Carrier
The insurer bears the insurance risk under the policy. Identify the legal insurer, not just a program brand.
Read about carriersInsurance market guide
Excess and Surplus Lines Carrier.
An excess and surplus lines carrier is a nonadmitted insurer eligible to assume certain risks through the surplus lines system. The licensed surplus lines broker handles transaction-specific compliance. Eligibility, taxes, filings, diligent-search rules, and guaranty-fund treatment vary by jurisdiction and transaction.
Transaction role
Follow the function, not the label.
The insurer bears the covered risk while a licensed surplus lines broker performs the placement and required home-state compliance activities.
Confirm the responsibility
Ask who can quote, who can bind, who issues the policy and who handles service. Those responsibilities depend on the specific agreement and program, not just the company label.
Practical broker checklist
Preparing an E&S placement
- Describe why the account needs specialty consideration, including difficult operations, losses or property conditions.
- Identify the proposed insurer and the applicable state placement requirements through the authorized surplus lines channel.
- Compare policy wording and conditions as well as price; resolve subjectivities before requesting binding.
An illustrative account
A property renewal presents a new vacancy condition. Explain the occupied and vacant portions and any renovation plans so the underwriter can assess the actual risk rather than the old occupancy description.
This is a hypothetical preparation example, not an actual placement or a promise of coverage.
Compare the related admitted insurance carrier roleThe roles in one placement
Who does what?
MGA or MGU
A delegated underwriting business may evaluate and accept accounts within the insurer's agreed authority. The labels overlap; the agreement determines the scope.
Read about MGAsRead about MGUsWholesale broker
The intermediary helps the retail agent prepare and place the account with an underwriting market. A brokerage role alone does not confer underwriting authority.
Read about wholesale brokersEvidence
Signals worth verifying.
Authority signals
- Eligible nonadmitted insurer status
- Licensed surplus lines broker
- State-specific placement and filing requirements
- Confirmed underwriting and policy-issuance route
Access questions
- Which insurer or Lloyd's syndicate is assuming the risk?
- Who is the licensed surplus lines broker for the transaction?
- What home-state tax, filing, and disclosure rules apply?
- What evidence confirms current access and submission authority?
False confidence
What does not prove access.
- The words specialty or E&S in a company name
- A generic market guide
- A submission email without channel authorization
- Eligibility of a different insurer in the same group
Primary reference: NAIC surplus lines overview
Next action
Discuss the account with Hedge.
Start with the operations, location, requested coverage and the facts making placement difficult. Check appetite or send the account through Hedge's secure submission process for review.