Commerce West
Carrier website links, underwriting access points, mapped product lines, and appetite notes in one place.
This appetite summary is only a guide. Confirm eligibility, submission requirements, restrictions, and binding authority directly with the carrier or underwriter before relying on it.
Carrier appetite summary
Homeowners – Western Select Guidelines (Commerce West / CWICO) PREFERRED / TARGET RISKS - 1–4 family primary, owner-occupied dwellings only. - 100% replacement cost insurance-to-value required. - Clean loss history: no claims in last 3 years for preferred; standard tier may allow one property claim under $10,000 in the last 3 years and no liability claims. - Flat roofs are acceptable but must be written with HO 04 93 – Actual Cash Value for windstorm/hail damage to the roof. - Homes with standard construction, on a permanent foundation, not in hazardous or coastal-high-risk locations. UNACCEPTABLE / DECLINED EXPOSURES - Any business conducted on the premises. - Mobile homes or trailers; modular homes that are not on a permanent foundation. - Animals considered to have aggressive or vicious traits. - Kerosene heaters. - Wood-burning stoves unless professionally installed and compliant with applicable building and fire codes. - Dwellings built on "stilts." - Dwellings located within 2,500 feet of the high-water mark of any ocean or bay. - Swimming pools that are not fully fenced with at least a 4-foot fence and a self-closing, self-latching gate. - Vacant or unoccupied dwellings. - Named insured that is anything other than an individual(s) (e.g., entity ownership is not eligible under this program). - Owner in the "public eye" due to an unusual occupation. - Applicants who are unemployed (other than retired). - Any risk involving contributing insurance (no shared or overlapping coverage arrangements). - Any dwelling previously insured through a FAIR Plan – these must be pre-inspected prior to binding. - Frame row dwellings, except certain newer dwellings in Richmond County (Staten Island built 1980 and newer) as specified. - Dwellings under construction or in renovation. - Dwellings with fuses, aluminum wiring, or knob-and-tube wiring. - Dwellings in hazardous areas (e.g., within 300 feet of a gas station, propane tanks, etc.). - Secondary or seasonal residences. - Any dwelling not meeting credit, bill-paying, or general fiscal-responsibility expectations. - No scheduled personal property is allowed under this program. GEOGRAPHIC NOTES - Specific coastal restriction: dwellings located within 2,500 feet of the high-water mark of any ocean or bay are unacceptable. - Hazard-adjacent locations (e.g., within ~300 feet of high-hazard occupancies such as gas stations or large propane storage) are unacceptable. - Frame row dwellings are broadly unacceptable, with a narrow regional exception (Richmond County, NY, frame rows built 1980+). Agents should verify current state/territory availability and any territory-specific addenda. SUBMISSION / UNDERWRITING HANDLING - Producers must ensure insurance-to-value at 100% replacement cost and validate primary, owner-occupied status. - All prior FAIR Plan business must be pre-inspected before binding. - All risks that appear to fall into any “unacceptable” category must not be bound; contact underwriting if there is any uncertainty. - Flat-roof dwellings must have the HO 04 93 ACV endorsement applied to roof wind/hail losses. - No scheduled personal property can be added under this program; place separate coverage if needed. BROKER / PRODUCER NOTES - Document and screen for disqualifying factors: business use, vacancy, secondary/seasonal occupancy, coastal distance, hazardous adjacency, wiring type, heating sources, pool protection, animal exposures, and ownership type (individual only). - Credit and payment history are part of eligibility; applicants who do not show fiscal responsibility may be declined. - For any gray-area risk or needed exception, the document directs producers to contact the Underwriting Department for clarification rather than binding without approval. The PDF provides a general instruction: “PLEASE CONTACT OUR UNDERWRITING DEPT. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS,” indicating that nuanced or borderline risks require underwriter review rather than producer discretion. Note: Commerce West also has separate Commercial Auto underwriting guidelines in distribution via intermediaries; these include standard commercial auto acceptability and a broad list of unacceptable risks (e.g., heavy trucks, trucking, emergency vehicles, fast-food delivery, tow trucks, livery, etc.), but those details are not part of the homeowners program summarized above.