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April 17, 2023
Greetings to our Tristate blog. We deliver both personal insurance solutions and business insurance solutions to the people of the great states of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
Today’s good business sense advice come by way of Snow Business Magazine’s Mr. Mike McCarron. His advice is spot-on and we confidently present his work to you because, well humbly, we represent every characteristic he defines in your chosen insurance company. We trust you’ll enjoy the read.
As Jim Collins mentions in his book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t," it’s critically important to get the right people on the bus before you decide where to drive it. Your business is the "bus," and your team members, both internal and external, are the riders. People such as accountants, legal advisors, banking professionals, marketing wizards, IT experts and particularly insurance agents, need to be on your "bus" if you’re going to be as successful as you aim to be.
We don’t often think about adding a great insurance agent to our extended team…until we really need one. By then, it’s often too late. Why do we not think of including an insurance agent on our external team? Probably because many business owners are laser focused on what’s in front of them in the immediate moment, day or week. The proverbial "fires" seem to chase us daily and consume much of our attention.
A business colleague once asked an insurance agent what she did. He expected her to say that she sold insurance products. But, to his surprise, she said she sold "peace of mind." She explained that because of the insurance products she represented and sold to her clients, her clients could sleep comfortably without worrying that they would be irrecoverably damaged by the inevitable surprises that awaited them.
Most business owners have specific timelines for accounting, payroll, tax payments, etc. Attention also needs to be paid to critical insurance needs. In this article, I’ve shared ideas for finding and adding a qualified insurance representative to your team, in other words inviting them onto your "bus."
A GREAT LEVELING QUESTION TO ASK: "We are interviewing several insurance companies to find the best fit for us." If they all say they provide the same services at relatively the same prices, ask: "Why should we contract with your firm?"
Not every insurance agent has the same qualifications and specialties. Make sure you work with a representative who can cover contract law issues, for example. Take the time to sit down with the representative and discuss everything that your business needs to follow to comply with local and state statutes and regulations. Talk about all the services you provide, such as lawn care, snow and ice management, landscaping, etc. Some insurers don’t cover certain types of work.
If the representative doesn’t understand what you’re talking about specifically or in general, then they are probably not the right representative for your company.
We interviewed four insurance agencies before selecting our current provider. We learned a lot by first researching each firm online. Then, we asked each representative to come to a meeting at our headquarters. If they were unwilling to meet with us in person, they were the wrong agency for us.
By inviting them to our location, they got to see what we do, in our environment, and we learned how committed they were to earning and keeping our business. We also gathered valuable qualitative information such as:
We asked them to educate us as to why we should use them to provide our insurance coverages. When asked what they could cover for us, some said "everything" (this is always a red flag for me!) only to find out that they really only handled X and Y, but not A through G.
A great leveling question to ask is: "We are interviewing several insurance companies to find the best fit for us. In the event they all say they provide the same services at relatively the same prices, why should we contract with your firm?" The answers are always telling. If they bash another agency or company, they are not the right firm for us. If we smell hyperbole and deflection, they are not the right firm for us.
We ultimately selected a local firm that eagerly met with us at our location, had a compatible communication style, and was able to meet our coverage needs. The hard work and extra time spent to get the right insurance agency on our "bus" really paid off.
Another aspect to consider is whether the firm you engage is up to date on the latest jurisdictional rules and regulations for your area of operation, as well as trends in the insurance industry that may impact your operations. Are they aware of the latest theft trends in your area (for example, catalytic converters being stolen from vehicles)? Will they keep you educated about policy changes that could impact your business? Are all your employees covered in the proper workers’ compensation categories?
The right insurance agency to invite onto your "bus" is the one that makes your company a priority by reviewing your coverages regularly (at least twice a year) and talking to you about what coverages you should consider adding, dropping or modifying. In other words, they make you, your success and your protection a priority.
These days, purchasing insurance coverage online is easy and doesn’t require any human interaction. But taking the time and effort to engage with a live representative who understands your business and what you want and need will pay off.
Once you’ve carefully selected your agent, reach out to them a couple times a year to update them on how your company is doing, any changes that have occurred, and discuss any coverages that might need to be changed. Ask probing questions about things that might put your company at risk.
And remember, the right insurance representative for your "bus" will be interested in providing you peace of mind and not just selling you an insurance policy or two.
Do your homework and choose wisely. As management and leadership guru Stephen Covey, author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People," said, "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important."
Want to dive further into these or other notions regarding how to get the best value and coverage for your insurance dollar, contact us anytime!
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