Fremont Insurance Company
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
Carrier overview and geography: - Fremont Insurance Company is a regional property & casualty carrier based in Michigan, writing primarily in Michigan through independent agents. Commercial and personal lines appetite is oriented to standard, well-managed Main Street risks and owner-occupied personal lines accounts. Preferred / target business (Commercial Package, BOP and programs): - Main Street mercantile, office, and service risks that fit Fremont’s Businessowners and Commercial Package manuals, including professional offices, small retail, light service, and low-hazard habitational, written in Michigan. - Contractors that qualify for Fremont’s Preferred or Deluxe Contractors Programs: well-established, financially sound contractors with favorable loss experience, proper licensing, and risk controls. Specific rating/program sections (Preferred Contractors, Deluxe Contractors, Auto Repair & Service, Religious Institutions, Hotel/Motel) indicate targeted industry segments where Fremont offers structured coverages and pricing. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2021-10/commercial-package-policy-manual-2022_5.pdf?utm_source=openai)) - Small to mid-size commercial accounts that fit Fremont’s Businessowners (BOP) eligibility and underwriting guidelines, including office, retail, service, and certain wholesale/service classes where premises are well-maintained and protection class is acceptable. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/businessowners-manual-202101.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Commercial lines key eligibility / underwriting themes: - Manuals emphasize eligibility, classifications, and separate underwriting guideline sections for each program (e.g., Service, Wholesaler, Office, etc.) and for specific coverages like commercial crime and special property. Risks should fall within listed eligible classifications, standard construction types, and acceptable protection classes; unusual or high-hazard exposures typically require underwriting review or are ineligible. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2021-10/commercial-package-policy-manual-2022_5.pdf?utm_source=openai)) - Businessowners manual highlights the need to verify occupancy type, square footage, building protection (sprinklers, alarms), and compliance with protective safeguards when required; adherence to territorial definitions and protection class criteria is expected. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/businessowners-manual-202101.pdf?utm_source=openai)) - Special programs (Auto Repair & Service, Preferred Religious Institutions, Preferred Hotel-Motel, Preferred Contractors) provide structured eligibility and underwriting guideline pages; target accounts are those that strictly meet program criteria (e.g., limited high-hazard operations, compliant life-safety and building systems, good loss history, stable ownership). ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2021-10/commercial-package-policy-manual-2022_5.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Boatowners / Marine (including watercraft): - Eligible boats: generally pleasure-use boats and small yachts written under Fremont’s marine/boatowners program. Marketing materials note eligibility for boats up to 32 feet and $150,000 in value, and yachts starting at 28 feet with a minimum value threshold, subject to detailed underwriting rules. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/personal-insurance/auto-recreation-insurance/marine?utm_source=openai)) - Boatowners manual identifies a class of marginal risks (e.g., certain hull types, higher values, youthful operators, prior losses, charter fishing with owner as sole operator, multiple owners), which require full details and may be written subject to individual underwriting approval rather than automatic binding. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/boatowners-manual-201611.pdf?utm_source=openai)) - Not-eligible (declined) boat classes: non‑seaworthy boats; personal watercraft/jet skis (separately handled), hydroplanes, most racing craft; boats rented to others; commercial-use boats where owner is not sole operator; boats owned by corporations with multiple operators; homemade or kit boats without an acceptable marine survey; high‑performance/ski boats without prior approval; ferro‑cement hulls; boats with paid captain or crew; older wooden boats beyond a specified age. These are outside standard appetite and should be treated as declinations unless specifically approved. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/boatowners-manual-201611.pdf?utm_source=openai)) - Geographic use: Fremont indicates boat coverage applies throughout the U.S. and Canada, including coastal waters within a specified distance offshore; agents should confirm navigation limits and any seasonal or territory restrictions on quotes and renewals. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/personal-insurance/auto-recreation-insurance/marine?utm_source=openai)) Personal lines (home, personal umbrella, etc.): - Product quick reference and checklists exist for personal lines (home-related forms, personal umbrella, auto, mobile home, incidental business, etc.), implying a standard-preferred appetite: well-maintained, owner-occupied dwellings, good prior insurance history, and limited business or high-hazard exposures at the residence. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/product-quick-reference-guides-insurance-review-checklists?utm_source=openai)) - Personal umbrella and incidental business owners reference materials suggest Fremont will consider incidental personal liability and small in-home business exposures where exposures are minor and underlying limits meet minimum requirements, subject to underwriting review per the checklists. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/product-quick-reference-guides-insurance-review-checklists?utm_source=openai)) Workers compensation and commercial umbrella (operational guidance from overall appetite): - While specific public manuals are not surfaced for workers comp and commercial umbrella, Fremont’s overall commercial appetite and program structure indicate focus on standard, well-managed accounts consistent with its BOP/CPP and contractor/office/mercantile targets, with expected avoidance of high-hazard industries, heavy transportation, and distressed risks. Agents should assume workers comp and umbrellas are companion coverages for core appetites and not stand-alone markets for unsupported high-hazard operations. Restricted / higher-scrutiny segments (all lines): - Accounts with prior cancellations or non-renewals, frequency of medium/large losses, serious liability losses, or evidence of poor maintenance or safety are subject to underwriting review and may be surcharged, written with restrictions, or declined. - For marine: youthful operators (under 21), prior liability or significant physical damage losses, charter/guide use, multiple owners, or boats titled to non-individual entities require details and often individual underwriting approval; many commercial, performance, or rental-related boat exposures are outright ineligible. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/boatowners-manual-201611.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Declined / out-of-appetite risks (summary): - Non-seaworthy, experimental, racing, rental-to-others, or commercial boats (except narrowly defined owner-operated charter programs), corporate-owned boats with multiple operators, homemade boats without survey, and other design types flagged in the Boatowners manual. - For commercial package/BOP: classes outside listed eligibility, high-hazard occupancies, or risks that cannot meet mandatory protective safeguards, habitability/safety requirements, or territorial/protection class limits are generally not acceptable and should be treated as declinations unless a program explicitly allows referral. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2021-10/commercial-package-policy-manual-2022_5.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Submission and producer / broker notes: - Fremont provides "Product Quick Reference Guides" and "Insurance Review Checklists" to agents as front-line eligibility and placement tools; agents are expected to consult these for basic information on eligibility, coverages, limits, discounts, exclusions, and target markets before submitting or quoting. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/product-quick-reference-guides-insurance-review-checklists?utm_source=openai)) - Underwriting and rating details, including program‑specific guidelines (e.g., for Businessowners, Commercial Package, Boatowners and specialty programs), are distributed as manuals and forms; agents should follow manual eligibility and underwriting guideline sections and refer non-standard or borderline risks to an underwriter with complete risk information rather than binding. - For boat and marine risks that do not exactly fit published guidelines, the manual explicitly encourages agents to submit full details (mail, fax, or phone) for underwriter consideration rather than self-declining when a risk is near, but not clearly within, stated rules. ([fmic.com](https://www.fmic.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/boatowners-manual-201611.pdf?utm_source=openai)) - Agents should use Fremont’s find-an-agent/agency distribution model and are expected to place business through appointed independent agents; direct submission from non-appointed brokers is not indicated on public pages and should be assumed unsupported. Operational takeaways for frontline underwriting/placement: - Confirm that any proposed risk clearly matches an eligible class and program (BOP, CPP, contractors, religious institutions, hotel/motel, auto service, etc.) in the Fremont manuals; when in doubt, treat as referral, not bindable. - For personal lines, prioritize standard/preferred, well-maintained dwellings and pleasure-use watercraft with solid prior insurance and loss history; avoid or refer high-hazard or non-standard uses. - For marine, screen for disqualifying features early (commercial/rental use, performance craft, unusual hull types, high values, corporate ownership with multiple operators, homemade builds without survey, older wood construction, or personal watercraft) and only submit borderline risks with full underwriting details. - Use Fremont’s product quick reference and checklists to pre-qualify submissions and ensure that required underwriting data (values, use, ownership structure, prior losses, safety/protective features, and territory/protection class) are obtained and documented at quote and submission time.