OFAC compliance for insurance companies means screening every applicant, insured, beneficiary, claimant and payee against the OFAC sanctions lists before a policy is bound and before any claim or refund is paid, then keeping a dated record of each check for 10 years. The rule reaches agents and brokers too: OFAC's November 2024 insurance guidance says compliance is the responsibility of every participant in the life of a policy, including underwriters, brokers and agents. An independent agency pays $24 to $50 a month for screening software. A carrier or MGA that screens its whole book after each list update usually pays $250 to $500 a month.
Below we compare the options an agency principal, claims manager or compliance officer is likely to shortlist, including our own product, a direct competitor, a full AML platform, the screening built into agency and claims systems, and the free Treasury search. Prices come from each vendor's public pages in October 2026. They change, so confirm them before you buy.
OFAC screening software compared for insurance companies
| Tool | Entry price | Volume included | Lists | Record for the policy or claim file | Rescreening of the book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OfacScanner Starter | $49 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly | 1,000 checks a month, 1 user | OFAC SDN and Consolidated | PDF certificate per check with list version, time and user | No, run checks again by hand |
| OfacScanner Growth | $499 a month, or $249 a month billed yearly | 50,000 checks a month, 5 users | OFAC plus UN, EU, UK, Canada and Australia | PDF per check plus a case with the reviewer's decision and reason | Yes, up to 50,000 policyholders after every list update |
| OFACScreen | $49 a month (Starter), $149 (Professional), $349 (Business) | 1,000, 2,000 or 10,000 searches, 3 to 25 users | 14 lists on every plan | Free PDF records on every plan | 10, 50 or 500 names checked daily |
| ComplyAdvantage Starter | From $99 a month billed yearly | Up to 2,000 monitored entities, Enterprise by quote above that | Global sanctions plus PEP and adverse media | Case record in the platform | Yes, ongoing monitoring |
| Screening inside agency or claims software | Varies, often an add on | Varies | Often OFAC only, ask which lists | Ask whether it saves a dated record per check | Rarely |
| Treasury Sanctions List Search | Free government website | One name at a time | OFAC lists only | None, you print or screenshot it | No |
Two honest takeaways. A personal lines agency writing local auto and home policies only needs OFAC, and OfacScanner Starter or OFACScreen Starter will cover it. OFACScreen gives three logins at the same $49 monthly price, which suits a small office with several CSRs. If you are a life insurer or a carrier with an AML program for covered products, you also need PEP screening, and a bundle like ComplyAdvantage covers it while our tool does not. You can see its full pricing on our ComplyAdvantage pricing comparison. Our pick for commercial lines carriers, MGAs and claims departments is Growth, because it screens the full book in one upload, rechecks every active policyholder after each list update and records who cleared each possible match.
What are the OFAC requirements for insurance companies
OFAC rules apply to every U.S. person, and that includes U.S. insurers, their foreign branches, agencies and brokers. There is no size threshold. Three duties matter in daily work.
- Do not deal with a blocked person. You may not issue a policy to, collect premium from or pay a claim to a person or company on the SDN list, or to a company 50 percent or more owned by blocked persons, unless OFAC has authorized it.
- Block and report. When you find a blocked party in an existing policy or a pending payment, you block the property and report it to OFAC within 10 business days. Blocked property is also reported every year by September 30.
- Keep records. Sanctions records now have to be kept for 10 years, after the 2024 change to the statute of limitations. Our guide to OFAC recordkeeping requirements lists what that covers.
OFAC enforces on a strict liability basis. A claim paid to a blocked party can be a violation even if nobody knew. What reduces a penalty in practice is a written, risk based program and proof that staff followed it. That proof is the screening record, and it is what a state examiner, reinsurer or carrier partner asks for.
What happens if a policyholder or beneficiary is on the SDN list
OFAC's insurance FAQs answer this directly. If an applicant is blocked, you may not issue the policy, and any deposit received has to be blocked and reported within 10 business days. If an existing policyholder is designated, you block the policy or the relevant part of it, and future premiums go into a blocked, interest bearing account. In November 2024 OFAC clarified that one blocked beneficiary does not always block the whole policy, so other claimants may still be paid. A payment to the blocked party needs a specific license. Your counsel decides the details, but you can only follow any of this if your screening found the name first.
Who should an insurance company screen
- Applicants and named insureds, before the policy is bound, including the owners of a commercial insured.
- Beneficiaries and loss payees, when they are named and again before payment.
- Claimants and third party payees, including attorneys, public adjusters and repair shops receiving the check.
- Premium finance companies and lienholders paid out of a claim.
- Vendors and service providers, such as independent adjusters, salvage buyers and TPAs. Our OFAC vendor screening page covers the AP side of this.
- Foreign reinsurers, brokers and cedents, where your treaties reach outside the United States.
The same vendor file often comes with a certificate of insurance requirement. If you already chase COIs from adjusters and contractors, a certificate of insurance tracking tool keeps those documents current, and the OFAC record can sit next to it in the vendor folder.
When should insurers run an OFAC check
Run it at four moments: at quote or application, at binding, before every claim payment or premium refund, and after OFAC updates its lists for every active policy. The last step is the one manual programs skip. OFAC changes its lists several times a month, and a policyholder cleared at renewal can be designated in month three. Rechecking 20,000 active policies by hand is not realistic, which is why ongoing sanctions monitoring rechecks saved records after each update and alerts only on new possible matches. For high value claims, the check right before the payment goes out is the one that protects you most. Our payment screening page covers that workflow.
Is the OFAC check in my agency management or claims system enough
Sometimes. Some agency management, rating and claims platforms run an OFAC check during quoting or before a check is cut. Ask three questions before you rely on it. Which lists does it check, and how fast does it pick up OFAC updates? Does it save a dated record of each check that you can download for an examiner? Does it rescreen existing policyholders after list changes, or only new business? If any answer is no, keep the system check for quoting and add a separate tool for the record and the rescreening. Many agencies also produce business outside their main system, such as surplus lines or commercial accounts handled by a wholesaler, and those names never pass through the built in check.
How much OFAC screening costs an insurance company
| Business | Names screened a year | Lists needed | Plan that fits | Yearly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent personal lines agency | Under 10,000 | OFAC | OfacScanner Starter or OFACScreen Starter | $288 to $588 |
| Commercial lines agency or MGA with some foreign insureds | 10,000 to 50,000 | OFAC, plus UN, EU and UK for foreign parties | OFACScreen Business or OfacScanner Growth | About $2,800 to $2,988 |
| Regional carrier rescreening its book and screening claim payments | 50,000 and up, plus rescreening | OFAC, UN, EU and UK | OfacScanner Growth, Scale for API screening of payments | $2,988 to $11,988 |
Compare that with the cost of a single mistake. OFAC penalties are calculated per transaction, and an insurer that paid claims to a blocked party will spend more on counsel alone than ten years of any plan above.
What to look for in OFAC software for insurance
- Fuzzy matching that handles transliterated and misspelled names, because claimant names arrive from many sources.
- Screening of company names as well as people, for commercial insureds and payees.
- A downloadable record for every check that shows the list version, so it can be attached to the policy or claim file.
- CSV upload, so you can screen the whole book before an exam or renewal season.
- Rescreening of active policyholders after every list update.
- Enough logins for underwriting, claims and finance, with a second reviewer for cleared matches.
A short buying checklist for insurers and agencies
- List every role you pay or collect from: insureds, beneficiaries, claimants, vendors and reinsurers.
- Count names per year, including rescreening of active policies.
- Decide whether you need UN, EU and UK lists, which you do if you insure or pay parties abroad.
- Check whether a PEP requirement applies to your products, for example under an AML program for covered life and annuity products.
- Run a few real claimant names through a demo and open the record it produces, then choose the cheapest plan that covers your volume.
You can start with one name right now. Type an applicant or claimant into our OFAC search to see the score and the matched entry, then read how we handle insurance OFAC screening for policies and claims and compare plans on the pricing page. A small agency can stay on Starter. A carrier or MGA should start on Growth, upload its policyholder file with batch sanctions screening and let monitoring watch the whole book from the first day.