Precision Protection

Industry specialists also tend to develop stables of trusted policy providers, who typically offer preferred pricing to their top producers. “Those savings get passed along to the businesses buying the insurance,” Kulda says. And intermediaries generally are able to negotiate more favorable rates and more tightly focused policies for their clients.

“Our job is to, perhaps, not be all that friendly with the insurance company and get the very best we can for you,” says Alan Diamond, president and resident managing director in the Minneapolis office of Aon Risk Services, Inc., of Minnesota, a retail-brokering and risk-management firm. “I’ve never seen a situation where we haven’t been able to take a set of coverages that someone has placed by themselves and not improve on it.”

Industry specialists are plentiful, though choosing the right one for your business requires thoughtful research. Kulda suggests starting your search by perusing trade publications, conducting Internet searches, or simply cracking open the Yellow Pages. Trade and business associations can provide you with leads, as can old-fashioned word-of-mouth networking.

Kulda’s advice: Be thorough. “One of the biggest mistakes companies make is they don’t adequately shop around,” he says. “This is a competitive marketplace—there are not only a lot of insurance companies, there are a lot of brokers. Sometimes companies will get a little too cozy with one particular broker, for example, and not realize that there are others out there who might be more aggressive on price and might be more specialized and more understanding of your business. It’s always a good idea to talk to several firms to try to find the one that seems to understand your business best or who will work with you to understand your business best.”