Frequently Asked Questions
- Will I be able to “bind coverage” by submitting an application or form online? No, you cannot bind or alter coverage by submitting an application or form online at any time.
- How long does it take to get a quote? Depending on the type of insurance you are needing it could be the same day (during normal working hours / during the week) or it could take as long as 30 days on larger Commercial accounts.
- Can you give me a quote without requiring a submission? No. We cannot. Some of the reasons have to do with utilizing time efficiently. We need the details in order to quote and advise you properly.
- On “commercial quotes” why do you need hard copy loss runs? (aka: claim experience letters) The reason that I have been given is; to allow the insurance underwriters to look at the business history of claims. The loss runs must also be dated from the current insurance carriers within the last 30 days.
- And, they may request them at each renewal for a year or two,
- There could be an open claim which is usually always a decline to quote situation,
- Bodily injury claims can be open or claims for years,
- Loss runs are need for up to five years.
- if you do not prior insurance a no loss letter “may” suffice or may be ineligible,
- if you only have one year, provide one year, if two, two years and so on.
- Do you charge brokers fees? Yes, we do charge broker fees on many Agency bill items.
- Why do you charge broker fees? Agency bill items require a great deal more time to service, the commissions are generally lower by approximatly 33% and there are no “contingency bonuses” to be awarded. Thus the reason to remain profitable.
- Do you charge broker fees on all policies? No. We do not charge broker fees on any insurance carrier where it is “direct bill and we are directly appointed. And, the billing and servicing are “direct billed” to you. Why is that? Because we do not have to do the biling and most of the servicing work and we may be able to receive a “contingency”. and the commission is generally higher.
- Do you charge for Additional Insured Certificates? We do charge for Additional Insured Certificates in two ways. First, indirectly, the insurance carrier may sometime charge for Additional Insured Certificate. The other time we charge for Certificates is in the initial quoting on Agency bill items and sometimes on direct bill items where we do not have a direct appointment.
- How will I know when and how much of a broker fee you charge? We “always” disclose, in writing, all fees and require that a broker fee disclosure be signed.
- Can we pay in installments? Sometimes yes and sometimes no.
- Most direct bill personal lines of insurance allow installments,
- Most Agency bill items require 25% premium plus 100% of taxes and fee as a deposit,
- On policies that allow for a minimum deposit, outside premium financing can be arranged by us,
- Some specialty lines of commercial insurance require 100% payment upfront and deem all premium and fees fully eaned once the policy is bound.
- How will I know if if I am eligible for installments? Your agent or broker will review your quote with you in writing if you intend to purchase the coverage.
- What if I already have an insurance Agency but they do not have the insurance type that I need? Can they contacto you to purchase the insurance. No! Never. We are not set up as a Managing General Agency and we do not want the ratification of allowing someone working on your behalf in order to get our markets. Why? Besides not being set up as a managing general agency, we do not want the increase in errors or omissions that could possibly be made. Chances are, if the do not have the market, they do not fully understand the line of business.
- Do you require that I have all my insurance with your agency? Generally not. However, there are times when we would require due to the increase in some type of coverage gap. For example, a claim comes in to our agency and, we do not write that coverage. The other agent writes that policy, the policy that “should” have provided coverage for your claim. Now, you are going to financial ruin. What are you going to try to do? Right! When we feel there is good chance that someone could drop the ball, meaning they do not have you covered and for some reason they informed you that we should have covered you… and not the attorneys get involved. The “he said, she said” conversations do not hold water when your claim comes in. So, we generally prefer to write all the commercial business. We evaluate this on a case by case basis.
- Do you write all types of insurance? No, we no longer write health or dental. We do write Annuity and Life Insurance for individuals, Families and Businesses.