Glossary

Underwriting

Underwriting is the process an insurer uses to evaluate a risk and decide whether to offer coverage and at what price. Underwriters weigh portfolio size, locations, claims history, property types, and risk-management practices.

By Andrew Bate, Co-founderReviewed by Stuart BateUpdated September 14, 2026

Why this matters for property managers

Managers with PMS data, documented screening, and clean loss runs underwrite well — and should expect program pricing that reflects it. Generalist brokers reviewing a portfolio once a year cannot present that story; a program connected to the PMS can.

Worked example

Two managers each run 120 homes in the same market. One has three years of clean loss runs, written screening criteria and PMS-synced occupancy; the other has a spreadsheet and a broker's summary. The first is offered a lower retention and a better per-reservation rate; the second is priced on assumptions.

What underwriters look at in a property management portfolio

A program underwriter prices the whole portfolio rather than one house, so the questions are about the company: how many homes and where, how many have pools, hot tubs, water frontage or more than eight bedrooms, three years of loss runs, how guests are screened and house rules enforced, and whether reservation data comes straight from the PMS. Clean loss runs and documented screening earn a lower retention and a better rate; a portfolio quoted on assumptions pays for the uncertainty. Because a connected program sees every reservation, the pricing gets sharper each year instead of resetting at renewal.