Founders 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
Homeowners appetite is focused on owner-occupied Illinois residential risks, including many nonstandard characteristics. Programs are not credit scored, and Founders explicitly accepts a wide range of risk factors (poor or no credit, space heaters, fuses, prior claims, and older homes) subject to program-specific limits. Preferred / standard HO-3 (Illinois): - Target: 1–2 family, owner-occupied dwellings up to 100 years old with no prior claims and prior insurance (first-time buyers excepted). - Limits: Dwelling coverage up to $500,000; personal liability up to $500,000. - Acceptable features: Space heaters allowed. - Underwriting expectations: Prior insurance is required for non–first-time buyers; no prior losses. Standard homeowners profile with continuous coverage and clean loss history is preferred. - Discounts: Prior coverage; loss-free renewal up to 10%; auto/home package discount up to 20% when paired with Founders auto. - Options: Replacement cost on contents, equipment breakdown, water backup, identity fraud expense. Special HO-3 (Illinois): - Target: 1–2 family owner-occupied risks up to 100 years old that do not qualify for Standard HO-3 due to loss history or lack of prior insurance. - Limits: Same as Standard HO-3 (dwelling up to $500,000; liability up to $500,000). - Loss tolerance: Up to 2 losses in the prior 3 years, with a maximum of 1 fire loss. - Prior insurance: Not required. - Acceptable features: Space heaters allowed. - Discounts and options: Same general structure as Standard HO-3, with auto package discount up to 20% and optional endorsements for replacement cost on contents, equipment breakdown, water backup, identity fraud expense. Condo/Townhome HO-6 (Illinois): - Target: Owner-occupied condo and townhome units needing contents, improvements, and liability coverage. - Limits: Dwelling coverage up to $100,000; personal property up to $150,000; personal liability up to $500,000. - Loss tolerance: Up to 2 losses in the past 3 years, with a maximum of 1 fire loss. - Prior insurance: Not required. - Submission note: Risks must be "submitted to underwriting to rate," so agents should expect individual underwriting review/pricing for HO-6, and should provide full risk details and loss history. - Discounts: Prior coverage; loss-free renewal up to 10%; auto package discount up to 5% when paired with Founders auto. - Options: Replacement cost on contents, loss assessment, equipment breakdown, water backup (townhomes only), identity fraud expense, incidental office. HO-8 Actual Cash Value (Illinois): - Target: Older or otherwise nonstandard owner-occupied dwellings where replacement-cost HO-3 is not appropriate. - Limits and form: Dwelling coverage up to $300,000 on a named-peril, actual cash value basis. - Occupancy / structure: Up to 3-family homes of any age. - Acceptable features: Space heaters and fuses allowed. - Loss tolerance: Up to 3 losses in the past 3 years, with a maximum of 1 fire loss. - Prior insurance: Not required. - Discounts: Prior coverage; loss-free renewal up to 10%; auto package discount up to 5% when paired with Founders auto. - Options: Equipment breakdown, water backup, identity fraud expense. Geographic notes: - The public homeowners page explicitly lists programs "offered in Illinois"; availability, coverage and terms may differ in other states and must be confirmed in state-specific materials or with underwriting. Broker / producer and submission notes: - Programs are marketed as accommodating nonstandard owner-occupied risks (poor/ no credit, older homes, space heaters, fuses, prior claims) but within stated loss-count and program thresholds; agents should place risks in the appropriate tier (Standard vs Special HO-3 vs HO-8) based on age, occupancy, and loss history. - HO-6 submissions must be sent to underwriting for rating rather than purely system-rated; provide full loss history (3 years), occupancy details, and any special features (e.g., incidental office, townhome with water backup exposure). - Agents should verify state availability and final terms in policy forms; the public page is a summary only and notes that not all coverages or services are available in all states, and that the policy terms govern. - Auto/home package discounts are significant (up to 20% for HO-3 and up to 5% for HO-6/HO-8), so cross-selling with Founders auto is encouraged for competitive pricing. Restricted / declined classes (implied): - Risks outside stated parameters (e.g., more than allowed number of losses in 3 years, more than one fire loss, dwellings above listed coverage limits or family-count limits, or risks outside Illinois where these programs are not filed) will generally be ineligible under the summarized programs and require separate underwriting guidance.