Insurance Underwriting: Anybody know of any companies that would underwrite and brand a home insurance policy?

Question

I am with a home improvement magazine which specializes in advertisements and we are interested in finding an underwriter that would be willing to brand a product – a home insurance policy. The underwriter will handle all daily operations regarding the insurance in itself, and in turn, we would divert all applicable traffic to you via our publications. Our magazine has an extremely large following, and is trusted and well respected. I am interested in names and phone numbers from probable companies which may be able to assist us. Please, valid answers only. Thanks!

Answer 1

LOTS of companies underwrite and brand homeowners insurance policies.

You can't start your own company, though, without permission of the insurance commissioner in every state you want to write business.

What you REALLY want to do, I think, is do "program insurance" kinda like AARP and AAA do.  They have arrangements with carriers, to write business with them.  

What you CAN'T do, is make any money off of referrals.  See, that's heavily regulated in each state, and if you're not licensed to sell insurance, you can't receive "kickbacks" or "finders fees" or "commissions" on policies.

Keep in mind, homeowners insurance is a loss leader.  A PROFITABLE company pays out about $1.10 in homeowners claims, for every $1 they take in, in premium.   Policies are underwritten in a very cookie cutter manner.

So, I'm not sure what you're really looking for here, or how large a "book of business" you're willing to offer.  Or, the QUALITY of the book of business.   Can you promise 100,000 owner occupied, single family homes without pitt bulls, that have been completely updated within the past 25 years, and have owners with credit scores over 650?      Or are you trying to find a market for substandard business?

You need to be A LOT more specific.