Travelers
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
Travelers’ verified published small commercial underwriting/appetite guidance is the Select Accounts Appetite Guide on its official For Agents platform. The guide presents appetite across 16 industry segments and is built around package/BOP, commercial auto, workers compensation, umbrella, and professional liability options where appropriate. Operationally, Travelers is positioning for broad small-business submission flow with streamlined quoting support: current agent-facing guidance says lower BOP rates across hundreds of preferred classes, about 80% of BOP and workers compensation quotes require no underwriter referral, underwriting review responses are typically 2–4 hours when needed, and BOP plus workers comp can often be quoted quickly through its small-business workflow. Preferred business is generally well-managed small commercial accounts that fit Travelers’ industry class definitions, especially accounts seeking multiline placements and standard package solutions. The appetite guide repeatedly indicates support for total-account writing, and some classes can also be written monoline GL through TravelersExpress; tougher or nonstandard classes may be redirected to Northfield E&S, Travelers’ E&S outlet. Common underwriting themes and restrictions in the published guide include: state-specific eligibility applies in some segments; construction has restricted appetite in some states, with California and Colorado specifically called out for additional state-specific eligibility review; many property-bearing classes expect building utilities and roof to have been updated/replaced within 30 years; and home-based businesses are often ineligible, though certain service/pet classes note limited exceptions. Recurrent declined or restricted exposures include marijuana/hemp/CBD processing, handling, sales or distribution; hazardous substance remediation/removal such as lead or asbestos; high-hazard product liability/manufacturing exposures; primary manufacturing processes such as metal casting, plastic foaming, and wood milling; custom vehicle fabrication; work on heavy vehicles in some garage classes; and various specialty/public-service or social-service risks depending on class. Specific examples published in the guide include: healthcare risks are generally ineligible if they involve office use of general or regional anesthesia, marijuana/CBD prescribing or related operations, social services or government-funded/managed businesses, many mental health treatment facilities, drug/substance abuse treatment clinics, certain medical labs, and some equestrian therapy exposures; manufacturing excludes severe product liability categories such as aerospace, asbestos, chemicals, infant/juvenile products, nuclear/safety equipment, RFID/security/alarm systems, reclaiming/recycling/scrap operations, and certain core manufacturing processes; professional services excludes consultants involved in construction/manufacturing processes, product design, safety/quality/OSHA compliance, political/campaign consultants, lobbyists, property or real estate management firms, construction management firms, and private equity/venture capital/hedge funds; contractors exclude hazardous substance remediation and work in amusement facilities, hospitals, industrial plants, or on industrial processing equipment. Geography/state notes: workers compensation is subject to state law variation, and Travelers publicly notes monopolistic states may require state-fund purchase or self-insured/TPA structures instead of standard carrier placement; some professional liability availability is state-specific (for example, the guide notes optometrists professional liability is unavailable in FL, GA, IN, OK, LA, and NM); liquor liability is available in most states via Northfield E&S materials; and availability generally depends on underwriting qualifications and state regulation. Submission/broker notes: Travelers distributes primarily through independent agents and brokers; the small commercial agent portal and CSR guidance emphasize using Travelers’ digital quoting resources and logging in for quote/confidence tools. Agents should align submissions to the exact class descriptions in the Appetite Guide, watch for class-specific revenue/activity thresholds and operational qualifiers, and use TravelersExpress or Northfield E&S when the guide specifically routes business there. Overall, Travelers currently publishes a broad standard-market small commercial appetite with strong preference for clearly classifiable, well-maintained, multiline accounts and clear aversion to cannabis/CBD, hazardous remediation, severe products, social-service/publicly managed healthcare, and other high-hazard or specialty exposures unless redirected to another Travelers channel.