BY ZACK CONNER | Property & Casualty Advisor Examining current insurance policies: is there something you’re missing? For many businesses, the broker/client relationship, at first glance, is sufficient to adequately meet their needs. It is difficult to recognize when your insurance policies, rates or level of coverage could be holding you back or putting you at financial risk in the event of a claim, especially if you don’t know the areas you should be paying attention to. Upon closely examining several key subjects, however, you can likely have a much greater level of knowledge about your current insurance situation, and the measures you can take to ensure that you can stay well covered. In this post, I will share several areas of examination that any business can look into to see the state of their coverage through as accurate a lens as possible.
Make sure the little details are correct Insurance is a business of details, and in any policy, small details can potentially have a large impact. The language of your policies, contacting your broker vs. your carrier, even the spelling of your company name throughout – all of these can make a difference. For example, if your insured name does not match the name on your business license space for space, character for character, there is a chance that your coverage could become worthless in the event of a claim. Contacting your carrier directly to report a concern instead of your broker could, in certain cases, even result in a claim being filed, with accompanying increases in rates. Making sure that small actions do not result in negative results is the job of business and broker alike. By ensuring that there is nothing wrong on the micro level, that security can transfer up to the macro level.
Look at your rates Examine the rates that your company is paying. Do you know if they are competitive with the outside market? If so, how? For evaluating the current quality of your rates, the National Council on Compensation Insurance, or NCCI, could be a useful tool. Through this resource, you can examine your class codes and compare them to what the state recommends, and see if the figures match up. If not, why don’t they? Are there extenuating circumstances with your business that could explain the added costs, or are you simply not receiving the level of competitiveness you need to maximize profitability? Regularly examining rates ensures that your needs are being met and you are getting the best deal possible.
See if your umbrella is optimized to you Does your umbrella coverage go over all of the areas that would make it the most effective and able to protect your business in the event of an incident? For instance, does it cover workers’ compensation? If your carrier is not properly rated, it may not. Speak to your broker and make sure that your umbrella covers everything that you and your business need it to. If not, it could be time to renegotiate your umbrella to conform to your professional standards. At its core, my advice to businesses and individuals regarding insurance is simply this: start thinking about it. You may not know your current level of coverage, or how much your coverage could improve, until you begin closely examining your current needs and how your broker is fulfilling them. Insurance is the broker’s job to make as easy as possible, but with too much complacency, it could be holding your business back from its maximum potential. With the expertise and personal care delivered to every business through Conner Insurance, you may receive the extra service necessary to not only avoid typical trouble spots, but to reach new heights.