Rules of Thumb..

[insurancequestion]

I was looking for some rules of thumb in regards to commercial insurance.

For example ....setting the expectations for a potential client

Have them sign a accord "Loss Runs form"..
Have them fill out an application..

What are some things that should be done to facilitate expectations for a commercial policy?

 

[fed up]

First and foremost, know what you are doing. Go slow. Master one, and only one, field of business. Start small, as in small businesses like lawn maintenance. There are so many tentacles on a major business that the octopus will eat you alive if you have made a mistake and a claim is filed

 

[Markthebroker]

Fed up nailed it. Find a niche, and go from there.

Don't bounce around from an auto repair shop where you need to learn the difference between garage liability and garagekeepers, then a jewelry store where you need to learn what a jewelers block is, along with all the different markets and terminologies, then on to a non profit, where you need to figure out if it's a 501c3 of a 501c4, then figure out how the work comp exclusions work (or don't) versus the other businesses, and so on.

Personally, I rarely get loss runs to start, or have them fill out an application. I know what questions to ask, and if they say they have no losses (which is most businesses) they are telling the truth 99.99% of the time, and most carriers will give me quotes without loss runs. Most agents will say to do those two things first, before you do anything else, and don't do anything until you have those two things done. Many agents won't quote without loss runs. I rarely get them at all, so there you go.

It took me about 5 years to get comfortable with commercial insurance, and a few more years to feel like I really mastered it. I'm still learning, but I am very confident about what I know, and frankly what I don't - because there is still a lot.