Bordereaux: an inherited mechanism that is no longer fit for purpose

Why bordereaux workflow is now constraining underwriting insight, operational efficiency and decision speed

It is treated as a basic operational mechanism, yet it is also carrying an ever-growing weight of regulatory, accounting and oversight expectations. Over time the market has layered more requirements, more fields and more downstream checks onto a process that was never designed to run at scale. The result is familiar: delayed information, inconsistent quality and a manual effort level that feels out of step with how Delegated Authority now operates.

 

Transformation or evolution  

We are starting to see this situation change, but the move is not to suddenly replace bordereaux, it is a gradual move to reduce what it is asked to do. Practitioners are increasingly questioning whether a periodic spreadsheet or file should be the primary interface between coverholders and carriers, especially when the same information is repeatedly re-keyed, re-mapped and re-validated by multiple parties. At the same time, technology has moved from theoretical to practical. More organisations can now pull data directly from partners, increase frequency and apply validation earlier, rather than accepting a quarterly or monthly submission and then discovering problems weeks later. 

Why this matters operationally 

The operational problem is time. A risk can be written in January, appear in a March submission, and only be reviewed in April. By the time issues are detected, you’re already behind the curve, with another reporting cycle queued behind it. That lag affects everything. Underwriting teams cannot monitor appetite drift in time to intervene. Oversight remains compliance-heavy because the workflow is dominated by query resolution and reconciliation rather than insight. Claims data is often disconnected from risk data because references and systems do not align, which blocks basic analysis that should be routine. Even when data is “complete”, it is frequently split across teams, each creating its own version of the truth. 

Where organisations are getting stuck 

The core barriers are structural, not motivational.

First is the fragmentation of formats. Many coverholders supply the same data to multiple carriers in multiple templates, which makes accuracy hard and creates a permanent cycle of rework. 

Second is capability mismatch. Some coverholders are small operations with limited systems, others are highly sophisticated and capable of far more frequent and structured exchange. A single approach rarely fits both.  

Third is carrier readiness. Even where a coverholder can provide data through APIs or structured feeds, some carriers are not set up to receive it, map it, and route it through their own architecture without manual intervention. Finally, the market has a cultural hangover in how it treats bordereaux work, as a processing function rather than a skilled control point, which affects investment and retention. 

Strategic implications 

The immediate implication is that carriers need to be clearer about what they want bordereaux to achieve. A “more data, more often” request is not a strategy. Firms need to define which data items genuinely drive oversight, portfolio control, regulatory compliance and claims insight, and then align templates, validation rules and partner expectations around those priorities. Technology should support a clearer process, not replicate a broken one at higher speed. This also points to a market-level requirement for standardisation, because without it the burden remains with coverholders and the London market remains administratively expensive to trade with.  

---

The case for change is no longer theoretical. Delegated Authority is bigger, faster and more strategically important than it was when these mechanisms were formed, yet the workflow still creates months of delay and large-scale manual effort.  

The next step is to narrow what bordereaux is used for, improve quality at source and increase the speed at which data becomes usable. Firms that start now will not solve everything at once, but they will remove the cycle of backlog and build the foundation for the next stage of operating model change. 

If you would like to take part in further Delegated Authority discussions, you can join peers at the Delegated Authority Strategy Day  taking place on April 23rd in London.