Non-renewals are one of the most misunderstood — and inconsistently handled — processes in insurance agencies.
On paper, they seem simple: a policy isn't renewing. But in reality, non-renewals create workflow gaps, data inconsistencies, missed remarketing opportunities, and visibility issues across your renewal pipeline.
If your agency is relying on a mix of download activity, manual processes, and inconsistent staff handling, you're almost guaranteed to have problems. Here's a clean, scalable approach to managing non-renewals in Applied Epic — including how to leverage IVANS downloads, Renewal Manager, and offshore support teams like Staff Boom.
The Core Problem: Inconsistency Kills Visibility
Most agencies handle non-renewals differently depending on how they arrive — download versus email versus carrier lists, individual CSR habits, different assumptions about "non-renewal versus cancellation," and activities that get created and then immediately closed (a big one).
The result is no consistent reporting, missed remarketing opportunities, inaccurate retention data, and frustrated account managers. The fix isn't more effort — it's standardization.
Step 1: Let IVANS Do Its Job
If you've configured Applied Epic correctly, IVANS download will already create non-renewal activities automatically. A >NON activity is created on its own — open, and assigned to the servicing Account Manager role.
What your team should not do is just as important: don't recreate the activity, don't close it, and don't ignore it.
Step 2: Fix Your Manual Workflow
Not every non-renewal comes through download. You'll still receive carrier emails, forwarded notices from producers, and bulk non-renewal lists. For these, you need a standardized fallback process.
The rule: if there is no download activity, create a #NON activity and assign it to the Account Manager. That's it — no interpretation, no processing, no decisions.
Step 3: Stop Over-Processing
One of the biggest breakdowns I see — especially when using offshore teams — is over-processing. Staff members try to determine why the policy is non-renewing, decide if it can be saved, start remarketing, and close out the activity. This creates inconsistency and removes accountability.
Step 4: Use Renewal Manager to Drive Visibility
Activities alone are not a scalable way to manage renewals. If you want true visibility, everything needs to live in Renewal Manager. Add a dedicated stage — "Non-Renewal – Need to Remarket" — and use it whenever a non-renewal is identified early, typically more than 75 days out.
This matters because it ensures the policy shows up in the renewal workflow at the right time, gives your team visibility into remarketing demand, and eliminates the need for tracking future activities. It's where agencies start to move from reactive to proactive.
Step 5: The Step Most Agencies Miss — Carrier Lists
If you're receiving bulk non-renewal lists from carriers, this is one of the highest-leverage workflows in your entire operation. For every policy on the list, your team does two things:
- Locate the policy in Epic
- Update the Renewal Manager stage to "Non-Renewal – Need to Remarket"
That's it. Done correctly, this gives your team months of lead time, allows for proactive remarketing, spreads workload evenly across the renewal cycle, and dramatically improves retention outcomes. This one workflow can completely change how your agency handles renewals.
Step 6: Define the "Stop Point" for Support Teams
If you're using a partner like Staff Boom — or any offshore support — you need to be crystal clear about where their responsibility ends. Their job is to ensure the activity exists (>NON or #NON), confirm the correct assignment, and update the Renewal Manager stage when applicable.
Their job is not quoting, marketing, decision-making, or managing follow-ups. That boundary is what keeps your operation clean and scalable.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Duplicate activities — creating #NON when >NON already exists
- Closing activities immediately — removes all visibility and accountability
- Inconsistent handling by source — different workflows for download, manual, and lists
- Ignoring early non-renewals — leads to last-minute scrambling
- Overloading activities instead of using Renewal Manager — creates clutter instead of clarity
What "Good" Looks Like
At a high level, your workflow should be this simple:
- Download non-renewal — >NON auto-created; verify and move on; update the stage if it's early
- Manual non-renewal — create #NON, assign to the AM, update the stage if it's early
- Carrier list — locate the policy, update the Renewal Manager stage
This Is About Data, Not Just Workflow
Non-renewals aren't just a service issue — they're a data and reporting issue. How you handle them affects retention reporting, renewal forecasting, workload distribution, and operational efficiency.
If you're looking to implement this kind of structure in your agency — or want help aligning your workflows with Applied Epic best practices — that's exactly what we do at Epic Optimizer.