Quoting Property Risks for Success

Many agents and wholesale brokers are working hard to convince underwriters that their insureds’ risks fit the coverage appetite. There are ways to better tell these stories and ways to get your risk to the “top of the pile” for underwriters.

Throughout 2023, we have seen a “hard market” in the insurance industry. Perhaps the most impacted of all have been property risks. Catastrophe losses, reduced capacity by carriers, coastal risk concerns, inflation impacts, and reinsurance rates have all caused property verticals to tighten.

As a result, many agents and wholesale brokers are working hard to convince underwriters that their insureds’ risks fit the coverage appetite. There are ways to better tell these stories and ways to get your risk to the “top of the pile” for underwriters. The most obvious may be accurately completing or annotating applications and/or ACORD forms, but there are others. Let’s take a look.

Some property risks are adversely affected by their location, and others by their own loss history. But things change, and there are stories to tell. Some ways to do that include providing:

• Complete loss runs
• Information on exposures
• A narrative of the risk
• Explanation of any large losses
• Risk management and/or safety measures in place
• Current photos of the property

Once you’ve provided all the information, explain to the underwriter where the risk has been on coverage and pricing in the past and where you’d need to be in order to place them. Additionally, let them know how the real estate market in the area of risk is trending. Is there a need for higher limits? Or has the market changed direction? A key indicator here is typically price per square foot instead of market value comparisons.

And finally, ask your underwriter what they’d like to see to move forward. You may be surprised in some cases how close you are to a bindable quote with just a little more information.

Have these conversations, and if you need assistance with market options and property risk placement, the team at QuoteWell would be more than happy to assist you.