Cochrane & 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
Cochrane & Company operates as a wholesale/MGA general agent, writing small to mid-sized as well as larger or more complex E&S accounts nationally, with physical hubs in the Western U.S. Their garage unit is a dedicated underwriting team focused solely on garage risks, and they expect business to come through appointed retail agents rather than direct insured submissions. PREFERRED / TARGET GARAGE BUSINESS - Broad appetite for garage liability accounts that sell, service, tow, store, or valet automobiles and related vehicles. The standard hybrid garage policy includes GL/premises liability plus auto liability and physical damage for owned and non‑owned units in the insured’s care. - Top non‑admitted classes (national footprint) include: ATV sales/repair, auctions, auto/boat/RV storage, bus sales/repair, heavy truck sales and service, lift‑kit installers, mobile mechanics, motorcycle sales and service, and used car dealerships. - Top admitted garage programs (restricted to AZ and CA) include: auto maintenance and repair, auto paint and body shops, boat engine repair on land, detailers, emergency vehicle sales/repair, heavy truck dealers/repair, mobile auto repair, non‑franchised auto dealers, RV and trailer dealers/repair, and valet trucking. These are their core, actively promoted garage classes. RESTRICTED / DECLINED NOTES (INFERRED / OPERATIONAL) - The published garage page emphasizes typical E&S‑oriented, more difficult classes (e.g., heavy truck, lift kits, mobile operations, used car dealers), implying they will stretch on class complexity but generally expect commercial/retail operations with definable garage exposures. - No explicit public list of prohibited classes is provided; retail brokers should expect standard garage red flags (e.g., racing, high‑hazard custom performance work, purely personal auto with no business purpose, or accounts with severe loss history) to require individual underwriting clearance or be declined. - For admitted AZ/CA programs, appetite appears narrower and more programmatic — brokers should avoid submitting out‑of‑scope classes or multi‑state risks into the admitted facility and instead route those to the non‑admitted side. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE - Cochrane is licensed in all 50 states with a national footprint, but the garage web content highlights: • Non‑admitted garage solutions available broadly across the U.S. for the listed top classes. • Admitted garage programs specifically and only in Arizona and California for their enumerated admitted classes. - Headquartered in Spokane, WA, with additional offices in MT, CA, CO, and MO; operational focus is historically the Western U.S., but submissions can be considered nationally through appointed agents. SUBMISSION / PRODUCER EXPECTATIONS - Retail agents work with a dedicated garage underwriting team; submissions should be directed to that team via the usual wholesaler workflow (contact via the Garage department page or assigned underwriter/contact shown once logged in as an appointed agency). - Cochrane positions itself on using technology to streamline E&S transactions: agents should expect to use their online portals for quoting, forms, and binding; insureds may review quotes and pay directly via the consumer portal, with the retail broker kept in the loop. - For admitted AZ/CA garage placements, expect more standardized program underwriting and rating; complete, accurate applications and current MVR/loss runs will be important to avoid back‑and‑forth. - For non‑admitted garage, underwriters have flexibility to match markets to higher‑hazard or non‑standard operations; agents should provide detailed operational descriptions (sales vs. service mix, towing, storage, radius, vehicle types) to maximize placement chances. PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY - Cochrane’s main site shows a dedicated Professional Liability department but the specific public appetite/underwriting page is JavaScript‑gated and not readable without running scripts. Operationally, assume they write a variety of miscellaneous E&O and professional lines on a wholesale basis and that appetite details, forms, and class lists are accessible only to logged‑in/appointed producers. BROKER NOTES - Cochrane is a wholesaler/GA: only appointed/contracted retail agents should submit business; direct insured inquiries are typically referred back to a retail agent. - The firm emphasizes relationship‑based underwriting (“our policy is you”), suggesting that early dialogue on borderline or unusual garage risks (e.g., heavy customization, mixed dealer/service, mobile exposures) is encouraged rather than blind submissions. - When placing multi‑state risks or classes not specifically listed on the garage page, retailers should contact their Cochrane garage underwriter to clarify which markets (admitted vs. non‑admitted) are available and any special documentation required.