Hull & Company review for retail agents: programs, access and binding authority
Hull & Company places surplus lines and some admitted business for retail agents through local branches. It also binds commercial auto, garage, excess and package risks under its own authority. Surplus lines (E&S) carriers aren't licensed in your state, so they can take risks admitted carriers won't.
It suits agencies that like working with a nearby underwriter. Each branch appoints agencies itself and asks for a signed Producer Agreement.
- Best for
- Agencies that want a nearby branch for E&S commercial, professional and high-value personal lines, plus binding on auto and package risks
- Type
- Wholesale broker and MGA, part of Brown & Brown
- Lines
- Casualty, property, professional, transportation, marine, environmental, personal lines and workers comp
- Access
- Appointment through a branch, with $1 million E&O and a $100,000 dishonesty bond
- Authority
- Binds, issues and endorses commercial auto, garage, excess and package programs in house
- States
- Licensed nationwide, with branches from Florida to Hawaii
Our take
Hull is a Brown & Brown wholesaler with branches from Florida to Hawaii and licenses in every state. Branch brokers place casualty, property, professional, marine and high-value personal lines with admitted, E&S and Lloyd's markets.
Its own binding programs are the draw for agencies with trucks, garages or small package accounts. Hull has binding authority there and issues and endorses policies itself.
The Producer Agreement asks a lot. You need a $100,000 dishonesty bond, you owe premium whether or not the client pays and unpaid balances hand your expirations to Hull.
Pros
- Binds commercial auto, garage and package risks in house
- A local branch with named brokers and underwriters
- Admitted, E&S and Lloyd's markets through one firm
- You keep your expirations when your account is paid up
- Producer Agreement posted in full on branch sites
Cons
- A $100,000 employee dishonesty bond is required
- Premium is due whether or not the insured pays
- No sub-producers or co-brokering without consent
- No Hull-wide portal, and tools vary by branch
Who they work with
- Who can submit
- Licensed retail agencies appointed by a Hull branch, and only for states Hull has authorized for them
- How to get access
- Send the signed Producer Agreement and application to your branch. The agreement takes effect only once Hull accepts it
- Requirements
- A signed and witnessed Producer Agreement, the Producer Application, a W-9 and your resident and nonresident P&C licenses
- E&O minimum
- $1,000,000 per claim and in the aggregate, with a deductible of $5,000 or less from an insurer rated A- or better
- Bond
- A blanket employee dishonesty bond of at least $100,000
- Sub-producers and co-brokering
- Not allowed without Hull's written consent
Download the forms
Get the Producer Agreement and Producer Application from your branch site.
Send the package
Return the signed agreement, application, W-9, licenses and E&O proof to the branch contact.
Wait for acceptance
Hull reviews the agency, and the agreement starts only when Hull accepts it.
Start quoting
Work through the branch or its online quote links, and bind in the states Hull authorizes.
Programs and what they write
| Program | Type | Lines | Admitted or surplus lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale brokerageAdmitted, E&S and Lloyd's markets through branch brokers | Wholesale broker | Casualty, property, professional, transportation, marine, environmental, personal lines and workers comp | Both |
| In-house binding programsPrograms where Hull has binding authority | MGA | Commercial auto, garage, excess, package and inland marine | Both |
Binding program minimums come from the Fort Lauderdale binding office: $750 for monoline GL and package and $500 for excess and inland marine.
What the brokerage places
- Contractors, liquor liability and entertainment risks
- Habitational, hotels, vacant buildings and earthquake
- D&O, EPL, cyber and miscellaneous E&O
- High-value homes, vacation rentals and excess flood
- Life sciences, marinas and motorsports
- Day care, fitness, HOA and salon programs
What Hull binds in house
- Contractor vehicles, couriers and hazmat haulers
- Limousines, church vans and non-emergency transport
- Garage liability and garagekeepers
- Physical damage, motor truck cargo and filings
- Excess liability in all classes
- Package and inland marine
How to submit
- How it works
- Call or email your branch broker or underwriter. Hull decides whether to accept the account and where to place it
- Submit by
- Branch broker or underwriter, branch online quote forms or class applications
- Documents needed
- Hull class applications and supplementals. The Fort Lauderdale office also wants ACORDs, schedules of values and at least three years of loss runs
Quote and bind authority
"Takes your submission" means you send the risk to the firm. Binds "In house" means the firm commits the carrier on its own, with no second sign-off. Where a cell is blank, the firm publishes nothing on that step.
| Program | Takes your submission | Quotes | Binds | Issues the policy | Endorses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale brokerage | After carrier OK | ||||
| In-house binding programs | In house |
Hull binds only for producers with a signed agreement who are authorized in the risk state. It can also turn down any new business or renewal you send.
Carrier paper and admitted status
- Admitted or surplus lines
- Mostly surplus lines, plus admitted markets in some states for smaller agencies
- Lloyd's
- Some Hull offices are Lloyd's correspondents
Commission, fees and billing
- Who bills
- Hull bills your agency by binder, invoice or statement
- Payment terms
- Pay the net balance by the due date, whether or not the insured has paid you or the policy has arrived
- Commission
- A percentage of written premium, at a rate you agree with Hull
- Fees
- Any Hull fee on business it binds is fully earned at binding. Confirm fees and taxes with the branch first
- Unearned commission
- Returned at the original rate on cancellations and return premium
- Audit premium
- Due at the invoice date. To get out of it, tell Hull within 20 days that you can't collect and send your collection letters
- Premium finance
- Offered by the Fort Lauderdale office on accounts it binds
- How to pay
- Pay Now link on branch sites
Surplus lines taxes and filings
- Who files
- Whichever party is responsible for the tax also collects it, files the affidavit and adds the disclosure
- Diligent search
- You meet your state's rule on trying admitted insurers before ordering E&S coverage from Hull
Endorsements, audits and claims
- Endorsements
- The Fort Lauderdale binding office endorses, cancels, rewrites and renews for its carriers
- Certificates
- Only with the insurer's written permission, copied to Hull. Hull doesn't review the ones you issue
- Cancellations
- Hull can cancel for nonpayment. A flat cancel needs written proof of other coverage and insurer credit
- Claims handled by
- The insurer. Hull passes loss notices on and makes no coverage or settlement decisions
- Claim reporting
- Newport Beach and Honolulu take an ACORD 1 or ACORD 3 loss notice by email and aim to report it the same business day
Who owns the account
- Who owns the client
- You keep your records and expirations if all premium and return commission is paid. If not, they pass to Hull
- If the relationship ends
- Either side can end it at any time in writing. It ends on its own if you lose your license, and Hull may end it if the agency is sold
- In-force policies
- They run to expiration
Portal and integrations
- Portal
- Branch quote tools, with no single Hull portal
- Online quoting
- Through carrier portals on the branch sites and online homeowners quoting in Southern California
| Connects to | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| USLI | Carrier portal | Hull-branded quote sites for the Irvine and Honolulu offices |
| RLI and Hudson | Carrier portals | Linked from the branch Online Quotes menu |
| The Bridge | Personal lines submissions | Prefilled risk data, bindable quote requests and document exchange |
Support for retail agents
- Contact
- Southern California 949-477-5030, Pacific Islands 808-840-1980, Northeast 215-443-3500
- Underwriter access
- Branch team pages list brokers, underwriters and accounting staff with direct lines
Hull & Company alternatives
- RT SpecialtyNational E&S brokerage with RT Connector online binding
- CRC GroupLarge wholesaler with binding programs and Quick Quotes
- Burns & WilcoxLocal offices plus online flood and article floaters
- AmwinsMore than 150 programs and online small commercial quotes
- One80 IntermediariesAnother Brown & Brown wholesaler with small business binding
See every option in insurance mGAs and wholesalers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get appointed with Hull & Company?
Send your branch the signed Producer Agreement, application, W-9, licenses and E&O proof. The agreement starts once Hull accepts it.
Can Hull bind coverage itself?
Yes, on its commercial auto, garage, excess and package programs. Brokerage accounts bind once the market agrees.
Who keeps the expirations if I leave Hull?
You do, as long as every premium and return commission is paid. Otherwise they pass to Hull.
What are the minimum premiums on Hull's binding programs?
$750 for monoline GL and package and $500 for excess and inland marine, per the Fort Lauderdale office.
How we researched this review. We based this review on the terms and product pages published by Hull & Company, reviewed in October 2026, together with our team's experience working with insurance agents and agency owners since 2008.
Corrections
Vendors change their pricing all the time and they don't email us when they do. So if you see a price on here that's gone up, a plan Hull & Company quit selling or a contract term that reads different now, let us know and send the link to the page where Hull & Company has it. Somebody here pulls up that page and checks it before we change anything on ours.