Imagine purchasing products that are deceptively difficult to understand and how much it should actually cost. There is a Latin phrase, “Caveat Emptor” which commonly translates to “let the buyer beware.” In fact, there are many legal disclaimers that are used in contracts to make sure all parties know that it is the responsibility of the “buyer” to do their due diligence before purchasing a product.
If you find yourself buying something of a technical nature, it is important to have a knowledgeable and industry-connected resource sit with you, as you work with your vendors. This can be the difference between making good strategic decisions or being sold a bill of goods.
Anyone who has tried to read an insurance policy knows that buying insurance can be filled with pitfalls and smokescreens. Buying insurance for your company may be the quintessential business relationship where Caveat Emptor applies.
Enter the Insurance Consultant.
The Insurance Consultant:
Insurance Consultants need to understand their client’s operations and how they run their business, since they are responsible for making sure the policy language matches their client’s operations.
Since the Insurance Consultant’s primary focus is on the buying of insurance, they work closely with the client to put together a comprehensive marketing submission. The goal of the submission is to paint the client in the best light possible, so that the underwriters view the client as a desirable account. Working with several different brokers and maintaining control of the process, the Insurance Consultant introduces competition into the marketing process. The Insurance Consultant becomes the conduit for all communications to/from the insurance community and works to translate the technical jargon, level the playing field, and help the client understand what is included in the proposals.
The Insurance Consultant should be independent of any brokerage that is placing the coverage and should not be compensated by the insurance company. Maintaining this independence allows the Insurance Consultant to create a highly competitive atmosphere that motivates the insurance companies and brokers to produce an aggressive proposal.
After the proposals are reviewed and discussed, the consultant recommends a coverage program. Once the client decides, the Insurance Consultant will work with the winning broker to complete the marketing, paperwork, stays involved with the client to maintain the program, and focuses on loss prevention and loss control.
In a hard market, an Insurance Consultant can help their clients to save premium dollars and improve the terms & conditions of their policies. If you would like to learn more about how an Insurance Consultant can help your company, contact TSIB for a free consultation.
TSIB’s Risk Consultants are currently servicing the following locations:
East Coast: New York City, NY; Bergen County, NJ; Fairfield County, CT; Philadelphia, PA
Texas: Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas
California: Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County
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