10 June 2025

Demystifying Surplus Lines: What Agencies Need to Know

If you’re struggling to access surplus lines insurance markets confidently or efficiently as an independent insurance agency, you’re not alone. While there’s been rapid growth in the surplus lines recently, some factors still work against it. Outdated misconceptions about their complexity and compliance, alongside a dire lack of accessible tools and help, turn many agents away from high-risk customers, and disincentivize taking opportunities in specialty lines such as private flood, earthquake, and product liability coverage.

It’s time to move surplus lines insurance from a “fallback” strategy to a frontline growth area. They’re no longer niche offerings, but rather critical to agency growth and customer retention as we face harder markets, especially in the face of escalating natural catastrophes. Luckily, surplus lines for agents don’t have to be a complex or difficult market. This article will walk you through what surplus lines insurance really means for agencies today, and how to quote efficiently through tailored surplus lines agency platforms, so you can make the most of this shift.

Addressing the Challenges in Surplus Lines Insurance’s Changing Role

Surplus lines insurance was traditionally the final option open to customers and agencies alike after exhausting the standard market. However, as we enter a harder insurance market, this dynamic has shifted. We’re facing high inflation pressures, and climate-related losses have put pressure on non-life insurance lines profitability. This has led to non-optimal strategies like higher premium pricing and even the withdrawal of coverage for specific high risks.

However, as standard carriers tighten their underwriting and withdraw from high-risk markets, surplus lines and E&S markets are evolving into a key solution. Despite the growing importance of non-admitted markets, independent agencies still encounter some obstacles when integrating surplus lines insurance into their placement strategies:

Persistent Misconceptions: Many agents still view surplus lines as unnecessarily complicated or inherently more risky than admitted markets.
Limited Access: Without proper technology, finding and accessing E&S markets can be time-consuming and frustrating. Many independent agencies also still lack the tools to capitalize on these markets.
Lack of Confidence:. Agents often feel underprepared to position these solutions effectively to their customers, fearing pushback or confusion.
Regulatory/Compliance Uncertainty: Varying requirements across states create additional anxiety about potential errors in handling surplus lines insurance placements. Agents often fear they are doing something wrong.

Fortunately, none of these challenges in putting E&S markets to work are insurmountable – especially with the right surplus lines agency platform to help you scale and access expanded carrier bases easily and effectively.

Surplus Lines for Agents: Solutions that Work

To make the best of high-risk insurance placements and the E&S market, there are a few key aspects to keep in mind:

Understanding Macro Trends

We’ve seen a clear trend from the customer side of choosing non-admitted carriers, and it’s only growing, particularly in catastrophe-exposed states, such as Texas, Florida, and California. Surplus lines for agents have become essential as standard carriers pull back from these markets as risk appetite reduces.

In the US, surplus lines insurance premiums accounted for $81 billion in 2024 alone. This represents a 12.1% increase on 2023’s figures. This highlights a core shift in insurance market dynamics, ready for the right agency to leverage it.

Surplus Lines as a Frontline Insurance Option

Non-admitted carriers are no longer for “exotic” high-risk exposures. Today, the E&S market offers customers peace of mind against things as simple as brush zone homes, coastal properties, aging roof risks, wildfires, and even standard small business general liability insurance.

Surplus lines for agents are no longer the last point of call, but often the initial choice due to higher likelihood of placement. This saves time and improves the customer’s outcome.

Smart Tools Make Smart Agents

For agents wondering how to quote surplus lines efficiently, surplus lines agency platforms like bolt offer a wealth of tools to help simplify both quoting and binding – all while wrapping non-admitted carriers and compliance into existing workflows.

As an example, bolt’s real-time appetite filters help head off frustrating dead ends. Instead, it guides all parties to quotable, bindable options – faster than you can click. Tools like this help agents spend less time on complex administrative work, letting them focus on advising customers on the right coverage solutions.

Talking to Customers the Right Way

Lastly, customer and agent hesitancy around E&S markets can be addressed through clear and value-focused education. Agents well-trained on surplus coverage can better position it as the solution to the customer’s needs, not a stop-gap or compromise. With better information and clearer outcomes, customers can develop the confidence they need in surplus lines insurance products.

Turbocharge Access to Non-Admitted Carriers with bolt

We have already seen a 61% year-on-year increase in surplus lines quoting on the bolt platform. And 42% of these quotes came from agents who were new entrants into the non-admitted placement space.

Much of this growth in our surplus lines agency platform stems from our strategic investment in the right tools to support agencies throughout the high-risk insurance placement lifecycle and in navigating E&S markets, including:

Pre-filled forms that reduce data entry requirements
Guided workflows that walk agents through each step
Built-in regulatory compliance mechanisms
Educational resources for explaining options to customers

Investment in real-time, proper surplus carrier onboarding, and digital tools that help agents work smarter, not harder, have helped bolt empower agencies to compete, no matter how hard the market may be. The right digital tools help to change a cumbersome and sometimes scary process into a simple, streamlined operation, no matter the size or primary focus of your agency.

Actionable Strategies for Agencies Interested in Surplus Lines Growth

As we’ve examined above, the data shows us that non-admitted carriers, E&S markets, and high-risk insurance placement are essential tools for growth in the modern insurance market. It’s time to stop thinking of them as an occasional fallback and instead position them as a key part of your placement strategy.

The bolt platform offers you the ideal way to bypass quoting friction and ensure even non-admitted carriers meet all compliance checkboxes without complicating the customer lifecycle or increasing administrative burdens. In turn, this helps you bolster your customer service and better meet their needs, especially in high-risk states or markets.

In addition to using a surplus lines agency platform partner like bolt, ensuring your team (and ultimately your customers) are properly educated on the benefits and security of surplus lines insurance helps reassure them and encourage customer uptake. Paired with a data-driven approach that tracks appetite trends and quote-to-bind ratios, creating an optimized surplus strategy is simpler than you may think.

In an insurance landscape where the E&S market is no longer an afterthought, but a necessity, exploring surplus lines for agencies is a fantastic growth strategy. Agents who not only understand but also embrace surplus placements are the ones who will thrive.

Partnering with a surplus lines agency platform partner like bolt helps ensure your agents have the tools, carrier access, and support they need to make non-admitted and high-risk insurance placements succeed – confidently and at scale. Learn more about how bolt helps agencies streamline surplus lines quoting and win in today’s market. Request a demo today, or connect directly to a distribution expert to discuss your needs.

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