What We Need to Quote Your Inflatable Business

How to use this checklist

The first list below is what the quote genuinely cannot start without. The second list is what underwriters commonly request once a market is interested — useful to gather early, never a reason to delay applying. If you have not read the Start Here guide yet, it explains why underwriters ask each of these questions; this page sticks to the what and the where to get it.

Required to start your quote

1. Business contact information. Legal business name (and DBA if you operate under one), owner name, mailing address, phone, and email. This is how the quote, the policy, and every certificate get issued — misspellings here follow you onto legal documents, so copy it from your business registration.
2. State(s) of operation. Every state where you set up units, not just where you are based. Carriers are approved state by state, so this determines which markets can quote you at all — an undisclosed state can void coverage for events held there.
3. Estimated annual revenue. Gross rental revenue — last year's actual if established, a realistic twelve-month projection if new. Revenue is a primary rating basis for general liability, and honest numbers now prevent audit surprises later.
4. Employee count. Including part-time and seasonal help. Headcount affects liability rating and tells us whether workers compensation needs to be in the conversation for your state.
5. Complete unit inventory — type and count, with heights for slides. The single most important item on this page. Every unit class prices differently, and units missing from the schedule are where claim disputes start. A simple spreadsheet or even a phone-note list works: "3 bounce houses, 2 combo units, 1 water slide 18 ft, 1 dry slide 22 ft." This is one of the documents you can upload directly in the application.
6. Water vs. dry units. Which units are wet (water slides, slip-and-slides, pools, water play) and roughly what share of your business they are. Wet inventory underwrites differently than dry, and the split shapes which markets we approach.
7. Whether you are currently insured. Yes or no, plus your carrier and renewal date if yes. This sets the timeline — we quote to your renewal so there is no gap and no double-paying.
8. Prior claims — yes or no. Any liability or equipment claims in the past five years. A simple yes/no starts the quote; if yes, a short description of what happened and what changed afterward. Disclosed claims get quoted; discovered claims get declined.

Often requested during underwriting

Once a market is interested, these are the follow-ups we hear most. None are required to submit, and several can be uploaded with the application if you already have them:

1. Loss runs (if currently insured) — or a no-loss statement. Loss runs are your official claim history and come from your current carrier or agent — ask for "5-year currently valued loss runs." Never been insured or never had a claim? A short signed no-loss statement covers it, and we can provide the template. Uploadable in the application.
2. Current policy declarations pages. The front pages of your existing policy showing coverages, limits, and premium — in your policy PDF or from your current agent. It lets us quote apples-to-apples and spot gaps in what you have now. Uploadable in the application.
3. Your rental agreement. The contract customers sign. Underwriters read it for setup responsibility, supervision terms, and hold-harmless language — a solid agreement is a genuine pricing asset.
4. Your participant waiver. If you use one, send it. Waivers do not replace insurance, but a well-drafted waiver signals an operator who manages risk, and some markets ask to see it.
5. Written safety and weather rules. Your wind-speed shutdown threshold, anchoring procedure, supervision rules, and capacity limits. If you have never written them down, the anchor and wind rules resource is the place to start — an afternoon of writing pays for itself at quote time.
6. Venue certificate requirements — if you have an urgent COI need. If an event is waiting on proof of insurance, send the venue's exact insurance language (usually a paragraph in the contract) with your application. We build the endorsements and certificate to match from day one instead of amending later.
7. Photos of specialty units. For tall slides, mechanical or meltdown units, and custom-built pieces, underwriters often want to see the unit and its anchor points. Clear phone photos from your own listings are fine.

Brand new business? Shorter list, same welcome.

New operators sometimes stall on this page, assuming the underwriting list disqualifies them. It does not. You won't have loss runs — that's normal; the application asks for what you have. A first-season operator typically submits contact info, state, a revenue projection, the unit list from their purchase invoices, and planned operations — and that is a complete, quotable submission. The Start Here guide covers what underwriters expect from new ventures in more depth.

Why the thorough version pays off

Complete submissions get better outcomes for a mechanical reason: specialty markets price uncertainty against you. An underwriter looking at a full inventory list, clean loss runs, and written weather rules can rate the account precisely; one looking at a two-line description has to assume the worst. The same operation, submitted thoroughly, routinely sees more markets respond and better terms offered. Fifteen minutes of gathering is the cheapest premium reduction available.

Frequently asked questions