Ask Kodiak review for insurance agencies: submissions, markets and pricing
Ask Kodiak, sold by Ivans as Market Appetite, shows which carriers, MGAs and wholesalers want a commercial risk. You search by state, class code and size and get each market's rules and a link to its portal.
It fits commercial producers deciding where to send a submission. It's free to agents, and carriers and MGAs buy the service that lists them.
- Best for
- Commercial producers who need to know which carriers and MGAs want a risk before they build a submission
- Tool type
- Appetite search
- Price
- Free to agents
- Markets
- Participating carriers, MGAs and wholesalers
- Whose appointment
- Yours. Results include markets you aren't appointed with
- Agency system
- Built into Applied Epic, EZLynx and Zywave
Our take
Ask Kodiak answers one question well: who might write this risk. It's free and sits inside Applied Epic, EZLynx and several raters.
It doesn't fill applications or send submissions. Results are only as good as what each market posts, so confirm before you submit.
Pros
- Free to agents
- Search by state, class code and size
- Underwriting rules before you apply
- Built into Applied Epic and several raters
- Shows markets you aren't appointed with yet
Cons
- No applications or ACORD forms
- No submission sending
- No published market count
- Broad rights over anything you type into search
Plans and pricing
- How it's priced
- Free to agents and brokers
- Who pays
- Nobody, for agents. Carriers and MGAs buy a separate publishing service
- What you need first
- A free account, or an Ivans Exchange or Applied Epic login
As of October 2026, from the Ask Kodiak platform terms and ivans.com.
Markets and lines
| Market | Type | Lines | What you get back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participating carriers | Carrier | Commercial and specialty | Appetite match, guidelines and a portal link |
| Participating MGAs | MGA | Commercial and specialty | Appetite match, guidelines and a portal link |
| Participating wholesalers | Wholesaler | Varies | Appetite match in Applied Epic |
Ivans publishes no market count, as of October 2026. Lines, classes, states and risk size vary by market.
Market access, commission and your book
- Whose appointment
- Yours. Search covers markets you have and markets you don't
- Who places the business
- Your agency, through the market's own portal
- Commission
- Set with each market. Ivans isn't a party
- Who owns the client and renewal
- Your agency
Appetite and market choice
- Where appetite data comes from
- Carriers and MGAs post and update their own
- How current it is
- Updated in real time, Ivans says
- Search by
- State, NAICS or SIC class and risk size
- What you see
- Product highlights, underwriting rules, state differences and collateral
The terms say results may be incomplete or wrong and aren't a recommendation. Check with the market before you submit.
Applications and ACORD forms
Ask Kodiak doesn't fill applications. In Applied Epic, a search fills in the class code, state and current products from the client's account.
Sending submissions
- Who picks the markets
- You
- How it sends
- Get Started buttons open the market's portal. Ask Kodiak doesn't send submissions
Quotes, bind and payment
| Result | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Appetite match | The market says it wants this kind of risk. It isn't a quote |
| Underwriting criteria | Rules to check before you submit |
| Portal link | A jump to the market's own site |
| Real-time rate | In Applied Epic, a live rate from carriers that support it |
- Bind
- No. You bind with the market
- Payment
- No
Integrations and retyping
| Connects to | What moves | Direction | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Epic | Account class code, state and products in. Appetite results out | Both ways | Built in |
| EZLynx | Appetite | In | Built in |
| Zywave | Appetite | In | Built in |
| Vertafore ReferenceConnect | Appetite | In | Built in |
| Tarmika and Epic Quotes Commercial Lines | Appetite in the rater | In | Built in |
- Writes back to your agency system
- No
- Retyping still needed
- The whole application on the market's portal
How your data is used
Your search data
- Carriers see search trends and portal clicks
- Anything you type into search can be reused by Ivans without time limit
- Applied doesn't sell personal information
- Its privacy policy allows sharing with ad partners
- Kept for
- As long as Applied needs it or the law requires
Getting started
Open it
Use the Exchange menu in Ivans, or Market Appetite in Applied Epic.
Search a risk
Enter the state, class code and size.
Review markets
Read each market's rules and products.
Go to the portal
Click Get Started to submit with the market.
Support at 855-233-9128 or support@ivans.com.
Contract terms
- Canceling
- Stop using it. Ivans can also end access without notice
- Terms
- Ask Kodiak platform terms
Terms revised February 7, 2025, under Illinois law with courts in Chicago.
Ask Kodiak alternatives
- Talage WheelhouseQuote onlySmall commercial quoting with 20+ carriers through APIs
- AppulateFreeSends submissions to many markets, free on Standard
- TarmikaQuote onlyQuotes BOP, workers comp and GL with several carriers
- Applied IndioQuote onlyClient applications and renewals tied to Applied Epic
- BindlyFree plan, Pro $79/moAI client interview fills ACORD and carrier forms
See every option in insurance quoting software.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ask Kodiak free?
Yes, for agents and brokers. Carriers and MGAs buy a separate service to publish their appetite.
Do I need appointments to use Ask Kodiak?
No. Results include markets you aren't appointed with, and you work with each market directly.
Does Ask Kodiak work in Applied Epic?
Yes. Market Appetite in Epic searches from the client's account details.
Can I submit through Ask Kodiak?
No. It links you to the market's portal to submit there.
How we researched this review. We based this review on the pricing, terms and product pages published by Ask Kodiak, 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 Ask Kodiak quit selling or a contract term that reads different now, let us know and send the link to the page where Ask Kodiak has it. Somebody here pulls up that page and checks it before we change anything on ours.