When your carriers say no — E&S, wholesalers, programs, and class-by-class market guides. Last reviewed: June 2026.
Every agent eventually hits a risk their carriers will not touch: the 1970s frame apartment building, the roofer who does torch-down work, the church with a 20-year roof in a hail zone, the home with polybutylene pipes. This page is the map for what happens next — the excess & surplus lines (E&S) ecosystem, the wholesalers and digital platforms that reach it, and class-by-class market guides built from current research and real agent placement discussions.
The E&S market is absorbing more of the economy every year: surplus lines premium reported through the 15 stamping offices hit a record $90.3 billion in 2025, up 7.8%, with item counts up 14.1% — meaning more individual risks, not just bigger ones, are landing in E&S.
Researched guides to who is actually writing each class right now — markets, access routes, and the underwriting issues that get risks declined.
Lost your laundromat market? Programs and carriers currently writing coin laundries — CLA program, USLI, IWA and more — with underwriting...
Markets writing Texas independent auto dealers: garage liability, dealers open lot, and the $50,000 GDN bond. National Indemnity, Prime,...
Is boat insurance required in Tennessee? No — but lenders and marinas require it. Markets writing TN boats and PWC: Progressive, Foremost,...
Apartment and habitational markets for agents in 2026: Amwins SRU, Pathpoint, Kinsale, REInsurePro, Distinguished — plus the roof-age and...
SC venue insurance is in crisis: the $1M liquor liability mandate, 2025 reform (Act 42), and which markets — K&K, USLI, Amwins, XINSURANCE...
Agent's guide to the big four surety shops — Liberty Mutual NBC/eBonding, CNA Surety bONdLINE, Travelers Construction Services Express,...
Who writes mobile homes besides Progressive? Foremost (any age), American Modern, Aegis Vintage for pre-1976 homes, and the...
Markets writing PA short-term rentals in 2026: Proper, Steadily, CBIZ's relaunched program, Obie, Foremost, Erie's home-sharing endorsement...
Markets writing gas stations and c-stores: Federated, EMC, Society, Novatae and Greenwood programs — plus the UST pollution markets...
No single carrier writes the whole mobile grooming account. How agents assemble GL + animal bailee (PCI, BIC, KennelPro) with commercial...
Church Mutual dropped 1,000+ TX churches; Brotherhood Mutual was downgraded; GuideOne pulled wind/hail in West Texas. Who is writing Texas...
Tree care markets for agents: ArborMAX (TCIA), NIP TreePro, HUB Arbor, Progressive for the trucks, AmeriSafe for comp — plus the 8-10 ft...
Where agents place roofers in 2026: Amwins roofing program ($10K min), BTIS, Prime for hot tar, Pathpoint for new ventures — plus the WC...
Vacant Express (Global Indemnity / J.H. Ferguson) is alive and writing. Plus alternatives for vacant dwellings and commercial: Foremost,...
Home has polybutylene pipes? How carriers actually respond — declines, water exclusions, $10K sublimits — and the routes that work: E&S,...
Inflatable rental capacity is concentrated in a few specialists — Cossio, XINSURANCE, Prime, McGowan Allied. Costs, waiver/wind-rule...
When a risk leaves the admitted market, these are the doors agents knock on.
| Wholesaler / Platform | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Amwins | Largest US wholesaler; brokerage plus in-house underwriting programs (roofing, storage tanks, habitational, special events). |
| RT Specialty (Ryan Specialty) | Projected $30B+ premium by end of 2025; parent also owns underwriting managers incl. US Assure. |
| CRC Group | Rebranded from TIH in March 2025; Specialty and Underwriting divisions; owned by Stone Point + CD&R. |
| Burns & Wilcox (H.W. Kaufman) | Family-owned wholesaler/MGA with broad property/casualty E&S including personal lines desks. |
| Jencap | Top-5 wholesaler/MGA platform with habitational, garage, and transportation practices. |
| RPS (Risk Placement Services) | National wholesaler with garage, habitational, and small-business binding. |
| Pathpoint | Digital E&S wholesaler — free agent signup, instant bindable quotes for contractors, vacants, LRO, restaurants, excess. |
| Bold Penguin | Small-commercial exchange; integrated Pathpoint for non-admitted; acquired SquareRisk (Oct 2025) to scale digital wholesale. |
Surplus lines carriers are not bound by admitted rate and form filings, which is exactly why they can write what standard markets decline. The trade-offs: no guaranty-fund protection, surplus lines taxes and stamping fees, and in many states a diligent-effort requirement — e.g., New York requires three documented admitted declinations.
FAIR plans operate in 30+ states as property insurers of last resort. Most are named-peril and fire-centric, excluding liability, theft, and often water damage — which is why agents pair them with DIC policies. California's FAIR Plan was reformed by a bipartisan bill package signed in October 2025.
Big wholesalers prioritize volume relationships. Without one, digital platforms (Pathpoint, Bold Penguin) and aggregators provide instant E&S access with no volume commitment, and MyNewMarkets.com remains the de facto directory for finding a program in any class.
Market guides tell you who should write it — these discussions show what agents actually placed, updated daily.