21 Things You Can Do To Get The Protection You Need

21 Things You Can Do To Get The Protection You Need For Your Family & Business…And Help You Save Money

1. If practical, use only one agent/broker for all your insurance business. Consolidate all of your family’s insurance with one agent. If you own a business, consolidate your business insurance with one agent. This way you’ll have someone who understands your entire needs and can get you full protection.
2. Use an expert. Most families and most businesses are underinsured – and don’t know it until tragedy strikes. Engage the services of an agent who will advocate for your complete protection – and who understands the complex and differing needs of different people and different businesses.
3. Your agent should have access to several alternative markets to shop the account when necessary.
4. Cooperate fully with your agent. This is not the year to put-off phone calls and wait until the last minute. The insurance underwriters are going to be reviewing everything, and that’s going to create a work backlog. Wait until the last minute and you may find yourself with no insurance at all!
5. Provide all information your agent needs as quickly as possible, and make sure he/she has your e-mail address and fax number for fast communication.
6. Know the company you are insured with. What is their financial condition? Make sure your agent places your business with a financially stable company. Discuss this with your agent. (We’re predicting the decline of many insurance companies in the coming turbulent period.)
7. Once you have a professional agent and insurance company you trust, stick with them for the long term. Moving an account every year or two to save a few hundred, or even a few thousand, dollars can be counterproductive during times like this. Insurance is a relationship business and loyal customers have more bargaining power with trusted business partners than those who shop their accounts routinely.
8. Business owners: comply with recommendations from company engineers and loss control. Remember all the things the loss control department has been asking you to do for years … to improve safety and reduce risk? If you haven’t done them, yet, do them now!
9. Voluntarily take steps to eliminate hazardous conditions and create a safe environment any company would want to insure. And safeguard your property to reduce the risk of theft and damage.
10. Make a list of the actions you’ve taken to reduce your risk and have your agent use that list when negotiating your rates.
11. Minimize your claims. The businesses that will get the highest rate increases, or not be able to get insurance at all, will be those with frequent small losses or who ignored loss control recommendations.
12. Make sure any new equipment or buildings are installed or constructed in a manner desirable to the insurance company. Consult your agent and loss control before proceeding with construction or installation.
13. Make your insurance agent part of your trusted team of advisors – along with your attorney and accountant. Your agent is critical to your overall economic well-being. Your agent may be able to help you avoid unpleasant surprises.
14. Save money: increase your deductibles and retain more risk – most companies look favorably upon clients with higher deductibles. It shows you are willing to cover the small day-to-day stuff, and use your insurance for large losses – as it is intended. This will help lower your rates, too.
15. If possible, use higher coinsurance formulas to help lower rates. Ask your agent about this!
16. Most individuals, families and business are under-insured! Do a thorough review of your coverages to make sure you have insurance in place for exposures that are critical to the survival of your business, and to eliminate any that are no longer needed.
17. If you absolutely must lower your costs, you may want to temporarily suspend “non-critical” coverages. Of course, you would be retaining the risk of loss yourself in this case. Make sure you fully discuss this with your agent.
18. Be sure your insurance is providing proper coverage amounts. You may be dangerously underinsured in some instances, or paying for coverage you don’t need in others.
19. Employ non-insurance risk management techniques where availability of coverage is an issue and/or to reduce your cost of insurance.
20. Small business owners should ask what special programs and discounts might be available to them.
21. Whenever possible, business owners should place their entire business insurance package with one insurance company. Package policies are almost always cheaper than spreading insurance coverages over several insurers. Also, you are less likely to have expensive coverage overlaps or, more importantly, coverage gaps. Discuss this with your agent.

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