Finding a Business Insurance Agent
Insurance is a part of business expenditure. Insurance play a significant role when the business is an at home enterprise or small business and, insurance premiums can increase by as much as 30% in a year.
Every small business owner needs insurance to protect his or her interests. The internet is a valuable resource that will serve as a guide to business owners and help them determine their insurance needs and ways in which to get the most comprehensive small business insurance coverage. As a small business owner it is important to make informed decisions about business insurance.
Instead of struggling to pay business insurance premiums you need to find ways to reduce intelligently your business insurance costs.
1. Educate yourself on aspects of business insurance and study your coverage to determine where you can make savings. Think about aspects like higher deductibles or umbrella insurance coverage.
2. Many professional organizations and associations strike deals with insurance companies for group rates. Find out whether the Chamber of Commerce or other organization of which you have a membership has insurance plans on offer at competitive rates. Determine costs of membership of such organizations against benefits on insurance and other business related aspects.
3. Study your business organization and find out ways in which you could reduce insurance costs. Often simple methods like regular machinery maintenance, installation of alarm /security systems, enrolling fleet drivers in defensive driving courses and so on can reduce your insurance liability.
4. Know what insurers consider as risks in your line of business and find ways to reduce/eliminate risks. Business insurance premiums are based on risk calculations among other aspects.
5. Study insurance norms and find out how business liability premiums are calculated. Often changing the location of your business or warehouse can reduce premiums.
6. Buy small business insurance from reliable insurance companies by doing a comparison of costs and products. Online insurance websites have tools that provide multiple quotes and enable instantaneous comparison of business insurance costs and coverage.
7. Check with the insurance company about business insurance packages. Many leaders in the field offer a business insurance policy that combines property, liability, loss of income, records insurance policies, business vehicle insurance and more.
Before insuring your business check your options with organizations like the Better Business Bureau and SOHO which offer business insurance discounts. Also check what the laws are regarding business insurance. In case of doubt, check out options with an insurance agent.
Every small business owner will need: property insurance; contents insurance; liability insurance and employee benefit plans; disability insurance; business interruption insurance, buy-sell insurance; and key person insurance.
Watch the video related to small business insurance
Video from our FREE Online Business Course www.myownbusiness.org Session 6 – Business Insurance Question “What is a good way to go about finding an insurance agent?” Kelly Davis Insurance Agent Topics covered in this video: Business insurance, finding an agent, referrals Transcript: Your best option is to talk to people you know and the peer group in the business that you’re looking to go into. Referrals are usually the best option because if somebody likes the agent and what they’ve done …
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Small Business Insurance Question Michigan?I own and operate a small painting business that is expanding. I do mostly residential, but some commercial and light industrial work. I need about 1 million dollars in insurance. Where is the best place to buy insurance in my area?
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Matthew Pawlina is a writer for Small Business Insurance , the premier website to find small business insurance, small business insurance quote, small business health insurance, insurance for small business and many more.
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Posted by American Car Insurance on January 8th, 2010 filed in business insurance | 9 Comments »
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9 Responses to “Finding a Business Insurance Agent”
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January 8th, 2010 at 4:23 am
try google or ask.com
January 8th, 2010 at 5:03 am
OK, with no experience, your BEST bet is to get a job with an agency, working on straight commission. Just about anyone should give you a job. Along with basic training, you'll have some support help there, and over the next year or two, you'll learn all about the business.
With no experience, it's pretty darned tough to get a company appointment, and you won't have any product to SELL. And 1,000 characters that they give you here, is NOT going to teach you what you need to know – you need real life backup. That's why I suggest working for someone else for a few years.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:27 am
This can be very difficult, and often requires knowing people in the business. Most agents simply stop prospecting and let the business slowing spin down over time, even if they relocate out of state. Client inertia means that this can work for years, with minimal levels of service.
The going rate for health biz is 1.5x annual commissions. However, there is plenty of risk that the business won't stay around after the transition. Often, larger blocks include a period where the old owner stays around for quite a while, and a guarantee on the business staying is part of the deal.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:41 am
Check out other answers on this topic from the past. It's a great business if you make it, but very few make it.
Good luck
January 9th, 2010 at 2:57 am
I think and arm and a leg!
January 9th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
once you have established a history with them after a considerable amount of time then you are no longer new business I know first hand what you mean.
January 9th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
There is no central database. The executor of an estate can pay $75 to these guys http://www.mib.com/html/lost-life-insurance.html who will tell them if any applications have been submitted to any companies in the past ten years. But the executor can ALSO go through the old banking statements, to find out which insurance company has been getting paid – they are usually paid once a year, or once a month.
Plus, most people do NOT have life insurance in place when they die. So it's kinda wishful thinking, if you are just HOPING a policy is in place. Have the executor go through the banking records, or just sit and wait – the insurance company will send a statement once a year on that policy – even if it's just a bill.
January 10th, 2010 at 1:28 am
OK, as you probably realize, the coverage for this can't be bound overnight, and will take a bit of work to get put in place. You're going to need about two weeks, MINIMUM, so if the NEW guy isn't returning calls, you need to find ANOTHER new agent. But clearly, the first guy, both has no idea what he's doing (how to place it), AND, isn't really excited about working on your account.
Workers comp is probably going to run about 10% of payroll. That might be a bit high, but if you use that number, you won't be shocked. GL is probably going to START at $5,000, and add $500 for each provider. Employee benefits – group health – will probably run about $400 a person for an individual, $1200 for a family, for a LOW/NO deductible plan – but that varies wildly depending on the average age of your group.
Make SURE that new agent is working on your quote. Otherwise, you will NOT be opening the doors on March 1st.
January 10th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Given that you have 3 years industry experience you should be fairly embedded in the community. I would suggest reaching out to a local agent that specializes in a product you have no intention of selling and pick their brain a bit. Each state has different angles and depending on your product experience you may not even qualify for a business entity license with the DOI. Assuming you do…
The real issue that a new agency faces is the multi layered regulatory approval process.
1. You need to set up an LLC or Corp with your State. (Suggestion S-Corp)
2. You need to entertain the Department of Insurance approval process.
(This can be a pain in the neck depending on your state)
3. Registration with NASD. (If you intend on selling any variable products and or anything tied to a security)
4. Obtain a bond for property and/or surplus lines.
There are a lot of resources on the making of corporations however; can be be done fairly straight forward through legal zoom or some other resource. The real issue is the Department of Insurance approvals which will have no book to reference. I would suggest calling the Department of Insurance for their business entity checklist. This checklist along with some peer support should guide you through to your goal.