A market guide for independent insurance agents. Last reviewed: June 2026.
Laundromats have quietly become a hard-to-place class. Trade press reports premiums up 30–50% over three years and several standard carriers exiting entirely — The Hartford's own laundromat page now refers shoppers elsewhere. The risks driving declinations are familiar: unattended or 24-hour operation, older buildings, and ancillary services like wash-dry-fold delivery that add bailee and hired/non-owned auto exposure.
The class still has dedicated homes. The Coin Laundry Association runs the largest program in the country, USLI maintains a true laundromat BOP, and two long-running fabricare specialists (Irving Weber, NIE) continue to write. Here is where agents are placing coin laundries right now.
Markets identified through editorial research (June 2026) and agent placement discussions. Items marked "verify" carry details we could not confirm at the primary source.
| Market / Program | Type | How Agents Access It | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLA Insurance Program (Associated Agencies) | Program | Direct via coinlaundryinsurance.com | Largest US laundry program, running since 1988. Places with A-rated standard carriers; can handle attended, unattended, and 24-hour stores. |
| USLI | Admitted (most states) | Appointed agents / wholesalers (J.E. Brown, CIU) | Dedicated Laundromat Businessowners product, rated by washer count. Excludes recent bankruptcies/tax liens. |
| Irving Weber Associates (IWA) | Program / MGA | Direct submission | Fabricare specialist 60+ years; 46 states. Water backup, damage-in-processing, pollution cleanup. 24-hour stores eligible only with a full-time attendant. |
| NIE Insurance | Specialty program | Direct submission | St. Louis fabricare specialist (dry cleaners + coin laundries). |
| Brooks-Waterburn (Laundromat Success Program) | Specialty program | Direct submission | NY-based national laundromat program agency. |
| Travelers / Chubb / West Bend | Admitted | Direct appointment | Still selectively writing per CLA trade commentary — generally fully attended stores only. Verify appetite before submitting. |
| NEXT / biBerk / Cents | Admitted digital | Online (limited agent channels) | Small-end digital options. biBerk is direct-only (competes with agents); Cents is embedded in its laundry POS platform. |
Real placement discussions from independent agents about laundromat insurance.
The CLA program states it can insure attended, unattended, and 24-hour operations. IWA accepts 24-hour stores only with a full-time attendant. Most standard carriers decline unattended stores outright.
American Coin-Op's market series reports premiums up 30-50% in three years as carriers exited the class, driven by fire losses, slip-and-fall claims, and older-building concerns.
Yes — USLI runs a dedicated laundromat businessowners product rated by number of washers, available through appointed agents and wholesalers in most states.