The phone rang in my office and it was a potential client who wanted a business insurance quote. He was on the board of a sports association and he had been tasked by his fellow board members to get the best insurance price possible. Someone even gave him a list of the coverage they would need and the limits of insurance for each coverage. He forwarded me the document.

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Ottawa - May 16, 2013 - The phone rang in my office and it was a potential client who wanted a business insurance quote. He was on the board of a sports association and he had been tasked by his fellow board members to “get the best insurance price possible.” Someone even gave him a list of the coverage they would need and the limits of insurance for each coverage. He forwarded me the document.

Among other things, it included coverage for off-premises welding. When I asked what type of welding they do, he assured me they did none and he had no idea how that got onto the list. All he knew is that he needed a quote for what was provided and it needed to be cheap.

The next day, the phone rang in my office but this time it was a client of mine. He has a growing business and now he was ready to expand his operation. He asked if we could have coffee to discuss his plans. Great! We met later in the week and for two hours we talked about his supply chain challenges, client contracts and hold harmless agreements. We discussed various options when it comes to protecting the shipments he plans to import from overseas. My client hasn’t put any of his plans in motion yet but that’s why he called me now. He wanted to share his plans with me ahead of time in order that together, we could put in place a risk management strategy which would specifically respond to his growing business.

Insurance brokers have two roles; purchaser and risk manager. The problem lies when a broker becomes just a mindless price shopper, cutting your insurance coverage to lower your premium or not paying attention to what your real needs are. A broker should try to find you the best value, not just the lowest price. A risk manager, on the other hand, is someone who understands your business and gets you the right coverage – which may not include off-premises welding.

Look at it this way; a broker who is just a price shopper can mindlessly find ways to shave $1,000 off your premium but create $100,000 in insurance gaps along the way. A risk manager may not save you $1,000 in premium but he discovers the gaps left by the price shopper and he fixes them. In the event of a loss, isn’t it a far better return on your investment to have spent the extra $1,000 to have the $100,000 in coverage?

Is your broker just a price shopper or is your broker a valuable business partner who provides a wealth of valuable risk management advice? If you’re ready for more than just a shopper, give me a call and let’s have a coffee…it’s on me.