Book Roll
Also known as: Book Transfer · Book Roll-over
Book roll is the process by which an acquired book of business transfers from the seller's agency to the buyer's agency post-close, and book-roll probability estimates how much of the book actually retains through that transition.
What is book roll?
When an agency is acquired, the book doesn't automatically come with the keys. Each client's policy lives at a specific carrier under a specific producer-of-record (POR). Changing the POR — moving the book from the seller's name to the buyer's — requires either a Broker of Record letter signed by the client or, in many cases, a re-write to a buyer-controlled appointment.
Book roll probability is the buyer's estimate of how much of the book will actually transfer. It's driven by client loyalty (do they care who their producer is?), service continuity (is the same person still serving them?), carrier fit (does the buyer have the same appointments?), geographic continuity (is the office staying open?), and communication strategy (is the seller helping with the transition?).
Book-roll estimates fall into three buckets at Tier 2: High (0–5% haircut), Medium (5–15%), Low (15–25%). The haircut is applied directly to the triangulated valuation.
Why it matters in agency valuation
A nominal 7x EBITDA offer with a 'Low' book-roll profile is effectively closer to 5.5x once the haircut is applied. Buyers explicitly model book roll because the gap between 'agencies that look the same on paper' and 'agencies that actually transfer cleanly' is enormous.
Example
How MyAgencyValue uses this
Tier 2's book-roll heuristic uses retention bucket, AMS quality, team size, and exit timeline to assign H/M/L. Tier 3 evaluates each factor individually with reasoning.
Common questions
What's the difference between retention and book roll?
Retention measures the steady-state stickiness of the book under the current owner. Book roll measures how much of that book survives a change of ownership. A 95%-retention book under one owner could see a 75% book-roll number under a new owner if the transition is botched. Buyers underwrite both.
Related terms
Retention rate is the percentage of accounts (or premium) that renew with the agency from one year to the next, with industry-typical retention for P&C agencies in the 85–90% range.
A transition plan is the seller's documented strategy for transferring relationships, knowledge, and operational continuity to the buyer in the weeks and months following close.
Key person risk is the degree to which an agency's revenue, retention, or carrier relationships depend on a single individual — typically the principal, top producer, or sole servicing AM.
Last reviewed: April 24, 2026
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