Direct Insurance Services partner walking commercial operators through a coverage review in our Colorado office

Specialty Commercial Insurance — Reviewed Before You Bind

We're not sure we're the right fit yet — but if you're running an HOA board, managing a commercial property, handling sensitive data, operating a restaurant, or signing contracts that require a COI, you've probably wondered whether the coverage you have (or are about to buy) would actually respond when you needed it to. We read your contracts, leases, governing documents, vendor agreements, and endorsement forms with you on video before binding. If it makes sense after that, we talk next steps.

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Is now a bad time to start a policy review across 30+ carriers?

Documents Reviewed Before QuotesVideo Walkthroughs of Every Policy29 States, 5 Specialty Verticals30+ A-Rated Carrier Relationships

Your Commercial Insurance Reality

Coverage, Speed, Cost, and Fit

Four angles on what shapes commercial-insurance underwriting — and what operators ask before submitting a quote.

Five specialty programs. Not five generic packages with industry labels.

Most carriers slap an industry label on a generic business owner policy and call it “restaurant insurance” or “HOA insurance.” We don't. Each vertical we write has its own underwriting requirements, its own carrier panel, its own coverage forms.

Restaurants: liquor liability primary, assault and battery, spoilage, business income with extended periods, employee dishonesty. HOAs: D&O with regulatory defense, fidelity bonds matched to your reserves, master policy coordination with unit owner HO-6 forms. Commercial landlords: tenant indemnification gaps, ordinance or law for older buildings, loss of rents matched to actual lease terms. Contractors: additional insured per-project endorsements, completed operations tail coverage, equipment floaters with rented-leased extensions. Cyber: ransomware sublimits, social engineering coverage, regulatory penalty defense, vendor breach attribution.

This is what coverage looks like when it's matched to the operation, not the SIC code.

Choose Your Industry for a Tailored Quote

Start with the page built for your business. You'll get the right coverage checklist, cost guidance, and the fastest path to a quote.

Don't see your industry? Browse all commercial insurance options

On Video Before Binding

See How We Work — and Watch a Real Review

See how we shop 30+ carriers to find the best coverage, and watch Patrick walk through a real commercial insurance review.

Watch: How We Work

A short walkthrough of how we compare 30+ carriers for you.

Watch: A Real Policy Review

Patrick walks through a real commercial insurance review.

Our Process

Bobby Friel, Partner at Direct Insurance Services

Bobby Friel

Partner, Direct Insurance Services

How We Work With You

Our process is designed to get you the right coverage for your operation — not a generic business owner policy. Here are the 6 steps we walk through together (you saw the video walkthroughs earlier).

The 6 Steps We Walk Through Together

1

Tell Us About Your Operation

Share your operation type, revenue, payroll, and any specific coverage requirements from contracts, lenders, GCs, project owners, governing documents, or vendors. We start with your real situation — not a generic application.

2

We Review Your Documents Before Quoting

Before we quote, we read the documents that actually determine your real exposure — contracts, leases, governing documents, vendor agreements, certificate requirements. Restaurants get their lease and franchise agreement reviewed. HOAs get their CC&Rs and bylaws reviewed. Landlords get their leases reviewed. Contractors get their subcontract agreements reviewed. Cyber clients get their data-handling commitments reviewed. This is where most agents skip the work.

3

We Shop Multiple A-Rated Specialty Carriers

Your operation goes to the carriers that actually write your vertical at competitive terms — not generalists treating your industry as an add-on to a BOP. We compare coverage, pricing, and claims handling across 30+ A-rated carriers and surplus markets.

4

Video Walkthrough of Your Quote Options

We walk you through every option on video — limits, exclusions, what your documents actually require, what is covered, what is not. No PDFs to decipher, no jargon. Just plain English.

5

Contract-Ready Coverage When You Need It

Need coverage for a new contract, lease signing, board meeting, or closing? We review your requirements before binding so your coverage clears on the first submission.

6

Ongoing Service Through the Policy Year

Your COIs, endorsement updates, and renewal reviews happen on your timeline, not on a service-ticket queue. Need a certificate at 4pm Friday for a Monday job? Handled.

🏆 Multi-Carrier Specialty Access

We're appointed with carriers who write each of our 5 verticals at competitive terms — restaurants, HOAs, commercial landlords, contractors, and cyber. Not generalists treating your operation as an add-on. We compare quotes from multiple A-rated specialty markets to find the policy language that actually responds when you need it.

5-Star Rated on Google — Policies Serviced by Direct Insurance Services

I run a snow plow removal business and my old insurance provider dropped my coverage!! They got everything sorted out and I was insured the same day. These guys know how to help, use them!!

Jessica K., Google Review

Commercial Insurance Built to Pass the Real-World Test

Contracts, lenders, and boards care about correct coverage — not cheap coverage. Here is what sets us apart.

Specialty Focus, Not Generalist

We write 5 specialty verticals — restaurants, HOAs, commercial landlords, contractors, and cyber. Not a “we do everything” generalist agency. Each vertical has its own carrier panel, underwriting standards, and coverage expertise built over years of writing that risk class.

Multi-State, Single Source

29 states under one roof. Multi-state contractors get one broker handling licensing requirements across every project location. National HOA portfolios get coordinated coverage across state lines. No re-explaining your operation to a new agent every time you cross a state border.

Hard-Market Specialists

The current commercial insurance market is the hardest in over a decade. Renewals jumping double-digits, carriers tightening appetite, coverage gaps appearing mid-policy. We specialize in finding coverage when it’s getting harder to find — across surplus lines, specialty programs, and excess markets when standard markets won’t write.

Real People, Real Specialists

You’ll work directly with industry specialists, not a call center routing queue. Restaurants talk to a restaurant specialist. Contractors talk to a contractor specialist. HOAs talk to an HOA specialist. Cyber talks to a cyber specialist. No “let me transfer you” before your question gets answered.

Coverage We Specialize In

Nine Coverage Types Reviewed Before Bind

Across the operations we insure, these are the nine coverage types we review most often — sometimes because they're foundational, sometimes because they're frequently missing from standard renewals, and sometimes because they require depth most generalist agencies don't carry. We walk through each one against your specific documents, not against a generic category.

ESSENTIAL

General Liability Insurance

  • Third-party bodily injury claims
  • Property damage from operations
  • Personal & advertising injury

Every commercial lease, general contractor agreement, and lender requirement names a specific liability limit. General liability responds when a third party is injured on your premises, when your work or operations damage someone else's property, or when a claim involving advertising, defamation, or personal injury comes back against the business. It's the foundation most other commercial coverage is built on — and the limit that renewal cycles most commonly carry forward without being measured against what current contracts actually require. We review your active agreements alongside your current policy to confirm the limit your coverage shows matches the limit your contracts demand.

Explore General Liability Coverage →
ESSENTIAL

Workers' Compensation Insurance

  • Medical expenses & rehabilitation
  • Lost wage replacement
  • Employer liability protection

In most of the 29 states we serve, workers' compensation is required by law once you employ anyone. It covers medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and a portion of lost wages when an employee is injured or becomes ill from work-related activity. Whether you have employees is rarely the question — the question is whether the classification codes assigned to your workers reflect what they actually do on the job. Misclassified roles create gaps that standard policy renewals don't surface. Coverage can be in place and still not respond correctly when the job description doesn't match what's on the dec page (the policy's declarations page). We review your payroll structure and job descriptions alongside your current coverage to confirm every role is classified and covered correctly.

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OFTEN OVERLOOKED

Cyber Liability Insurance

  • Ransomware & data breach response
  • Forensic investigation & notification
  • Business interruption recovery

A cyber incident — whether ransomware, a stolen vendor login, or a data breach — triggers costs that most standard commercial policies don't cover: forensic investigation, notification to affected parties, regulatory response, and lost-income coverage during the recovery period. Standalone cyber coverage handles those costs. What it actually pays for depends on the caps inside the policy on specific loss categories — limits that vary significantly from one policy form to another. Most standard commercial packages don't include standalone cyber coverage at all. For any business that processes payments, holds client or member data, or operates a networked system, that gap exists whether or not the renewal cycle surfaced it. We review your current policy alongside your actual digital exposure to confirm where coverage is in place and where it isn't.

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ESSENTIAL

Commercial Property Insurance

  • Buildings, equipment, inventory
  • Replacement cost coverage
  • Business income protection

Commercial property coverage protects your physical assets — owned or leased buildings, equipment, inventory, and the improvements your business has made to a space — when fire, storm, theft, or equipment breakdown interrupts your operations. The limit that matters is what it would cost to rebuild or replace at today's prices. Policies carried forward through multiple renewal cycles often reflect property values from when the building was last appraised — not current construction costs or the current replacement value of equipment and inventory. We review your property schedules — what's listed, at what value, and under what coverage terms — to confirm the numbers reflect your operation as it actually exists today.

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OFTEN OVERLOOKED

Commercial Auto Insurance

  • Owned & leased vehicles
  • Hired & non-owned auto liability
  • Driver coverage on company time

If a vehicle is used for business — owned by the company, leased, or driven by an employee using their personal car for a work errand — a personal auto policy won't respond when the accident happens on company time. Commercial auto covers the business vehicle and the liability that comes with putting a vehicle on the road in the company's name. The gap most commercial auto renewals miss isn't the owned fleet — it's coverage for employees using their own vehicles for work — sometimes called hired and non-owned auto — that standard commercial auto renewals often don't include by default. We review your vehicle schedule and how your team uses vehicles for work to confirm coverage matches how your operation actually moves.

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RECOMMENDED

Business Owner's Policy

  • General liability + property bundled
  • Business income included
  • Small to mid-size operations

A Business Owner's Policy — commonly called a BOP — bundles general liability and commercial property coverage into a single policy structure. For small to mid-size commercial operations that need both, the bundle simplifies administration and reduces the number of separate policies to track. What the bundle doesn't do on its own: it doesn't verify that the property limits reflect actual replacement values, or that the liability limits match what current leases and contracts require. Consolidated coverage carries the same precision requirements as individual policies. We review your BOP structure against your current lease obligations, contract requirements, and property schedules to confirm the bundle reflects your operation as it stands.

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OFTEN OVERLOOKED

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

  • Excess limits above primary policies
  • General liability, auto, workers' comp
  • Large-loss protection

When a primary policy's limit is exhausted — whether general liability, commercial auto, or workers' compensation — a commercial umbrella extends coverage above it. It raises your total coverage capacity without requiring higher limits on every underlying policy individually. For building owners, HOA boards, contractors, and restaurant operators with real large-loss exposure, the question isn't whether to carry excess coverage. It's whether the current limit was set to match the actual scale of what's now at risk. Most umbrella limits are established at inception and never re-measured as the operation grows or as the risk environment changes. We review your current umbrella structure against your underlying policies and your actual exposure today.

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ESSENTIAL

HOA Master Policy Insurance

  • Common areas & shared structures
  • Bare walls, single entity, or all-in
  • D&O coordination available

An HOA master policy is the association's primary property coverage — the policy that responds when shared structures, common areas, and the building envelope sustain damage. What it actually covers depends on whether the policy is structured as "bare walls," "single entity," or "all-in" — three distinct coverage structures with meaningfully different implications for what individual unit owners are responsible for covering on their own. The governing documents set the coverage obligation. The master policy needs to match. Most master policies are renewed from the prior year's dec page (the policy's declarations page) without being read against current governing-document requirements, reserve study findings, or recent structural assessments. We read your governing documents and your master policy together — on video — to confirm the structure and limits reflect what the association is actually responsible for.

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ESSENTIAL

Building Owner Coverage

  • Building & lost rental income
  • Multi-tenant liability exposure
  • Lease compliance review

Building owner coverage — also written as lessor's risk only (LRO) insurance — is the commercial property and liability structure built specifically for owners of occupied commercial buildings. It covers the building itself, lost rental income if a covered event makes the property unrentable, and the liability exposure that comes with operating a commercial building. What standard property policies often miss: vacancy provisions — policy clauses that restrict or exclude coverage when occupancy drops below a certain threshold — and lease compliance requirements that most standard renewals don't verify against active tenant agreements. We review your lease structures, occupancy history, and current policy terms together to confirm your coverage reflects the building as it's actually operating.

Explore Building Owner Coverage →

📝 Helpful to Have

What Helps Us Build the Right Commercial Policy For You

The more we know about your operations, contracts, and exposure profile, the more precisely we can match coverage to your actual risk. Here's what helps — but if you don't have it all, we'll work through it together.

Current policy declaration pageShows your existing limits, classifications, and endorsements
Active customer or vendor contractsInsurance requirements from your largest current customers or contracts
Annual revenue and employee countFor carrier rating and workers comp class accuracy
Operations descriptionWhat you actually do, by percentage of revenue, including any new lines or services
Property and equipment scheduleBuilding values, equipment values, and tenant improvements if you lease
Loss runs (last 5 years)Claims history including any open matters
Existing certificates of insuranceCurrent COIs being issued to customers, if any
Contact info to send optionsEmail and best phone for the video walkthrough
Start Your Quote →

~2 minutes · We review your contracts · Coverage matched to your requirements

Carrier Partners

Our Insurance Carrier Partners

We compare quotes from 30+ A-rated carriers to find you the best combination of coverage, price, and claims service.

The Hartford commercial insurance carrier logo
Travelers commercial insurance carrier logo
Liberty Mutual commercial insurance carrier logo
Chubb commercial insurance carrier logo
CNA commercial insurance carrier logo
Nationwide commercial insurance carrier logo
AIG commercial insurance carrier logo
Berkshire Hathaway commercial insurance carrier logo
AmTrust commercial insurance carrier logo
RLI commercial insurance carrier logo
At-Bay commercial insurance carrier logo
Cowbell commercial insurance carrier logo
The Hartford commercial insurance carrier logo
Travelers commercial insurance carrier logo
Liberty Mutual commercial insurance carrier logo
Chubb commercial insurance carrier logo
CNA commercial insurance carrier logo
Nationwide commercial insurance carrier logo
AIG commercial insurance carrier logo
Berkshire Hathaway commercial insurance carrier logo
AmTrust commercial insurance carrier logo
RLI commercial insurance carrier logo
At-Bay commercial insurance carrier logo
Cowbell commercial insurance carrier logo

+ additional specialty and surplus lines markets for hard-to-place risks

🗺️ Multi-Market Reach

Carriers cycle in and out of markets — appetite changes, premiums swing 20–40%, and some carriers drop entire segments. Multi-market shopping keeps your operation matched to a carrier that actually wants to write it.

Every line of business hits hard markets — periods where carriers decide the risk isn't worth what they're charging, claim trends turn, and a segment that was profitable for them last year stops being profitable this year. A carrier that wrote restaurants aggressively last cycle walks away from them this cycle. One that priced HOA risk competitively two renewals ago tightens the screws once D&O claims trends shift. Building owners, contractors, and cyber-exposed operations all see the same swings. We shop your operation across multiple A-rated carriers actively writing your industry today — not the one or two appointments a single-carrier broker happens to have — so when your line of business hits a hard cycle, you're not stuck on the paper that just decided you're too risky to keep.

🗺️ By State

Licensed in 29 States

We serve businesses across 29 states. Coverage availability varies by industry and risk profile.

Service managed from our Colorado office, powered by Direct Insurance Services.

Frequently Asked

Commercial Insurance FAQs

Common questions about our process, carriers, coverage, and how we work with businesses across the operations we insure.

Most quotes are returned within 24–48 hours. We review your contracts, leases, and governing documents before quoting to ensure your policy matches your actual requirements on the first try.

We review your contracts, GC requirements, leases, and governing documents before quoting. This means your policy is built to pass compliance the first time — no back-and-forth, no rejected COIs. Most agents skip this step.

Yes. We work with 30+ A-rated carriers including The Hartford, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Chubb, CNA, Nationwide, Berkshire Hathaway, AIG, AmTrust, RLI, At-Bay, Cowbell, and specialty surplus markets for hard-to-place risks.

After we prepare your quote options, we walk you through them on a short video call. This helps you understand exactly what each policy covers, what it doesn't, and why we recommend specific options.

Absolutely. We review your contracts, leases, and lender requirements before quoting so your policy is built to meet them. No surprises at the job site or closing table.

No. You can start with our online quote form. Either way, you'll work with a real person who specializes in your industry.

We specialize in five verticals: HOA and condo associations, commercial landlords (lessor's risk), cyber insurance for healthcare/e-commerce/tech, restaurants and food service businesses, and contractors. Each vertical has its own carrier panel and underwriting expertise — we're a specialist agency, not a generalist writing whatever comes through the door.

Yes. We work with specialty carriers that handle higher-risk classes like roofing contractors, bars with late-night hours, and mixed-use commercial properties.

Why Commercial Insurance Coverage Gets Discovered at Claim Time

The Gap Between What's on Your Dec Page and What Your Operation Actually Requires

Commercial insurance is one of the few industries where the product's quality only gets tested at the worst possible moment. When the claim is filed, when the lawsuit lands, when the cyber breach hits — that's when the policy gets read closely for the first time. Until then, most operators carry whatever the renewal cycle produced and assume it works.

When was the last time anyone actually read your policy alongside the contracts you've signed since the last renewal?

What actually responds to a claim depends on three things that rarely get measured during quoting: the specific endorsements attached to the policy, the actual coverage forms used by the carrier, and how those forms map against the contracts, leases, governing documents, and operational realities of the business they were written for. Generic packages cover generic operations. Specialized operations — restaurants with significant liquor concentration, HOAs with complex governing documents, commercial landlords managing multi-tenant buildings, contractors signing detailed subcontract agreements, technology companies handling sensitive data — need coverage that reflects what they actually do.

The current commercial insurance market makes this worse. Hard market conditions have tightened carrier appetite across every major line. Renewals are jumping double-digits without corresponding limit increases. Surplus lines are absorbing risks that admitted markets used to write. Cyber sublimits are tightening even as ransomware attacks grow more sophisticated. Property valuations are lagging actual replacement costs after three years of construction-cost inflation. Workers' compensation classification reviews are catching misclassifications that have been on policies for years.

Most operators we talk to have already noticed the renewal premium increase. Fewer have noticed that the limits and endorsements stayed the same while the underlying exposure grew.

Operators who shop on price alone in this market are shopping on the wrong axis. The premium difference between an underwritten-correctly policy and a fast-quoted generic one is usually small. The claim outcome difference can be the business.

What changes when coverage gets reviewed before binding: lease assignments and indemnification clauses get matched against general liability endorsements before they create gap exposure. Governing documents get read against HOA master policy structure before claim-time disputes about who's responsible for what. Vendor agreements get measured against cyber coverage scope before a third-party breach surfaces a gap. Subcontract additional insured requirements get measured against actual policy language before a project owner rejects a COI on the morning a job is supposed to start.

That's the question most operators don't get asked during quoting: would the coverage you're about to bind actually respond to the way your operation runs today?

This is what specialty commercial insurance means in practice — coverage matched to the operation, not the SIC code. We write across five verticals — HOA and condo associations, commercial landlords, cyber insurance for healthcare and e-commerce and technology, restaurants and food service, and contractors — across 29 states. Each vertical has its own carrier panel, its own underwriting standards, its own coverage expertise. Each policy gets reviewed against the documents that actually determine what it needs to cover. Each quote gets walked through on video so operators see exactly what they're buying — and exactly what they're not.

The work happens before the bind, not after the claim. Is now a bad time to start that review?

Commercial business owner reviewing her insurance policy by phone with documents in front of her

READY WHEN YOU ARE

Don't Wait Until After a Claim to Find Out You're Underinsured

We review your contracts, leases, governing documents, and vendor agreements, and walk you through every coverage option on video.

Get Coverage Options →

Is now a bad time to start a policy review and get coverage that actually responds when you need it?