Our third largest by policy count, and most people have never heard of them.
An honest assessment of Coterie — a program market that quotes small business owners policies and general liability faster than anyone we use, whose paper is not its own, and whose 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.
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 a real insurance company?
They are a real business and a real program, but they are not the insurance company. Coterie underwrites and services; the policies we place through them sit on another carrier’s paper, and that carrier is who pays your claim.
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.
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.
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.