trusted advisor
TRANSCRIPT
Is your Insurance Agent your Trusted Advisor?
HALL & COMPANYServing Architects, Engineers and Environmental Consultants
As a buyer of professional liability insurance you know it is essential to work with a qualified broker who has your best interest at heart. At Hall & Company there are a dozen brokers that specialize in professional liability insurance for Architects and Engineers. Each of us personally represents about 320 firms in the annual placement of their professional liability coverage. The best part of this job is being put in a position to assure that our clients are well-served and protected.
In our 20-plus years working in this business, experience has shown again and again that the best results are achieved when an open and collaborative relationship is forged with the client. We aim for the role of a “trusted advisor” and avoid the role an “insurance salesman”. This requires a high level of communication and transparency on our part and produces better results for our clients.
This article describes the characteristics of the type of relationship that we strive to achieve, and the process that we use for each clients’ annual renewal. This process leaves clients knowing they are well-represented in their insurance purchase. Here are the elements we consider key to a well-managed renewal process.
PROACTIVE PLANNINGStarting the renewal process early allows ample time to: • Assess the current insurance program • Discuss expectations • Determine if there is a need for higher or excess limits • Inquire about any changes in the client’s operations or risk management practices • Identify any areas to generate potential premium credits • Update claim data and explore any circumstances that may lead to a potential claim • Negotiate thoroughly and aggressively
During this step we collect any relevant information which could impact the structure of the insurance program, as well as the factors that might influence the premium. For example, if a firm has suffered a claim
there often are techniques we can employ to characterize the claim in a way that will reduce its impact on the renewal premium. Specifically these conversations are collaborative with all parties and should begin about two months before the renewal date to leave time for refine-ments of the submittal information.
THOUGHTFUL EXECUTIONIn the role of advisors rather than sales people we are invested in creating tools and developing techniques that benefit our clients in real time and dollars. Some of the tools and techniques we use to bolster efficiency for our clients are described below and include: • EZAPP • Pivot Table • Rating Model • Selective Shopping • Dedicated Underwriting
To help expedite the renewal process, our company spent the better part of a year developing the EZAPP, an intui-tive application that allows us to pre-fill clients’ renewal
applications with the data they provided in the previous years. Upon renewal, our clients simply update what has changed and enter in only the current year’s information that needs updating, such as revenues. This not only saves clients a lot of time, it allows us to focus on any features or practices of the firm that would result in the under-writers’ ability to apply discounts or credits.
We are an independent brokerage and currently place A/E professional liability insurance with 53 different insurance companies. A collaborative process means discussing openly with clients the potential insurance markets for their particular size, location, disciplines, project types and claims histories.
Because we represent nearly 4,000 A/E firms nationwide, we are able to maintain meaningful data about which insurance companies are competitively priced and successful for all of the various types and sizes of design firms. For example, we have a “pivot table” that allows our agents to quickly see where firms of different types and sizes have been placed. With this tool we can identify not only the top three insurance companies, but the following three as well.
As a general rule we advocate selective shopping. Unless the client has a serious claim or poor loss history, going beyond the top three markets is usually a misuse of everyone’s time and doing this often would undermine our negotiating effectiveness with the insurance compa-nies. We want the insurance companies to know they have a legitimate opportunity to win when we present them with an insurance application package so they will respond quickly and competitively. Because of our approach on this issue, most of the insurance companies we place business with have assigned a dedicated under-writer for our company’s submissions.
Another tool we have to guide shopping efforts is a rating model that has been calibrated to estimate the market price of a firm’s coverage. We update our regres-sion model of the market’s pricing every six months, so we know a good price from a bad one when we see it.
Continuity with an insurance company is beneficial for when a claim arises. So unless my client directs other-wise, I always allow the renewal carrier the opportunity to provide renewal terms either before or running parallel to approaching other insurance companies depending on the agreed upon strategy. If their quoted
renewal premium is competitive it might make sense not to shop with other carriers, which may be needed in the future. However, if it is above the market price, it usually warrants a canvas of at least two or three other potential carriers. This is where starting early pays off for our clients. By getting the renewal quote about three weeks before the renewal date we have ample time to go back to the market if the renewal carrier quotes an unfavorable renewal premium.
COLLABORATIVE EVALUATIONThis article describes our general approach to policy placement, and the actual decision of where to shop is
made together with our clients. We agree on the insurers to approach and understand that we may extend our marketing efforts more broadly if we don’t get satisfac-tory results on our first pass. It is important to note that not all quotes provide the same coverage. This is where being the client’s “trusted advisor” is critically important. If alternative coverage and quotes are provided to clients, so is a coverage comparison to help my clients easily identify and under-stand the differences in coverage, risk management resources and insurance company AM Best rating as well as premium. The cheapest policy often is not the best value.
In any event, clients are aware of the quotes and terms we receive from the insurance companies we approach on their behalf. There is no mystery for our clients as to how the other insurance companies responded. Clients make the selection of which insurance company to buy from based on information we provide about the insurer, price, coverage terms, available resources, claims handling and renewal history. Our role is to advise, not decide.
CONCLUSIONThe process we’ve described is a fairly straight forward one. Our agents are focused on learning the most they can to best represent clients, orchestrating the insurance markets to quote efficiently and competi-tively and guiding clients through their options to help them make informed decisions. The process works best when it is started early, and includes frequent and open communication and a willingness to let clients direct the process.
We understand our approach is not the norm within the industry yet we also know it produces superior results based on our frequent success on new accounts in direct competition with other agents. Our process is sufficiently unique that it causes many potential new clients to actually root for us to win and, our longstanding clients trust us year-after-year to look out for their best interests. We are pleased to develop a role beyond insurance sales, and to establish sincere relationships with our clients.
Is your Insurance Agent your Trusted Advisor?
“There’s a reason why we shifted just about all of our insurance needs to Hall and Company….. professionalism, responsiveness, and frankly we like working with you.”
As a buyer of professional liability insurance you know it is essential to work with a qualified broker who has your best interest at heart. At Hall & Company there are a dozen brokers that specialize in professional liability insurance for Architects and Engineers. Each of us personally represents about 320 firms in the annual placement of their professional liability coverage. The best part of this job is being put in a position to assure that our clients are well-served and protected.
In our 20-plus years working in this business, experience has shown again and again that the best results are achieved when an open and collaborative relationship is forged with the client. We aim for the role of a “trusted advisor” and avoid the role an “insurance salesman”. This requires a high level of communication and transparency on our part and produces better results for our clients.
This article describes the characteristics of the type of relationship that we strive to achieve, and the process that we use for each clients’ annual renewal. This process leaves clients knowing they are well-represented in their insurance purchase. Here are the elements we consider key to a well-managed renewal process.
PROACTIVE PLANNINGStarting the renewal process early allows ample time to: • Assess the current insurance program • Discuss expectations • Determine if there is a need for higher or excess limits • Inquire about any changes in the client’s operations or risk management practices • Identify any areas to generate potential premium credits • Update claim data and explore any circumstances that may lead to a potential claim • Negotiate thoroughly and aggressively
During this step we collect any relevant information which could impact the structure of the insurance program, as well as the factors that might influence the premium. For example, if a firm has suffered a claim
there often are techniques we can employ to characterize the claim in a way that will reduce its impact on the renewal premium. Specifically these conversations are collaborative with all parties and should begin about two months before the renewal date to leave time for refine-ments of the submittal information.
THOUGHTFUL EXECUTIONIn the role of advisors rather than sales people we are invested in creating tools and developing techniques that benefit our clients in real time and dollars. Some of the tools and techniques we use to bolster efficiency for our clients are described below and include: • EZAPP • Pivot Table • Rating Model • Selective Shopping • Dedicated Underwriting
To help expedite the renewal process, our company spent the better part of a year developing the EZAPP, an intui-tive application that allows us to pre-fill clients’ renewal
applications with the data they provided in the previous years. Upon renewal, our clients simply update what has changed and enter in only the current year’s information that needs updating, such as revenues. This not only saves clients a lot of time, it allows us to focus on any features or practices of the firm that would result in the under-writers’ ability to apply discounts or credits.
We are an independent brokerage and currently place A/E professional liability insurance with 53 different insurance companies. A collaborative process means discussing openly with clients the potential insurance markets for their particular size, location, disciplines, project types and claims histories.
Because we represent nearly 4,000 A/E firms nationwide, we are able to maintain meaningful data about which insurance companies are competitively priced and successful for all of the various types and sizes of design firms. For example, we have a “pivot table” that allows our agents to quickly see where firms of different types and sizes have been placed. With this tool we can identify not only the top three insurance companies, but the following three as well.
As a general rule we advocate selective shopping. Unless the client has a serious claim or poor loss history, going beyond the top three markets is usually a misuse of everyone’s time and doing this often would undermine our negotiating effectiveness with the insurance compa-nies. We want the insurance companies to know they have a legitimate opportunity to win when we present them with an insurance application package so they will respond quickly and competitively. Because of our approach on this issue, most of the insurance companies we place business with have assigned a dedicated under-writer for our company’s submissions.
Another tool we have to guide shopping efforts is a rating model that has been calibrated to estimate the market price of a firm’s coverage. We update our regres-sion model of the market’s pricing every six months, so we know a good price from a bad one when we see it.
Continuity with an insurance company is beneficial for when a claim arises. So unless my client directs other-wise, I always allow the renewal carrier the opportunity to provide renewal terms either before or running parallel to approaching other insurance companies depending on the agreed upon strategy. If their quoted
renewal premium is competitive it might make sense not to shop with other carriers, which may be needed in the future. However, if it is above the market price, it usually warrants a canvas of at least two or three other potential carriers. This is where starting early pays off for our clients. By getting the renewal quote about three weeks before the renewal date we have ample time to go back to the market if the renewal carrier quotes an unfavorable renewal premium.
COLLABORATIVE EVALUATIONThis article describes our general approach to policy placement, and the actual decision of where to shop is
made together with our clients. We agree on the insurers to approach and understand that we may extend our marketing efforts more broadly if we don’t get satisfac-tory results on our first pass. It is important to note that not all quotes provide the same coverage. This is where being the client’s “trusted advisor” is critically important. If alternative coverage and quotes are provided to clients, so is a coverage comparison to help my clients easily identify and under-stand the differences in coverage, risk management resources and insurance company AM Best rating as well as premium. The cheapest policy often is not the best value.
In any event, clients are aware of the quotes and terms we receive from the insurance companies we approach on their behalf. There is no mystery for our clients as to how the other insurance companies responded. Clients make the selection of which insurance company to buy from based on information we provide about the insurer, price, coverage terms, available resources, claims handling and renewal history. Our role is to advise, not decide.
CONCLUSIONThe process we’ve described is a fairly straight forward one. Our agents are focused on learning the most they can to best represent clients, orchestrating the insurance markets to quote efficiently and competi-tively and guiding clients through their options to help them make informed decisions. The process works best when it is started early, and includes frequent and open communication and a willingness to let clients direct the process.
We understand our approach is not the norm within the industry yet we also know it produces superior results based on our frequent success on new accounts in direct competition with other agents. Our process is sufficiently unique that it causes many potential new clients to actually root for us to win and, our longstanding clients trust us year-after-year to look out for their best interests. We are pleased to develop a role beyond insurance sales, and to establish sincere relationships with our clients.
“Thank you for alerting us to the reasons given for the initially-quoted increase. VERY valuable information, for sure! We're glad to have you looking out for us.”
As a buyer of professional liability insurance you know it is essential to work with a qualified broker who has your best interest at heart. At Hall & Company there are a dozen brokers that specialize in professional liability insurance for Architects and Engineers. Each of us personally represents about 320 firms in the annual placement of their professional liability coverage. The best part of this job is being put in a position to assure that our clients are well-served and protected.
In our 20-plus years working in this business, experience has shown again and again that the best results are achieved when an open and collaborative relationship is forged with the client. We aim for the role of a “trusted advisor” and avoid the role an “insurance salesman”. This requires a high level of communication and transparency on our part and produces better results for our clients.
This article describes the characteristics of the type of relationship that we strive to achieve, and the process that we use for each clients’ annual renewal. This process leaves clients knowing they are well-represented in their insurance purchase. Here are the elements we consider key to a well-managed renewal process.
PROACTIVE PLANNINGStarting the renewal process early allows ample time to: • Assess the current insurance program • Discuss expectations • Determine if there is a need for higher or excess limits • Inquire about any changes in the client’s operations or risk management practices • Identify any areas to generate potential premium credits • Update claim data and explore any circumstances that may lead to a potential claim • Negotiate thoroughly and aggressively
During this step we collect any relevant information which could impact the structure of the insurance program, as well as the factors that might influence the premium. For example, if a firm has suffered a claim
there often are techniques we can employ to characterize the claim in a way that will reduce its impact on the renewal premium. Specifically these conversations are collaborative with all parties and should begin about two months before the renewal date to leave time for refine-ments of the submittal information.
THOUGHTFUL EXECUTIONIn the role of advisors rather than sales people we are invested in creating tools and developing techniques that benefit our clients in real time and dollars. Some of the tools and techniques we use to bolster efficiency for our clients are described below and include: • EZAPP • Pivot Table • Rating Model • Selective Shopping • Dedicated Underwriting
To help expedite the renewal process, our company spent the better part of a year developing the EZAPP, an intui-tive application that allows us to pre-fill clients’ renewal
applications with the data they provided in the previous years. Upon renewal, our clients simply update what has changed and enter in only the current year’s information that needs updating, such as revenues. This not only saves clients a lot of time, it allows us to focus on any features or practices of the firm that would result in the under-writers’ ability to apply discounts or credits.
We are an independent brokerage and currently place A/E professional liability insurance with 53 different insurance companies. A collaborative process means discussing openly with clients the potential insurance markets for their particular size, location, disciplines, project types and claims histories.
Because we represent nearly 4,000 A/E firms nationwide, we are able to maintain meaningful data about which insurance companies are competitively priced and successful for all of the various types and sizes of design firms. For example, we have a “pivot table” that allows our agents to quickly see where firms of different types and sizes have been placed. With this tool we can identify not only the top three insurance companies, but the following three as well.
As a general rule we advocate selective shopping. Unless the client has a serious claim or poor loss history, going beyond the top three markets is usually a misuse of everyone’s time and doing this often would undermine our negotiating effectiveness with the insurance compa-nies. We want the insurance companies to know they have a legitimate opportunity to win when we present them with an insurance application package so they will respond quickly and competitively. Because of our approach on this issue, most of the insurance companies we place business with have assigned a dedicated under-writer for our company’s submissions.
Another tool we have to guide shopping efforts is a rating model that has been calibrated to estimate the market price of a firm’s coverage. We update our regres-sion model of the market’s pricing every six months, so we know a good price from a bad one when we see it.
Continuity with an insurance company is beneficial for when a claim arises. So unless my client directs other-wise, I always allow the renewal carrier the opportunity to provide renewal terms either before or running parallel to approaching other insurance companies depending on the agreed upon strategy. If their quoted
renewal premium is competitive it might make sense not to shop with other carriers, which may be needed in the future. However, if it is above the market price, it usually warrants a canvas of at least two or three other potential carriers. This is where starting early pays off for our clients. By getting the renewal quote about three weeks before the renewal date we have ample time to go back to the market if the renewal carrier quotes an unfavorable renewal premium.
COLLABORATIVE EVALUATIONThis article describes our general approach to policy placement, and the actual decision of where to shop is
made together with our clients. We agree on the insurers to approach and understand that we may extend our marketing efforts more broadly if we don’t get satisfac-tory results on our first pass. It is important to note that not all quotes provide the same coverage. This is where being the client’s “trusted advisor” is critically important. If alternative coverage and quotes are provided to clients, so is a coverage comparison to help my clients easily identify and under-stand the differences in coverage, risk management resources and insurance company AM Best rating as well as premium. The cheapest policy often is not the best value.
In any event, clients are aware of the quotes and terms we receive from the insurance companies we approach on their behalf. There is no mystery for our clients as to how the other insurance companies responded. Clients make the selection of which insurance company to buy from based on information we provide about the insurer, price, coverage terms, available resources, claims handling and renewal history. Our role is to advise, not decide.
CONCLUSIONThe process we’ve described is a fairly straight forward one. Our agents are focused on learning the most they can to best represent clients, orchestrating the insurance markets to quote efficiently and competi-tively and guiding clients through their options to help them make informed decisions. The process works best when it is started early, and includes frequent and open communication and a willingness to let clients direct the process.
We understand our approach is not the norm within the industry yet we also know it produces superior results based on our frequent success on new accounts in direct competition with other agents. Our process is sufficiently unique that it causes many potential new clients to actually root for us to win and, our longstanding clients trust us year-after-year to look out for their best interests. We are pleased to develop a role beyond insurance sales, and to establish sincere relationships with our clients.
“You are good at what you do. You gave me some of the best, most honest an sincere advice I have received. I want to thank you for all your help and support thru these difficult times.”
Jen CaizzaProducer
Michael J. Hall & Company A/E Insurance Services
19660 10th Avenue NEPoulsbo, WA 98370Phone: 360-598-5019
www.hallandcompany.com
/Jen-Caizza