Shopping Insurance Carrier or Insurance Agent
If insurance agents controlled pricing we would all advertise, “let us quote your business, we will beat any price.” But, the fact is that insurance carriers determine price. It is costly for insurance agencies to quote business and then not get that business. There is time spent by both you the business owner and all the agents you are shopping your business with. I get the reason you shop it, you want the best pricing. But, what you really should be shopping is your agent.
Any independent agent can send your business to different markets yearly and come back with several prices and that’s basically what you’re doing now. Also, the pricing that you chase every year is based on what you and your current agent have done the past 5 years. Has your current agent kept your pricing level the past 5 years?
All agents are going to be there for you when you have a claim, but the ultimate goal is to avoid claims at all costs. Instead, shop your agent on what they can do for you besides pricing and reactive services. What you really want from an agent is someone who is proactive, understands your business and implements measures to making your business more attractive to insurance markets long term.
Have you thought about why 4 different agents can come back to you with different pricing? Typically most quotes will come in pretty close in price if all the information given is the same. The extent and types of coverage is what differs. You are sitting there with 4 quotes all of which have different pricing and likely different coverages—and suddenly you’re put in the position to play Mr. or Mrs. Insurance Expert. So it is up to you now to decide which quote has the best coverage and best pricing. And, let this be stated, INSURANCE POLICIES are confusing, oh so confusing.
An agent's experience and breadth of knowledge puts them in a position to weed through insurance jargon and make sure you have adequate coverage and risk management solutions for your specific and unique business in place.
