Companies That Offer Broadform?

[Denise509]

Hi guys,


I just opened my indy insurance office here in WA state. Do any of you know which companies offer broadform coverage (insurance on license)? Thanks

 

[FEX Quotes]

Hi guys,

I just opened my indy insurance office here in WA state. Do any of you know which companies offer broadform coverage (insurance on license)? Thanks

Why broad form? Wouldn't your clients be better served offering them special form? Also, by writing basic and broad form your are increasing your E&O exposure.

 

[djs]

Are you talking auto coverage? Or home?
I assume auto since you mention license.

Just curious, don't know the WA market at all so I can't really help. It's been a while since I've included that endorsement.

Dan

 

[Denise509]

I'm talking about auto, I've just had so many clients asking me if I sell broadform and thought maybe it would be a good product to offer in my agency...?

 

[Guest]

there ya go, selling CHEAP and NOT WHAT THE CLIENT NEEDS,

You job is to inform the client the difference and by all means, if you write them something crappy, you better make damn well sure you have them sign a waiver saying you offer this better product...

 

[djs]

What's wrong with adding broadform coverage on your auto? You flat out need it sometimes.

Oops, okay, Washington state has their own rules on broadform coverage for auto. It is slightly different than what I'm used to.

I've used broadform coverage, added to a normal auto policy, to allow extending coverage to another car that the person routinely drives but does not own. An example of this is a car provided by your employer where there may not be coverage if its used for personal use. Broadform coverage will extend to this.

WA state on the other hand allows for a named operator policy, basically insure the driver, not the car. Cool. Wish we had that for people who have 4 or 5 liability only cars. Would work well. Named driver solves the undisclosed driver problem up front. I like it.

Dan

 

[Denise509]

Just because I don't offer it at the moment or haven't sold it in the past doesn't mean I don't know the difference between the two and that you can add it to their regular auto. YES, my clients always sign a form stating that they opted for lower coverage than what I quoted IF they chose the lower coverage. My question is if anyone knows which companies offer it in WA.

 

[djs]

Hey Denise, sorry, my previous response was more directed at RBA. I've sold broadform before because its what the client needed, not because it was cheap.

He had jumped the gun a bit on this. No big deal, we all do from time to time, but my guess is he was thinking about broadform and houses, not broadform and autos.

It also surprises me how many P&C agents don't know about broadform coverage on autos.

Sorry, can't help with your question though. Not licensed in WA state, so I've never worried about this.

Dan

 

[Guest]

DJS, me too, I jumped the gun, I have no clue what broadform is in WA, I just took it as meaning something less for the client. My bad

 

[Aram Fingal]

True named operator coverage is pretty hard to come by in WA. I haven't quoted it in years. The main reason being that it's usually way more expensive than just getting the insurance on the vehicles anyway. (Unless you're talking fleet commercial coverage in which case that's a different story) The reason is that they have no idea what kind of a vehicle the insured is going to jump in to. It could be a 1980s VW or it could be a brand new Ferrari, so essentially they rate it based on the assumption that you're going to drive the fastest most expensive car possible. It's a PIA to get a quote and any time I have the client has turned it down because it was WAY too expensive. So I haven't even bothered to keep track of what companies offer it. But it isn't any of the major ones.

Most of the people I have come across that think they have this coverage in fact have a non-owner policy because some agent that didn't know what the hell they were doing sold them one of these thinking it would insure them to drive any care. Which it sort of does except it can't be a vehicle they own or have regular access too. It's really only intended for people who require insurance to keep their license (they need an SR-22) but that do not own or have regular access to a car. If they own the car, or if they use it on a regular basis, they are not covered by this policy. Progressive is the main company I use for handling this when I actually have someone who needs it.
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It looks like Unitrin or Viking might offer what you're looking for.

Couple things to keep in mind though:

- It does not give coverage for the vehicle itself, so no comp or collision.
- Because it only covers the named driver, it does not cover anyone else to driver the vehicles. So if the person who buys this policy lends their vehicle to someone else they could be in big trouble if that person gets in an accident. They are legally responsible for any damage or injuries as the registered owner of the vehicle, but because they were not the driver at the time, this policy will not cover them.