Field-by-field guides for every major commercial insurance ACORD form. What each section means, what underwriters look for, and common mistakes to avoid.
Commercial Insurance Application
The master application for every commercial insurance submission. Captures the applicant's identity, operations, loss history, and coverage needs.
View guideCommercial General Liability Section
The GL supplement to the ACORD 125. Captures liability limits, classification codes, premises info, and additional insured requirements.
View guideBusiness Auto Section
The business auto supplement to the ACORD 125. Covers vehicle schedules, liability limits, physical damage, and hired/non-owned auto coverage.
View guideWorkers' Compensation Application
The workers' comp supplement. Captures state-specific classification codes, payroll by class, experience modification rate, and officer/partner details.
View guideUmbrella / Excess Section
The umbrella and excess liability section. Captures requested limits and retained limit, the schedule of underlying liability policies, and the exposures the umbrella sits over.
View guideProperty Section
The property coverage supplement. Details building construction, property values, business income, and special exposures like equipment breakdown.
View guideACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development) forms are the standardized application documents used throughout the commercial insurance industry. They create a common language between agents, brokers, carriers, and underwriters – so that submissions are consistent regardless of which carrier receives them.
Commercial lines agents primarily use forms in the 100 series. The ACORD 125 is the master application required for every submission, while supplemental forms provide line-specific details: the 126 for general liability, 127 for business auto, 130 for workers' comp, 131 for umbrella/excess liability, and 140 for property.
Buying for your own business? Our checklist of what you need for a business insurance quote walks through the ACORD 125 questions in plain English.
The ACORD 125 (Commercial Insurance Application) is the foundation – it's required for every commercial insurance submission. The line-specific forms (126 for general liability, 127 for business auto, 130 for workers' comp, 131 for umbrella/excess, and 140 for property) provide the detailed information carriers need to underwrite and rate specific coverages.
ACORD forms are the industry standard, and virtually all carriers accept them. However, many carriers also have supplemental questions or proprietary formats that request additional information beyond what ACORD forms cover.
Yes. Most agency management systems include ACORD form generation. Comparative raters pre-populate ACORD data automatically. Manual PDF completion is still possible but significantly less efficient – especially when submitting to multiple carriers.
ACORD updates form versions periodically – typically every few years for major forms, with minor updates more frequently. Carriers generally accept forms within a reasonable version range, but significantly outdated forms can cause processing delays.
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