The set of risks a carrier accepts to write, expressed by classes, territories, limits and exclusions, and formalized in a plan bounded by capital and reinsurance.
Underwriting appetite is the operational translation of the board's risk appetite: it states what an underwriter may write without authorization, what it may write by asking for one, and what it may not write at all. It is formalized by risk class, territory, limit per policy and per event, past loss thresholds, mandatory exclusions and maximum capacity per accumulation zone. Three forces constrain it upstream, which is what distinguishes it from a mere commercial preference. Available capital, which bounds aggregate exposure through SCR or economic capital. The reinsurance program, whose terms determine what is cedable and therefore writable. And, in some markets, external approval, a Lloyd's syndicate having its plan approved line by line by the Corporation. Communicating it to the market is a commercial act in itself: a broker knows whom to show a risk to, and a vague appetite costs broking time, hence access.
Underwriting plan of a specialty insurer, 2026 year: cyber up to 10M EUR limit for companies below 500M EUR of revenue, excluding essential service operators and North America, with a maximum accumulation of 180M EUR in the health sector. The three bounds come respectively from the excess of loss treaty capacity, a reinsurance exclusion, and an accumulation limit set by the risk committee.
underwriting appetite, appétit de souscription, plan de souscription, guide de souscription, périmètre d'acceptation