First notice of loss is the initial report that a loss has occurred, made to the broker or carrier by the insured. It triggers claim setup, coverage confirmation and reserve establishment. FNOL arrives however the client chooses to send it, which in practice means email, attachments, photographs, phone calls and occasionally text messages.
Updated September 2026.
Why it matters
The quality of what is captured at first notice determines how the whole claim runs. A notice missing the policy number, date of loss or a coherent description goes into a queue and waits, while the reserve sits unset and the client sits uninformed. Volume makes this worse, because notices arrive in bursts after weather events and triage is exactly when nobody has time.
What to check
- Policy in force at the date of loss, confirmed rather than assumed
- Date, time and location of the loss, not the date of the report
- Whether the description supports the coverage being claimed
- Whether photographs or documents came attached and were read
- Whether the notice is complete enough to set a meaningful reserve
Common mistake
Treating intake as administrative. What gets captured in the first notice decides how the whole claim runs, and a notice missing the date of loss or a coherent description sits in a queue with the reserve unset.
Reading inbound documents and preparing files is covered in the certificate software guide.