One national relationship.
Hedge serves eligible difficult commercial risks across the U.S. through one consistent relationship.
Why agencies choose Hedge over Novella
Hedge vs Novella
Consider Hedge when you want a more mature public library of appetite, forms, requirements, and authority boundaries around the workflow. Novella may fit better when your agency wants a new technology-led wholesaler focused on property, hospitality, construction, and liability. Confirm the proposed team, market route, and quoted terms for the account.
National reachResponsive serviceNo Hedge wholesale feeSame four-person team
Named-team wholesale optionHedgeResponsive service. No wholesale fee.
VS
Alternative service modelNovellaDigital wholesaler
NationalOne Hedge relationship for eligible difficult commercial risks across the U.S.
Quote supportPrompt review and clear updates as we pursue market quotes
Wholesale feeNo Hedge wholesale fee, no sub-brokering, and no layered commission stacks
Account teamThe same four people through intake, bind, renewal, and service
Why agencies choose Hedge
National reach. Responsive service. No Hedge wholesale fee.
These differences affect the next hard account.
Review by the team that owns the account.
Hedge reviews the file, identifies what is missing, and tells you whether there is a credible next step.
No Hedge wholesale fee.
No sub-brokering and no layered commission stacks. Premium, taxes, and filing charges remain account-specific.
One team owns it.
The same four people stay through intake, quote, bind, renewal, and service.
Recommendation
Where does Hedge fit your account?
What does a live marketing report prove about carrier receipt and response?
The Hedge service model
Start here
Consider Hedge when these needs match.
- You want a more mature public library of appetite, forms, requirements, and authority boundaries around the workflow.
- You prefer a named four-person team and explicit approval before market release.
Next step: get appointed with Hedge.
Account fit
Consider Novella when these needs match.
- Your agency wants a new technology-led wholesaler focused on property, hospitality, construction, and liability.
- Live market-outreach reporting is central to how your team wants to work.
Ask the proposed team to confirm the specific route and service owner.
What happens after intake
With Hedge, ownership is obvious.
The same team reads the file, asks for what is missing, waits for your release authority, routes the account, and stays through service.
Where Novella may fit
Your agency wants a new technology-led wholesaler focused on property, hospitality, construction, and liability.
Novella
Enter risk→Check eligibility→Handle referral→Name service owner
Hedge
Team reviews file→Same four people→You approve release→Same team services
Hedge makes the owner and the release decision explicit. Ask Novella to map the same path before you send.
Side by side
Seven operating questions for the agency.
Compare the proposed team, actual route, and terms for the same account. Hedge's column describes its published service commitments. Competitor sources are linked below; confirm desk-level service and total cost directly.
| Decision | Novella | Hedge |
|---|---|---|
| Account fit | Your agency wants a new technology-led wholesaler focused on property, hospitality, construction, and liability. | You want a more mature public library of appetite, forms, requirements, and authority boundaries around the workflow. |
| National reach | U.S. commercial specialty focus | Yes. Hedge serves eligible difficult commercial risks across the U.S. through one national service model. |
| First useful response | Ask the exact Novella team to commit to a response standard. | Prompt file review, clear quote updates, and market terms when available. |
| Who owns the account | Confirm the named desk, broker, handoffs, and post-bind service owner. Speed can fall away on referrals or non-standard accounts. Ask who takes over, what each status means, and who services the policy. | The same four-person team through intake, quote, bind, renewal, and service. |
| Brokerage-side cost | Confirm Novella's wholesale fees, commissions, and any intermediary layers. | No Hedge wholesale fee, no sub-brokering, and no layered commission stacks. Premium, taxes, and filing charges remain account-specific. |
| Before a market receives the file | Confirm when Novella treats intake as an authorized release and an actual market send. | The retail agent explicitly authorizes release. Receipt, review, release, and market send remain separate. |
| When Novella may win | Your agency wants a new technology-led wholesaler focused on property, hospitality, construction, and liability. Live market-outreach reporting is central to how your team wants to work. | Confirm Hedge can support the required class, state, coverage structure, and market route before deciding. |
An account to work through
Read valuation and limits before comparing price.
Illustrative account example. This is a decision exercise, not a customer placement or a measured comparison of providers.
The situation
A commercial-property account receives marketing updates, and the agent needs to distinguish outreach from usable quoted terms.
What would change the choice?
A lower total price is useful only after the valuation, limits, deductibles and coverage scope are understood. Ask the agent and insured to confirm values before requesting a reduction.
Read the related coverage or placement guideWhat to compare on this file
- Give each team the same building and contents values, construction details, occupancy and loss history.
- Compare actual cash value versus replacement cost, coinsurance, deductibles and any business-income coverage on the quote.
- Separate property coverage from general liability and track any outstanding underwriting requirements through issuance.
Related work from a real Hedge account
Related cases describe Hedge’s work on separate real accounts. They do not establish that the other providers participated, declined the risk, charged more or would have produced a different result.
Reading a commercial property quote before binding
A retail agent asked about reducing liability on a property quote. Hedge clarified that the quoted limit applied to building and contents, explained the valuation terms, and handled the file through policy issuance.
Issued policy. The commercial property policy was issued and sent to the retail agent. The reviewed declarations show actual cash value and a coinsurance provision. This case does not establish a lower premium, replacement-cost settlement, general liability coverage or coverage for a period before inception.
Hedge’s records reviewed .
Example reviewed by Hedge Specialty on . Explore verified account outcomes.
Common questions
Compare Hedge and Novella on speed, cost, ownership, and fit.
Review speed, fees, ownership, market release, and the cases where Novella may fit better.
Why choose Hedge over Novella?
Consider Hedge when you want a more mature public library of appetite, forms, requirements, and authority boundaries around the workflow. Novella may fit better when your agency wants a new technology-led wholesaler focused on property, hospitality, construction, and liability. Confirm the proposed team, market route, and quoted terms for the account. Hedge charges no wholesale fee and keeps a named four-person team on the account. These are service commitments, not a measured response-time advantage over Novella.
How fast does Hedge respond?
Hedge reviews the file promptly, identifies missing information, and keeps you updated while pursuing market terms. Quotes depend on account eligibility, a complete file, and market response. There is no guaranteed turnaround or quote on every risk.
How is the Hedge service model different from Novella?
Every Hedge account gets the same four-person team through intake, quote, bind, renewal, and service. Novella's experience can vary by division, office, product lane, or named broker, so confirm the exact team that would own the account.
Is Hedge cheaper to work with?
Hedge charges no wholesale fee, does not sub-broker accounts, and does not add layered commission stacks. That does not establish the lowest total cost for a particular account. Carrier premium, surplus-lines taxes, filing charges, and any other account-specific quoted costs still depend on the placement.
Will Hedge send my submission to markets immediately?
No. Hedge routes the submission to the named account team first and does not share it with markets until the retail agent authorizes a release. Receipt, release, market send, quote, bind, and issue are separate states.
Can Hedge guarantee a quote or placement?
No wholesale broker can honestly guarantee a quote from a public comparison page. Hedge reviews the class, state, coverage, facts, submission quality, and current market route before confirming what it can do.
Do I need to replace my Novella relationship to work with Hedge?
No. Hedge can earn a place on the difficult accounts where speed, direct ownership, and fewer handoffs matter. A productive existing Novella relationship can remain useful for accounts that fit its strongest lane.
How do I start with Hedge?
Licensed retail insurance professionals can request an appointment or submit a risk for review. Hedge will confirm agency fit and account fit separately; an appointment request is not approval, and a submission receipt is not a quote.
Published and reviewed by Hedge Specialty on · Novella facts: Novella · Research methodPublic information does not confirm fit, terms, access, or authority for a specific account.
Make Hedge your first call
Bring us the hard account.
Get a file review from the same team that will own the file through placement and service.