Commercial Insurance Agents and Brokers for Beginners

Work with commercial insurance brokers to protect your assets and lower your insurance rate

As you start your business or expand operations, you should be in contact with commercial insurance agencies early in the process to make sure you're getting the best coverage and keeping commercial insurance costs as low as possible. Before you even start getting quotes, however, you should learn some insurance jargon and know what questions to ask an agent.

You should also be thinking of ways you can set up your business that will decrease your commercial insurance rates. As you talk to a broker, you might find that a good security system can lower your commercial insurance rate, as can safety classes for your staff. Commercial insurance agents and brokers for beginners includes:

1. Basic knowledge you'll need to find the right broker, and read your insurance agreement.

2. Information from commercial insurance agents and brokers trade groups, meant to simplify the process for consumers.

3. Rate comparisons from respected insurance vendors, to give you a rough idea of how much it will cost to insure your business.

 

Find out what types of coverage are available, and how they affect the costs of commercial insurance

Commercial insurance coverage is for every type of business, from car manufacturers to clothing retailers. The needs of businesses vary widely, and a commercial insurance brokerage will have many different products to insure against different types of risks. Before you choose a policy, you should be fully aware of its components, and know how to read your insurance contract.
Try: Investopedia has a beginner's guide to insurance scoring and reading an insurance contract. Financial Web has an overview of different types of insurance, and FindLaw has an article on the different types of commercial insurance.

Read information provided by trade groups for commercial insurance agencies

There are several trade groups that represent commercial insurance brokers. They provide the industry with facts, statistics and news about state and federal regulations that affect insurance coverage. In addition to making this information available to members, commercial insurance groups also publish guides for businesses that need coverage to help clients make smart decisions.
Try: The American Insurance Association publishes "Insurance 101," a guide for insurance consumers. The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers has a series of free publications for "Compliance CYA... Cover Your Actions." More Than Business has a very short, simple guide to commercial insurance for start-ups.

Compare commercial insurance costs from brokers in your area

When you're working with a commercial insurer, it's essential that you sit down for a face to face meeting. You'll need to ask things like whether your insurance will go down as you gain experience and whether the company's coverage can expand with you. However, getting quotes from respected insurers in your area gives you a starting point.
Try: Commercial Insurance lets you compare quotes from AIG, the Hartford Group and Safeco. QuoteItNow.com has a cost schedule for its extender endorsements.

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