Case Study 2

From 45+ Individual Policies to One Master Program

Managing insurance for a growing portfolio can become increasingly complicated as properties are acquired across different markets and asset classes.

That was exactly the challenge facing this client.

The portfolio consisted of 45+ properties, including cold storage facilities, traditional industrial warehouses, and large-scale garaging operations. Before working with us, each property was being insured individually, often with different carriers based on the specific characteristics of the location.

At first, this approach worked. As the portfolio grew, however, it became increasingly difficult to manage — and it was creating a significant obstacle to acquiring new properties.

The Challenge

The insured was frustrated with the limitations of the existing structure.

The carrier writing the warehouse locations wouldn't write the cold storage properties, forcing the insured to find another market for those locations. At the same time, the carrier writing the garage locations was charging significantly higher rates than other available markets.

Every acquisition became another insurance puzzle.

A new property meant determining:

• Which carrier would write the asset?

• What rate would they charge?

• What deductible would apply?

• Would the carrier accept the property's state and asset class?

• Would the coverage terms match the rest of the portfolio?

• Would the insured need to negotiate an entirely new policy?

This made acquisitions slower, more complicated, and less predictable.

The problem wasn't necessarily that the individual properties were difficult to insure. The problem was the structure of the insurance program itself.

The Solution: A True Master Program

We restructured the portfolio into a master insurance program, allowing the insured to move away from the one-property-at-a-time approach. Utilizing both the Domestic and London marketplace via a quota-share / layered program.

Rather than finding a new carrier every time the insured acquired a property, we developed a rate matrix that pre-assigned pricing based on key characteristics such as state, asset class, and occupancy. This created a much more predictable framework for future acquisitions.

For example, instead of starting the insurance process from scratch when a new warehouse was purchased, we could determine where that property fit within the existing rate matrix and establish the applicable terms. 

The same approach applied to cold storage, garaging, and other asset classes.

Why This Changed the Acquisition Process

The master program gave the insured something they didn't have before: certainty.

They could evaluate a potential acquisition knowing there was already an established insurance structure in place for the property.

Instead of asking: "Can we find a carrier to insure this property?"

The conversation became: "Where does this property fit within our existing program?"

That distinction made a significant difference for a growing real estate portfolio. It also allowed us to leverage the size and diversity of the entire portfolio when negotiating with the insurance markets rather than allowing individual properties to be priced and underwritten in isolation.

The Result

We successfully transitioned a portfolio of 45+ properties from a fragmented, individually placed insurance structure into a coordinated master program covering multiple asset classes and states.

The new structure provided:

• A single master program instead of dozens of individually negotiated placements

• A defined rate matrix based on state, asset class, and other underwriting characteristics

• Greater consistency across the portfolio

• A more efficient process for adding newly acquired properties

• Improved negotiating leverage with insurance carriers

• A solution for the coverage gaps and pricing inconsistencies created by the previous carrier structure

• A scalable insurance framework designed to grow alongside the portfolio

• One common effective date vs. 45+ renewals to worry about

The Bigger Picture

For an investor acquiring properties regularly, insurance needs to be more than an annual renewal exercise—or a monthly process when each asset is placed separately.

A program needs to be built to support the acquisition strategy.

When every new property requires a completely new insurance placement, insurance can become a bottleneck to growth. A properly structured master program can create a repeatable framework that makes it easier to evaluate, acquire, and insure new properties as the portfolio expands.

In this case, the goal wasn't simply to insure 45+ properties. It was to build an insurance program that could keep up with the client's growth.