by each trading partner, and reconciled manually, often weeks or even months after the fact. 

It’s a slow, fragmented process with carriers receiving data in inconsistent formats, claims teams struggling to see what is actually on the books, and underwriting, finance, and compliance all operating from different versions of the truth. Also, the entire process relies on humans catching errors in thousands of rows of data. 

At its core, traditional bordereaux reporting is reactive. Reports reflect what has happened, instead of what is happening. As a result, portfolio performance insights are delayed, and corrective actions are often too late to make a difference. 

Terms like “binders,” “flat files,” and “schedules” dominate the conversation. Furthermore, despite the complexity, the output is often boiled down to little more than a box-checking exercise. 

What Has Changed in Bordereaux 

Several forces are converging to disrupt this outdated model. 

First and foremost, the growth of delegated authority arrangements in the U.S is significant. While once considered the domain of the London Market, program business in the U.S. is booming, with the market climbing 47% from $53.8 billion to $79.07 billion from 2020 to 2022 alone.  Carriers are increasingly entrusting MGAs and MGUs with underwriting and claims authority, creating the need for faster, cleaner, and more frequent reporting. 

At the same time, regulatory scrutiny is intensifying. U.S. regulators are taking a closer look at data governance, exposure transparency, and delegated compliance. That means carriers can no longer afford to treat bordereaux as a “set-it-and-forget-it” task. They need auditable, real-time visibility into their portfolios. 

Internally, the pressure is growing, too. The volume of data is increasing, talent is more difficult to retain, and insurers need to redeploy human capital to more strategic functions. Manual processes simply don’t scale. 

Modern insurance leaders recognize that bordereaux is no longer just an operational issue.  

Today’s Bordereaux: Fast, Actionable, and Integrated 

For the modern insurance enterprise, bordereaux is a dynamic data stream that supports real-time insights, stakeholder collaboration, and business agility. 

Today’s tools enable: 

• AI and Automation bordereaux creation on demand 
• Pre-built validations and exception triggers to ensure compliance before errors become liabilities 
• Real-time reconciliation across underwriting, claims, finance, and operations 
• Role-based access to data for internal and external stakeholders 

Consider this: what used to take weeks (compiling, scrubbing, and reviewing files) can now be completed in minutes. Claims teams can see exposures as they happen. Underwriters can adjust program parameters mid-cycle. Finance and compliance teams gain continuous audit readiness without the fire drills. 

This shift in terminology says it all: 

• From “flat files” to real-time exposure reports 
• From “manual clean-up” to automated reconciliation 
• From “monthly binders” to on-demand portfolio intelligence 

The result is speed, clarity, consistency, and control. 

The Culture Shift: From ‘Report Output’ to ‘Portfolio Insight’ 

Perhaps the most important transformation isn’t technological, but rather, cultural. 

Organizations leading the way have redefined bordereaux from a compliance task to a source of competitive insight. They understand that the value isn’t in the report itself, but in what the data enables: faster decisions, smarter underwriting, and better risk selection. 

With modern bordereaux tools: 

• Portfolio performance can be monitored in near real-time 
• Outliers and underperforming programs are identified early 
• Claims activity is tied more directly to exposure data 
• Corrective actions (or growth strategies) can be implemented proactively 

This approach requires more than new software. It demands a shift in mindset, from reactive to predictive, from siloed to integrated, from tactical to strategic. 

This mindset shift starts at the top. P&L owners who embrace the new standard are reallocating resources, upskilling teams, and treating bordereaux not as a cost center, but as a business accelerator. 

What the Future Looks Like for Bordereaux Reporting  

Insurers are reimagining the entire bordereaux experience. 

We’re already seeing: 

• Carriers and MGAs sharing platforms, eliminating the need for redundant reporting altogether 
• Embedded AI to flag anomalies, identify inconsistencies, and surface trends 
• Seamless integrations between bordereaux engines and policy admin, claims, and finance systems 
• Self-service reporting, enabling teams to generate customized views without IT involvement 

The organizations adopting these models are more profitable, more agile, and better equipped to navigate shifting markets. 

Is Your Bordereaux Process Built for Growth? 

If your bordereaux process still runs on spreadsheets, long email chains, or disconnected systems, it’s time to ask yourself: 

Is this process helping you grow or holding you back? 

The new standard for bordereaux is here. It’s fast. It’s intelligent. And it’s transforming the way program business is managed from top to bottom. 

Our team at Sikich, along with our partners at VIPR Solutions, has seen firsthand how modern bordereaux solutions can unlock speed, insight, and confidence across the insurance value chain. Whether you’re a carrier looking to streamline delegated authority operations or an MGA seeking to scale smarter, we’re here to help. 

Click here to watch the full recording of our masterclass on bordereaux AI and automation.  

Contact us today to explore how automated bordereaux management can reshape your operations and elevate your strategy.