Purchasing Environmental Insurance: Underwriter Submissions

When considering the purchase of environmental insurance, one of the first steps is a complete submission to an underwriter. Complete submissions are rare. Those submissions that are graded as “A” submissions are few, but they get the most attention and have better chances of getting better terms, conditions, and pricing. In the environmental insurance arena, a complete submission can be well over a thousand pages. The winning submission to an underwriter contains:

• Completed supplemental application including areas that do not apply as “not applicable”
• A list of all key people’s resumes
• Sample contracts, whether real estate, master service agreements, or construction
• Two years of financial statements that include a balance sheet and profit and loss, including any schedules
• List of the five largest clients and type of work performed for these clients
• Marketing material used in marketing your company to prospects and clients
• A list of your company’s awards, achievements, and associations, as well as any positions held within associations and any white papers published
• If site coverage is being applied for, then a characterization study, all reports, phase I, phase II, groundwater testing results, maps, aerial photos, and other site plans must be submitted

It takes time to put together a good submission for your underwriter. In some respects, it’s true that your submission competes with other companies’ submissions that are also trying to get the best terms, conditions, and pricing. Offering your agent and underwriter all the information they need to tell the story of why your company is best-in-class is essential.