Your agent asks for the renewal file this week. The underwriter will not price the account until the paper lands. Propane insurance programs still start with applications and multi-year loss runs. The gap that hurts most is a binder that cannot answer without a week of digging.
Loss runs and a finished application
On July 23, 2026, NIP Group's PropanePro post said underwriters move only as fast as the information in front of them. That post lists common stalls: missing loss runs, a partial driver or MVR list, skipped sections, and mixed-fuel operations left unexplained. For loss history, send at least three to five years of loss runs, and include prior carriers when the account moved. Keep the runs current within 90 days rather than recycling last year's pull.
Amwins Program Underwriters' Propane Gas Distributors supplemental lists what it needs before quoting. Send the ACORD applications and that propane supplemental, plus five years of currently valued loss runs. Add the date of the last Fire Safety Analysis at any facility over 4,000 gallons. Add the date the Homeland Security STQ form was completed.
Crum & Forster's North Carolina propane and petroleum supplemental is one state's form, useful as a checklist elsewhere. It opens with completed ACORDs and the supplemental. It also asks for no less than five years of currently valued loss runs within 90 days of the effective date.
Butane-Propane News published Frank Thompson on June 22, 2026, on propane renewals. He wrote that underwriters often lean first on applications and five-year loss runs. He also warned that simply replicating last year's coverage is rarely enough when fleets, drivers, and gallon volumes have changed. Pull the runs and update the exposure picture before your agent has to chase you.
Written procedures and the incident file
NIP's propane supplemental questionnaire asks for written proof under Safety/Risk Management. It asks you to check whether you have a formalized, written, and implemented employee safety program or handbook. It also asks whether you have a formalized and documented procedure for investigating all accidents and incidents. Nearby checkboxes cover a written new-customer policy, a written procedure for documenting service calls, and plant emergency training for employees.
The North Carolina form asks the parallel questions in yes/no form. It asks whether you have a written employee handbook and a written accident investigation program that finds cause and corrective measures. It asks about a written out-of-gas policy and written loading and unloading procedures for drivers. Those lines are why an owner keeps one current policies book instead of tribal knowledge across three desks.
A written policies and procedures manual covering delivery, fills, training, and emergencies gives your safety lead one book to cite. Keep accident and incident investigation steps with the forms your supervisors use after a claim or near miss.
Training records that match the trucks
Underwriters ask about training because the HMR already makes the record a standing duty. The underwriter's training checkbox fails when the folder has no dated sheet for each hazmat employee. Under 49 CFR 172.704, hazmat employee training covers general awareness, function-specific work, safety training, and security awareness training.
New hazmat employees must receive security awareness training within 90 days after employment. Recurrent training is required at least once every three years. When your company must keep a security plan, in-depth security training on that plan is also required. A plan revision can restart the 90-day clock for that piece.
The training rule says each hazmat employer must create and retain a record of current training for each hazmat employee. Keep it for the preceding three years while that person works, and for 90 days thereafter. The record must include the employee's name and the most recent training completion date. Add the materials' description or location, the trainer's name and address, and certification that the employee was trained and tested.
That questionnaire asks how often you hold employee safety meetings and what share of drivers and techs are CETP certified. It asks whether CETP recertification is required at least every three years. The North Carolina form asks whether job-function training and refresher training are documented. It also asks whether hazmat-handling employees get required hazmat training within 90 days of hire and every three years thereafter.
Your renewal packet should let someone open one folder and answer those questions with dates.
The hazmat security plan copy
If you offer or transport a large bulk quantity of Division 2.1 flammable gas, 49 CFR 172.800 requires a security plan. The supplemental's PROVIDE COPIES line fails when the folder has no plan pages to attach.
Large bulk quantity means more than 3,000 liters (792 gallons) in a single packaging such as a cargo tank. A loaded propane bobtail sits inside that line. The farmer exception in 172.800(c) is narrow and does not cover a retail marketer.
Under 49 CFR 172.802, the plan must assess transportation security risks. Include site-specific risks at facilities where the material is prepared, stored, or unloaded incidental to movement. At a minimum it must address personnel security, unauthorized access, and en route security. Name the responsible senior manager by job title, list duties by position, and include hazmat employee training under the training rule.
The plan must be in writing and retained while it remains in effect. Review it at least annually and revise it when circumstances change. Keep a copy accessible at or through the principal place of business.
That questionnaire asks for a written hazmat fleet security plan (HM232). Under "PROVIDE COPIES OF EACH ITEM BELOW," it asks for the Hazardous Materials Fleet Security Plan. Include pages or a table of contents covering personnel security, en route security, and unauthorized access security. The North Carolina form asks whether you have the required PHMSA written hazmat transportation security plan. Keep the current plan, the last review date, and the matching in-depth security training records in the same packet. A DOT hazmat security plan written to your yard and trucks is the document those lines are pointing at.
Assemble the packet before the chase starts
Build one folder your agent can send without calling you three times. Put the ACORDs, the propane supplemental, and the current loss runs on top. Add the written safety program, the accident investigation procedure, dated hazmat training records, and the security plan pages. Add leak-test or out-of-gas forms and customer safety literature when the carrier's copy list includes them, as that questionnaire does.
An insurance renewal kit is a packaging job. It organizes the manuals, inspection records, and training documentation you already have into one packet with a cover summary. It does not write missing manuals, negotiate the policy, or replace your agent. If the policies book or security plan is missing, write those first, then assemble the file.
This week, have your safety lead open one binder and confirm four items before the agent emails again. Confirm five-year loss runs dated inside the last 90 days, and a written employee safety program you can hand over. Also confirm a 172.704 training record for every active hazmat employee, and a security plan reviewed inside the last year.
Common questions
Who pulls the current loss-run PDF before the agent asks?
Have your CSR or bookkeeper request currently valued loss runs from each prior carrier this week. Save the PDFs in the renewal binder beside the ACORDs. Do not wait for the agent to chase the same pull.
What do you print beside the security plan when the form says PROVIDE COPIES?
Print the current plan pages or a table of contents the supplemental lists under that heading. Attach the last review date and the matching in-depth security training sheets. Put that stack in the same packet as the ACORDs.
Who owns the propane renewal binder when the agent emails?
Put one person in charge, usually the safety lead or operations manager. That person keeps the loss runs, supplemental answers, written procedures, training file, and security plan in one place and updates them when drivers, trucks, or plant layout change. Your insurance agent still shops the market; your staff owns the file the underwriter reads.
Sources
- NIP Group, 5 Submission Mistakes That Slow Down Propane Placements, July 23, 2026 — nipgroup.com
- NIP Group, Propane Supplemental Questionnaire (APP-PDD 0524), APP-PDD 0524 — nipgroup.com
- Amwins Program Underwriters, Propane Gas Distributors Insurance Program Supplemental Application, v.1/2021 — www.amwins.com
- Crum & Forster, North Carolina Propane & Petroleum Supplemental Application (MA 16 016 01 23), MA 16 016 01 23 — www.cfins.com
- Butane-Propane News, Navigating Propane Insurance Renewals: Why Expertise Matters (Frank Thompson), June 22, 2026 — bpnews.com
- PHMSA / GovInfo, 49 CFR 172.800 Purpose and applicability (CFR-2024 annual), CFR title 49, Oct. 1, 2024 ed. (verified 2026-09-26; eCFR mirror https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-172/subpart-I/section-172.800) — www.govinfo.gov
- PHMSA / GovInfo, 49 CFR 172.802 Components of a security plan (CFR-2024 annual), CFR title 49, Oct. 1, 2024 ed. (verified 2026-09-26; eCFR mirror https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-172/subpart-I/section-172.802) — www.govinfo.gov
- PHMSA / GovInfo, 49 CFR 172.704 Training requirements (CFR-2024 annual), CFR title 49, Oct. 1, 2024 ed. (verified 2026-09-26; eCFR mirror https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-172/subpart-H/section-172.704) — www.govinfo.gov
This page is general information for propane marketers in the United States. It is not legal advice and it does not certify compliance. Confirm the current rule text, your state's adopted code, and your insurer's requirements before you rely on any example here.
Propane Safety Pro writes the written programs linked above, built to how your company actually runs. Call 610-228-0887 and ask for the written program. We sell to propane companies, not homeowners.