The Great Outdoors: Navigating the Complexities of Outdoor Destination Insurance
The outdoor market has seen massive growth over the last decade. As more people look to unplug and reconnect with nature, the demand for high-end boutique lodges, destination campgrounds, and recreational facilities has soared. For insurance agents, this growth presents a greater opportunity, but only if they can navigate the unique, often high-risk exposures that come with the territory.
Stephanie Verseman, head of the longstanding Breckenridge Outdoor Recreation Insurance program has remained a market staple for over two decades. Her not-so-secret key to this program’s success, “A team that ‘lives, breathes, and eats’ the outdoor space. This isn't just desk underwriting; it’s a deep expertise born from a passion for the lifestyle.” Here she shares how agents can turn a passion for the outdoors into a fulfilling business with a deep dive into the unique destination risks the team regularly writes.
The "Sweet Spot": Independent and Boutique Lodge, Resorts and B&Bs
While national agents often chase large, franchised hotels, a real opportunity to start and grow a book of outdoor recreation business lies in the "mom-and-pop" boutique resorts or Bed & Breakfasts. Keep an eye out for independent properties with under 40 rooms.
Why focus on these accounts?
- Boutique and B&B Advantage: National agents often ignore one-off accounts in favor of massive franchise portfolios. This leaves a wide-open market for brokers to secure these high-revenue, high-end risks.
- Retention Excellence: With the right partner, these accounts often have high retention rates well into the 90s percent wise, meaning a sellable, stable product that keeps clients on the books year after year.
- Increasingly Popular Escapism Retreats: These personalized settings often offer wellness-oriented experiences from on-site spas and fine dining to nature-based excursions and healthcare services to restore, recharge and reconnect in natural or unique settings.
An Evergreen Opportunity: Hunting Lodges & Private Clubs
The market for guided and private hunting experiences is growing. Private clubs are growing in popularity across the country as easily accessible options to avid hunters while affluent travelers and corporate executives seek out all-inclusive hunting lodges to enjoy hassle-free experiences in increasingly luxurious venues.
What to know about these accounts:
- Think beyond the traditional deer hunting destinations to quail and waterfowl interests for opportunities especially in the Midwest and Southeast.
- Standard markets don’t fully address the potential exposures in these unique settings.
- You may need specialized endorsements or coverages: An example being the "Canine" Endorsement for hunting guides or lodges with expensive, highly trained dogs, this proprietary endorsement provides coverage if a dog passes away while in the insured’s care, custody, and control.
Expanding the Horizon: Campground and RV Park Insurance
There is a major uptick in the demand for campground and RV park insurance as modern travelers trade traditional hotels for the open road. As with other destination properties, having an outlet for those venues with additional amenities is a major opportunity for agents in this segment.
What types of client to look for:
- Family-Focused Growth: Those parks with amenities like lazy rivers, multiple pools with diving boards, splash pads, and small water parks. While many carriers shy away from activities, a specialist welcomes the complexity and the opportunity to solve for these challenges.
- Unplugged Experiences: Equally interesting are those properties embracing unplugged activities such as RV parks that offer miniature golf, gaga ball, and other outdoor fun in wonderful locations including waterside.
Active Destinations with Added Exposures: Lakeside or Ranch Properties
The beauty of a lakeside resort or a mountain ranch comes with inherent risks. Understanding the risk management controls required is the first step toward a successful submission and placement of these properties.
Things to be on the lookout for that underwriters may decline if not in place:
- Water Activities (Lakes and Ponds)
- If a resort offers canoes or kayaks, specific controls are non-negotiable
- Signage: Highly visible "Swim at your own risk" or "No lifeguard on duty" signs.
- Roped Areas: Clear physical barriers separating swimming zones from motorized boat traffic.
- Safety Gear: Life vests must be worn at all times for any craft leaving the shore.
- Liability: Hold-harmless agreements are required for all participants, including minors.
- The Farming & Ranching Gap
- Many resorts operate on land that includes farming or ranching exposures. It is a crucial role of the broker to identify these, as farming/ranching is typically excluded from the recreation program. Agents must ensure these exposures are covered under a separate policy to prevent dangerous gaps in coverage.
- Other Typical Declinations
- To maintain a high success rate, agents should be aware of "red flag" activities that often trigger an automatic decline. Of note, these will be an automatic decline in the Breckenridge program:
- Zip lines and jumping pillows (inflatables)
- Horseback riding not connected with hunting activities and white-water rafting
- Large-scale fireworks displays or major festivals
Tips for Smooth Outdoors Destination Submissions
For agents new to the outdoor space, the best first step is a site visit. Seeing the tangible property allows you to identify risks that a paper application might miss.
Agent Checklist for Success:
- Walk the Property: Note the proximity of water, the condition of amenities, and any excluded activities like ATV trails.
- Speak the Language: Consult with an underwriter early to understand potential exposures specific to the region or class.
- Leverage Broad Forms: Seek policies that include unlimited blanket additional insureds and waivers of subrogation free of charge. In a space where clients often have dozens of entities to list, this is a massive cost-saving advantage to highlight during the sale.
- Your underwriter should offer you valued insights, education and future mitigation ideas rather than a flat "no." Look for a partner who will help you place even the most challenging risks.
Growth in the Great Outdoors
By partnering with a collaborative team that has the underwriting experience and lives the outdoor life, agents become even more essential partners in their clients' long-term success.
Realize greater growth in the outdoors industry by clicking the link below:
