Our third largest by policy count, and most people have never heard of them.
Coterie quotes small business owners policies and general liability faster than anyone we use. The paper is not its own, and the appetite has a hard edge you want to know about before you apply.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
What we place with Coterie.
Business owners policies
Small BOPs, quoted in minutes, and the single largest thing we place with them.
Without it — For a small main-street risk this is often the fastest route from a phone call to a bound policy that exists.
General liability
Standalone liability for small service and trade businesses, with certificates issued the same day.
Without it — Where a job needs a certificate this afternoon, speed is the coverage.
Restaurants and food service
Cafeterias, buffets and small food service are the biggest single class we place here.
Without it — A class that a lot of small-business markets price defensively and this one does not.
Landscaping, janitorial and production
Grounds maintenance, cleaning contractors and small motion picture and video production.
Without it — A working small-commercial appetite rather than a narrow niche, which is why the volume is where it is.
What people ask us about Coterie.
Is Coterie Insurance legit?
They are a real business and a real program, but they are not the insurance company. Coterie underwrites and services; the paper underneath is usually Spinnaker Insurance Company and sometimes Everspan, and whichever of those is on your declarations page is who pays your claim. If the name you dealt with and the name on the policy are different, nothing has gone wrong. The arrangement is working as designed.
Who actually pays the claim?
Not the name on the marketing. A program or managing general agent underwrites, prices and services the policy, and an insurance company behind them carries the risk, so the financial strength that matters is theirs, not the brand you bought from. Ask which carrier is on the declarations page before you compare ratings.
Who is Spinnaker, and who is Everspan?
The two carriers behind Coterie policies, and the reason most people arrive at this page. Spinnaker is a property and casualty insurer owned by Hippo; Everspan is a specialty carrier group. Both do much of their commercial business as the paper behind programs rather than under their own brand, which is exactly why the name is unfamiliar to the people whose policies they pay. Which one you have is on the declarations page, and it is the one whose financial strength matters.
What do you actually place with them?
Business owners policies first and general liability second, and it is our third largest book by policy count. The classes repeat: restaurants and buffets, landscaping, small film and video production, and janitorial contractors.
Where would you not use them?
Anything with size or complication. Their strength is speed on a small clean risk, and once an account has real payroll, a fleet, a contract naming high limits or any claims history, it belongs with a standard market that will underwrite it properly.
Why go through a broker instead of buying direct?
Because it does not cost you anything, which is the part that surprises people. Broker compensation is built into the carrier’s rate whether you use one or not: buying direct does not remove the cost, it removes the person being paid to be on your side of it.
Is Coterie good for small businesses?
For the right kind of small business, yes, and it is our third largest market by policy count for that reason. It fits a low hazard operation with a small payroll and no claims that needs a business owners policy or general liability bound today, a cafe, a landscaper, a cleaning contractor, a small video production. It does not fit an account with real payroll, a fleet, a contract demanding high limits or a loss history, which needs a standard market that will underwrite it properly.
How does Coterie Insurance work?
Your agent enters the business on Coterie’s platform, which quotes from public and application data in about a minute and lets the agent bind on the spot, so a certificate can follow the same afternoon. The policy is then issued on the paper of one of Coterie’s insurance company partners, which is the name on your declarations page, and billed by Coterie. The payment plan on offer is shown at quote, so ask your agent what the down payment and installments look like before binding.
Does Coterie sell direct to business owners?
Not in the ordinary sense. Coterie describes itself as built for agents and brokers, and its own site sends a business owner to a local agent or to one of the platforms it is integrated with rather than to a direct quote. It is the same policy at the same price, because the agent’s commission is inside the rate whether or not one is involved, and it means somebody is checking that the class and the limits fit the contract in front of you.
Is Coterie available in all 50 states?
Coterie states on its site that it offers admitted products in all 50 states, but the appetite and the available lines differ by state, and the list moves. Availability is decided at quote for the state your business is registered in, so the answer for you is the quote itself rather than the map. If your state is not open for your class, we place the account with a market that is.
Also in this family
Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.
Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.