Pie Insurance Services
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
Product focus - Primary: Small business workers’ compensation, generally mono-line, written via Pie Insurance Services with policies underwritten by Pie Insurance Company and affiliates. - Typical max modified premium: $250,000; max experience mod (Emod) 1.99; online bind typically available for Emod ≥0.40, with underwriter approval required below 0.40. - New ventures: Allowed subject to UW approval and hazard group limits; many preferred classes are eligible for instant quote/bind, including new ventures. Preferred/target business - Small to mid-sized employers with total payroll under ~$15M and fewer than ~500 employees. - Class codes that fall within Pie’s “Preferred” or “Considered” appetite as indicated by the Appetite Checker; Pie states it will write roughly 70% of WC class codes, representing most of the small business market. - Retail, light service, many main-street and hospitality classes are specifically promoted as successful/target (e.g., certain retail stores, bars/taverns) when they have clean loss history, may be new-venture eligible, and often require no loss runs if designated preferred. - Accounts with stable operations, controllable hazard exposure, and acceptable safety practices. Restricted/conditional business - New ventures: require underwriter review if not clearly within preferred online-bind criteria or if in higher hazard groups. New ventures with prior coverage but current lapse are treated as lapse accounts and need UW approval. - Lapses in coverage: Considered case-by-case. Require underwriting approval plus a signed no-loss statement for the lapsed period; for preferred-class opportunities, a no-loss letter may suffice, while non‑preferred classes generally require loss runs. - Backdating: Permitted only with underwriting approval. - Deductibles: May be offered, but no deductible may exceed the annual premium; decision is based on ability to pay. - Employer’s liability limits: Higher limits available up to typical WC standards, but Pie will not go above $1M/$1M/$1M without UW approval. - Sole proprietors with no employees: Can be covered; may use SSN instead of FEIN and must use state-mandated payroll. Any policy with employees must supply a FEIN before issuance. - Waivers of subrogation: Specific or blanket waivers may be available for a charge (e.g., typical percentages with minimum premiums); not available in all states and require UW confirmation. Declined/prohibited risks (not exhaustive; apply both by class and exposure) - Coverage types: Foreign coverage (including endemic disease and repatriation), OCSLA, DBA, NAFI, maritime/admiralty/Jones Act, USL&H, Federal Coal Mine and Safety Act, FELA, voluntary workers’ comp. - Program structures: Any basis other than guaranteed cost, including retrot plans, captives/rental captives, large deductible programs, aggregate stop-loss, portfolio transfers, or similar risk‑sharing structures. - Industries/operations: - Any involvement with explosives, fireworks, or hazardous materials; oil, gas, mining, or their onsite support work (onshore or offshore). - Toxic chemical manufacturing. - Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs); employee leasing, staffing, or temporary worker firms. - Check cashing, pawn shops. - Accounts that own/operate/sell/lease aircraft; or own/operate/sell/lease watercraft operating on navigable waterways or triggering USL&H exposure. - Marijuana/cannabis/THC or other federally illegal substances. - Public entities; firefighters, police officers; railroad operations or construction. - Amusement parks/devices, carnivals/circuses, exhibitions (including fireworks), or sports events/participants. - Construction/contracting with high‑hazard characteristics, including but not limited to: height exposure >30 feet/2 stories; digging >15 feet; bridge or structural steel erection; demolition; blasting/explosives; highway/street/road work; dock/sea wall work; gas/sewer/water main projects; high-voltage work; tree trimming/removal; tunneling; underground tank or pipe replacement; asbestos, lead, or mold abatement; USL&H or comparable marine exposures; wrecking; extensive welding; predominantly structural rough framing or structural carpentry; paper contractors. - Size/complexity limits: Total payroll over roughly $15M, total employees over ~500, or more than 50% subcontractor payroll, or more than 30% cash/casual/day labor are generally outside appetite. - Other: Exterior holiday decoration installation/take-down; medical transportation; freight forwarding/freight brokering. Geographic notes - Pie actively partners with agents in a large but finite footprint (recently publicized as roughly mid‑30s to high‑30s states plus DC). Availability varies by state and is subject to Pie’s “States We Serve” map; WC is not available in all jurisdictions. - Certain features (e.g., waivers, specific limits or endorsements) may not be available in all states and remain subject to each state’s WC rules. Submission & underwriting process - Agents are strongly encouraged to use the Partner Portal and Appetite Checker before submission to confirm whether a class is Preferred, Considered, or Declined; this improves hit ratio and minimizes no‑quotes. - For best results, Pie asks agents to: - Check appetite (class code and state) upfront. - Submit well in advance of effective date (guidance shared publicly has suggested up to 120 days where possible) and include target pricing to assist underwriting. - Provide complete ACORD apps, required supplemental information, and, when not in a preferred class or when not new-venture clean, currently valued loss runs. - Many small, clean, preferred risks can be instantly quoted and bound online with minimal documentation; higher hazard or more complex accounts route to an underwriter. Producer / broker notes - Agents access Pie via registration for the Partner Portal; once appointed/approved, they can quote and bind WC directly online. - Appetite Checker is considered the first-line tool to avoid out-of-appetite submissions. - Pie markets that approximately 70% of WC class codes are within appetite and that most classes are new-venture eligible, but each submission remains subject to the detailed WC underwriting guidelines, maximum premium, and exposure restrictions. - Policies are sold and serviced by Pie Insurance Services as producer, with WC policies underwritten by Pie Insurance Company and affiliated insurers, so agents should follow Pie’s specific forms, bind checklist, and state-notice requirements at binding. Operational takeaway for producers - Ideal submissions are small to mid-sized, main-street or moderately hazardous classes within the Appetite Checker’s Preferred/Considered range, with payroll and headcount below Pie’s size caps, no disqualifying high-hazard exposures (height/depth, heavy construction, public entity, marine/rail, cannabis, explosives, etc.), and either clean new-venture status or acceptable, well-documented loss history. Use the portal, submit early with target pricing, and ensure all required documentation and FEIN (for employees) are in place before bind.