| |
| |
|
|
Insurance Information |
|
We Dont Need Another Broker: How To Get The Best Liability Insurance Rates Available
Some business relationships are forged through blood and friendship. When you work for a company whose owner has a brother, sister, or best friend that sells insurance, your hands are usually tied when it comes to finding the best deal for your boss on insurance. Or maybe you are the boss, and you don't want to upset that lifelong relationship. That's understandable, but you aren't doing anyone any favors by not asking your friend or relative to compete. Every day, business people receive sales prospecting calls from a variety of industries. I have fielded many calls myself from copier sales people, office supplies distributors, magazine vendors, market researchers, computer technology vendors, and actually a few insurance agents. Prospecting calls are usually intrusive and ill-timed, but every good sales person knows it's a numbers game. You keep calling people until you find someone who is ready to talk to you. When it comes to handling insurance agents, though, most people make some wrong assumptions. For example, you assume that your agent has access to all the same markets (wholesale brokerages and insurance carriers) the person calling you does. Your agent may have access to more markets. Or the other guy may have access to more markets. You should not assume they are equals, because in many cases they are not. Another assumption people make is that the agent can control the price. When you buy commercial liability insurance, at least, the price is controlled by the carrier. I've had more than one person say to me, "You should give me your best quote and compete on the basis of that, adjusting your commission." I wish I could do that. In Texas, at least, it's illegal for agents to give back part of their commission. "But I'm not asking for a kickback." Not precisely, no. But an agent or retail broker is only a middle man. His job is to find the market that will underwrite your risk. The wholesale broker or carrier is the source of the pricing. Retail brokers don't compete on price. They compete on service and access to markets. In some cases, a retail broker can ask the market to adjust a quote and someone somewhere will sacrifice commission. The retail brokerage may, in some cases, be asked by the carrier to give up commission. But a wholesale broker (a middle man between your retail broker and the carriers) is more likely to give up some commission. The retail broker is usually restricted to selling the products at prices set by their originators. Agents can, and should, negotiate with the carriers for the best prices possible on quotes. But carriers demand a lot of information, often-time information that companies are reluctant to give out to new agents with whom they don't have prior experience. That reluctance, while understandable, is self-defeating and here is why. Let's say you have a broker who has served you well for five years. Your broker has even shopped your policies for you every 2-3 years, just to make sure you are getting the best price available. When you've had claims, the broker has stepped right up and made sure they were settled. That is the kind of service every broker strives to give to clients. Occasionally, things don't work out that way. But let's assume that you're happy with your broker. So then I call you. And you think, "I've got a great relationship. Why should I change?" At this point, you have no reason to change. But you may find one if you dig further. I can give you two reasons that occur every day. First, there are few if any brokers who have really good relationships with all the markets. By "really good", I mean a relationship where a broker can approach a market and say, "XYZ Company is a better risk than they may appear on paper. For example, their 'consulting' work really entails no liability since their clients sign waivers." One market might accept that from your broker, but another market won't. That other market, however, may trust me enough to give you a little leeway. Keep in mind that an agent has to substantiate everything he tells BOTH the prospective client and market. We cannot misrepresent the facts or get by on what-if scenarios. But insurance markets understand that prospective clients may convey some information to agents which is unintentionally incorrect or intentionally incomplete. The agents may be able to accurately assess a risk situation better than the paperwork makes it out to be, and if the markets have worked with those agents enough to trust them, they may be more flexible in the quoting process. When a new broker calls you asking for an opportunity to quote, keep in mind that any two brokers may be able to hit all the markets underwriting your business risk. But those two brokers may have better relationships with different markets. Here is how to find out if they do, and how to make that work to your advantage. Ask the new broker which are his best 2-3 markets, the carriers he has really good relationship with. Then go back to your broker and say, "Okay, Joe, this year we're asking you to get competitive, just to keep your edge. What are your best 2-3 markets?" DO NOT TELL YOUR BROKER what markets his competition has named. Not yet. Let him give you his best markets. If your broker names the same three markets as the new broker, tell the new broker, "Thank you, but we asked our broker to name his best three markets without divulging yours, and he named the same three. So, we feel comfortable with our current situation." If, on the other hand, your broker names different markets from the new broker, then ask them to compete on a fair basis by giving them market assignments. A market assignment divides the competition evenly and fairly TO YOUR ADVANTAGE because you are restricting the brokers to working only with the best markets they have access to. If there are conflicts between favored markets and you have 3 or more brokers competing (usually, you don't need to work with more than 3 brokers at a time), then arbitrarily assign one hot market to each broker, if it comes to that. Without the market assignment, you probably will not get the best quotes possible from the insurance wholesalers and carriers. Be up front with the competing brokers. They should have no fear going into the process, because they all know they have to keep turning up new business. They should be at their competitive best for you, not just for everyone else in your industry. Hopefully, your regular broker will come through for you. If not, there is always next year. You can either decide to stay with the broker on the basis of good service, or you can say, "We've had a great relationship, and I hope we can do business again in the future." It stings when an agent loses an account, especially a good one. But you have a right to get the best available insurance coverage. Some companies ask new brokers to leap in after their regular brokers have begun shopping a policy. That is a mistake which hurts you, the insured, because your broker may block every other broker in all the available markets. Wholesalers and carriers will only deal with one agent per prospective client. If you send one broker out to all the available markets, odds are pretty good that broker will get sub-standard quotes from some of those markets. So, yes, you can pick the best quote that broker provides you, but you could be passing up a better quote that saves you substantial premium. There is only one way to find out. You need to plan ahead. If you just changed insurance carriers in the last year or two (not brokers, but the actual carriers who underwrite your insurance), you may be fine as long as you are getting automatic renewals without substantial premium increases. An increase in premium should be based either on your claims history or changes in the carrier's risk pool. The risk pool consists of all the other companies like yours whose insurance that carrier underwrites. It is to your advantage to participate in larger risk pools, if you can get into them. If your premium has been changed, if you have been non-renewed, if you have had a lot of claims, or if you haven't changed carriers in three or more years, make the decision to get competitive quotes through market assignments this year. Start the process at least 3 months in advance (but no more than 4) if you need to look for brokers. An insurance quote is good for 30 days. Most brokers will try to give you quotes within the last week before your renewal. That is because, too often, prospective clients will take really competitive quotes back to their regular brokers and ask them to get those markets (this can be done with a letter). It is in your best interests to let the broker who brought you the quote get your business. They did the work, they have the access to the market. By giving your regular broker the business another agent found, you may be doing your friend a favor, but you are hurting yourself. The bottom line is, if you want the best service and value from your insurance, then you need to let the marketplace show you how to get both through fair competition. If you don't mind keeping your friend on the payroll, well, why did you read this far into the article? Good shopping. Michael Martinez is a licensed Property and Casualty insurance agent in the state of Texas. Insurance programs and procedures may be subject to both Federal and state regulations in your area. This article does not offer legal, tax, or financial advice. http://www.michael-martinez.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
Insurance - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Why Boat Insurance Is A Necessity Boat insurance is necessary for all boat owners who live on or really value their boats. If it is something that you feel you must replace then you need to insure it. Underinsurance Can Spell Disaster For Homeowners Insurance is meant to give homeowners peace of mind, but an increasing number of policy holders are putting themselves at risk by neglecting to insure their home and contents adequately.There is often confusion over the difference between guaranteed and extended replacement value insurance. The Great Value Of Accident Photographs You were humming along on a bright and sunny day when suddenly Fred Fuddle, a local character from a nearby town, drunk as a skunk and zooming along in his pickup, flew through stop sign crashing into the right front of your motor vehicle. You had no choice to avoid him. Why Would I Need Auto Insurance Specialists? If you do not understand the way that auto insurance works, you really need to deal with auto insurance specialists. These are the agents that work for the insurance companies and they can answer any questions you might have. Online Health Insurance Quotes - Finding The Cheapest Rates Possible Shopping for health insurance can be very discouraging when you become aware of the costs. If you are in search of affordable health insurance, an online quote may be very helpful to you. Are You Sure That Heirloom Oriental Rug From Your Aunt Hilda Is Really Insured? Gone are the days of the cinder block and wood plank bookcases. You've come along way from that old reliable jut rug and CDs (or in some cases, actual vinyl albums) stored in milk crates. Saving on Auto Insurance: The Road to Reduction The road to saving on auto insurance is something that every consumer travels at one time or another. And the quest is really not as difficult as it may appear. Is Life Insurance Comparison Really Necessary? When you want to purchase a life insurance policy, you really do need to do a life insurance comparison. This is to ensure that you get the best possible rates and the best possible life insurance for your needs. Can I Get Affordable Dental Care? In the United States most companies offer their employees dental insurance, but yet many do not. They slip through the holes of the system - the in-betweeners - that have to pay, but struggle to pay the out-of-pocket expenses. About Online Term Life Insurance Rates Online term life insurance ratesHow simple it is today finding online term life insurance rates. At the click of your little mouse, fingers on the keyboard off we go into the world of cyber space. Health Savings Account (HSA): Helpful for Older People? The Health Savings Account (HSA) is an amazing tool that a lot of people have been talking about. It is meant to help you save money on insurance and make your life simpler, maybe even help you be healthier. The Surety Bond Domino Effect I have written many articles about the hard surety bond market. To my surprise many want to know more details as to how we got to where we are at. Cheap Health Insurance Rates and Personal Health Insurance If you've been out of school for a couple of years or perhaps just graduated from college, you're probably a candidate for cheap health insurance. Once a person reaches a certain age they're no longer covered by their parents health insurance plan. How To Best Handle Health Insurance Plan Changes Many economists have suggested and recent economic data indicates that the economy is steadily moving in the right direction. A combination of several factors has no doubt had a negative impact on the economy over the last several years. Types of Auto Insurance Coverage Explained A question you might ask yourself is: why must we carry auto insurance? Hopefully one answer you should hear is to protect yourself and your car. For those same reasons the government also requires you to have car insurance. Your Cars After-impact Diminished Value The(ACV)Actual Cash Value Policy DOES NOT insure the property itself but the VALUE of the property.Okay let's say the insurance company chooses to "Repair" their insureds damaged property (as is their option within their contract of insurance). I Was In An Accident, Will My Car Insurance Rates Go Up? You were on the phone, got distracted and before you knew it traffic had stopped, giving you no room to stop and you rear end the girl in front of you. Or, let's say you're driving along and a deer jumps out and rams into the side of your door. Choosing Long-Term Care Insurance A little over sixty percent of the folks who reach 65 years of age will need some long-term care. The average nursing home stay ranges from 2-5 years and costs on average of $135. Medical Bankrupticies: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself First the bad news: about 2,000,000 personal bankruptcies each year are caused by unexpected medical expenses. Of all those people, 1,500,000 have (or had) health insurance before they ran into difficult financial straights. All Auto Insurance is Not Created Equal! Contrary to what you may have heard all auto insurance is not created equal. A quick search on the net will quickly reveal different rates, different policies, and different terms, so how is one to sort through all the clutter.
|
||||||||||||||||
