AboutKristen Mulcahy, CIC Expertise My specialty is commercial insurance for business owners. I can answer questions regarding
liability, property, auto, workers compensation, directors and officers, umbrellas and
risk management for all types of businesses. Risk management or loss control, is taking
measures to reduce the chances of a loss in the first place or, helping you prevent it
from happening again. Insurance can be complicated and confusing and there are no stupid
questions! I own a Risk Management company in New England that provides insurance consultations
to business owners and sight inspections for insurance companies.
Question I just recently started my own business and wanted to understand the best way to approach the property loss market when dealing with brokers. I have over 25 years in fire protection engineering and safety consulting and am a registered PE and CSP. My experience has been heavy on the HPR (highly Protective Risk) side working with insurance underwriters like FM Global for large manufacturing companies. I would appreciate any tips. Thanks
Answer Jeff;
I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer your question but I'll try. If you're going to be approaching brokers/wholesalers, you'll want to find those that have binding authority with a carrier and are responsible for providing the fire prevention services required by the carrier. Another approach would be to go directly to the agents of those types of accounts. Generally, these are going to be your larger agencies with locations in several states, HUB International, HRH, Marsh, etc... and explain how and why your services can benefit their clients, better quotes at renewal, ongoing protection for the client, etc... And lastly, if I had your experience, I'd approach some very large property managers/developers and offer your services on a consultative basis either for new developments, renovations, or existing properties. You may want to find some stats on co-insurance, how often an insured is actually UNDER insured, etc... to get your point across.
Whatever you do, don't become associated with the third party loss control providers out there. The contracts are completely unfair to a consultant, they do not pay well despite their claims and, if you sign a contract with any of them, the contract will preclude you from contacting any of their carriers directly. This will dramatically reduce your revenue producing ability going forward.
I'm not sure if this was the answer you were looking for but I hope you found it helpful. If there's anything else I can answer for you, feel free to email me again.
