Central Insurance Companies
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
Central’s current official producer-facing appetite emphasizes Small Business and BOP/CLP placement. Preferred small-business targets include retail/services such as appliance or equipment stores, barbershops/hair salons, clothing/apparel, florists/garden/gift, food truck vendors, mailbox/packaging stores, nail salons, pet services, printing, professional offices, and tailoring/shoe repair; construction targets include electrical work, fence erection, finishing work, floor covering installation, and interior painting; manufacturing/distribution targets include appliance/equipment distributors, clothing/fabric/hobby distributors, electrical parts/accessories manufacturing, HVAC distributors, janitorial supplies distributors, warehouses, and machine shops. Published in-appetite classes also include accounting, consulting, fine dining, funeral homes, HVAC service, ice cream shops, laundry/dry cleaning, technology, vending machine food/drink operations, HVAC, interior plastering, and plumbing. Ideal account traits: 3+ years in business, favorable loss history, well-maintained premises, appropriate fire protection, and focus on loss prevention/mitigation. Small-business qualification criteria shown by Central are generally 3 locations or fewer, TIV under $7.5M at any location, sales under $5M at any location, payroll under $1M, subcontractor costs under $100K, and fewer than 5 BAP power units. BOP-specific fit is narrower, with ideal characteristics of 35,000 sq. ft. or less, sales up to $6M per location, and contractor payroll up to $1M; listed BOP classes include drywall, electrical, heating/A/C, masonry, plumbing, barbershops/hair salons, call centers, funeral homes, laundry/dry cleaning, locksmiths, nail salons, printing, wholesale distributors, AC equipment, bakeries, electronics, florists, hardware stores, and office risks such as accounting, advertising agencies, engineers, law offices, and medical offices. Geographic notes: the March 2026 Small Business Appetite Guide says BOP is not available in Kentucky and New York, but Central’s current agent resources page separately announces that BOP is now available in New York; the August 2026 BOP guide also notes drywall is not available in New York. Central also states appetite may be more restrictive in certain areas. Restricted/declined guidance is only partially explicit on public materials, but published limits indicate avoidance of accounts outside small-business thresholds, and construction risks exceeding payroll/subcontractor parameters or outside listed classes are likely outside streamlined appetite. Submission/producer notes: Central directs agents to quote through its agent portal ('Quote Now'), highlights ease of quoting/binding/service for eligible BOP risks, and points producers to appetite guides, eligibility resources, hit lists, applications/forms, and risk-management resources. Central also promotes writing package accounts with workers’ compensation and highlights dedicated underwriting support, regional decision-making, loss control expertise, and claims partnership for agents.