Business Insurance Company Suggestions

[Mike Calloway]

Hey Guys!

I have been looking for business insurance and I am having no luck so far. State Farm did give me a quote and then said that I couldn't do it because the business hasn't already been insured for a year.

Can you all point me to some companies that you have had success with being a startup?

I am looking to get this done immediately.

Thanks!

Mike

[Marvrdr78]

Are you going to have a shop ? or are you mobile? I called statefarm to and they told me that they only insure if you have a shop.

[Pureshine]

Are you going to have a shop ? or are you mobile? I called statefarm to and they told me that they only insure if you have a shop.

Not true I have State Farm and run my business out of my garage. They may have changed there polices in the past 2 years.

[cardaddy]

State Farm quoted mine as well, working from home. Sometimes I think it's the agent that has as much pull as the underwriters. Mine I go back about 24 years with so that might help a bit. ;)

[tkendrick]

Hey Guys!

I have been looking for business insurance and I am having no luck so far. State Farm did give me a quote and then said that I couldn't do it because the business hasn't already been insured for a year.

Can you all point me to some companies that you have had success with being a startup?

I am looking to get this done immediately.

Thanks!

Mike


I happen to be a property and casualty agent in Texas. Clearly, you haven't provided enough information to give specific advice, however I can maybe give you some general advice.

Insurance carriers coverages vary from region to region. State laws regarding insurance also vary, therefore it commonly effects pricing and coverages from state to state.

You will find coverages more difficult to find if your business is less than a year old. But not impossible. Rates from carrier to carrier can vary dramatically.

The single best piece of advise I can give you is to find an independent agent near you. (This agent represents many different companies and is an advocate for your business. A State Farm agent represents a very limited scope of coverages. This is not a knock on State Farm...their markets are limited)

Find an independent agent in your area. Call and ask if you could come in and talk about your business. Be prepared to give detailed information about your business plans.(ie: what is the scope of your work, type of vehicles you work on, where you work on them, equipment used, do you keep them overnight...you get the idea)

You should look at your meeting as an interview. Your agent should explain what coverages you need and why, provide multiply quotes and answer all of your questions. You should look to him as a business asset. Your hiring him and he's not doing you a favor to give you a quote.

Garage Keepers may or may not suit your needs depending on business activities. You may want to consider your liability exposure, equipment values, are you mobile (requiring commercial coverages), do you do work on commercial property.

Without exploring all of these variables and others it is impossible to know what coverages may or may not be needed.

Hope this helps.

[Mike Calloway]

Thanks tkendrick!

Your response was very helpful.

I have a strictly mobile operation.

[Gurge]

you need to contact some commercial brokers. they deal with small carriers that you've never heard of. which is what you need because many of the big carriers wont write the risk.

with that said, some larger carriers will act as broker. So calling state farm, progressive, is not necessarily a dead end. but you can get lost in the shuffle I feel like. Commercial brokers typically work on commission so they want to find you coverage.

[BlkHemiLTD]

In Renny's book he mentions Travelers insurance to be detailing friendly.

[tkendrick]

you need to contact some commercial brokers. they deal with small carriers that you've never heard of. which is what you need because many of the big carriers wont write the risk.

with that said, some larger carriers will act as broker. So calling state farm, progressive, is not necessarily a dead end. but you can get lost in the shuffle I feel like. Commercial brokers typically work on commission so they want to find you coverage.

FYI....a commercial broker or independent agent is a distinction without a difference. All agents or brokers make a commission its how they get paid.

The difference is a captive agent (ie... State Farm, Progressive All State, Farmers) can only rep their respective family of companies a independent agent/broker represents many different companies (ie...Travelers, Hartford, Safeco, Metlife, Chubb and many others)

Good luck with your search.

[Colinpd137]

I have Travler's, I also went through a broker (The Mund Group) to find my insurance with best coverage & rates. Was with Farmers first but the agent I worked with pretty much screwed me for a few months & was not getting the coverage I asked for or was paying for... Been much better ever since.

[jmfp]

I have West Bend Mutual & am in my 1st year of business. I got it through an independent agent.

He did a good job convincing them to insure me based on the fact that I had 10+ years prior experience in the industry.

[Mike Calloway]

I ended up going through Nationwide who got me hooked up with Tapco for a great policy that same day.

However I did speak to a guy from Worldwide Insurance named Derrick Head that was awesome! He specializes in auto detailing and was great. I didn't go through them because my other offer was just ridiculously low the same day but I'd recommend him to anyone. His email is Derrick@wwisinc.com.

Thanks to everyone that helped and hopefully this thread will help future guys on the hunt for quality insurance!

[tkendrick]

I ended up going through Nationwide who got me hooked up with Tapco for a great policy that same day.

However I did speak to a guy from Worldwide Insurance named Derrick Head that was awesome! He specializes in auto detailing and was great. I didn't go through them because my other offer was just ridiculously low the same day but I'd recommend him to anyone. His email is Derrick@wwisinc.com.

Thanks to everyone that helped and hopefully this thread will help future guys on the hunt for quality insurance!

Just a word of caution...if you bought a policy that is as you put it ridiculously low, usually there is a reason for it.

It isn't uncommon to find out too late that you may not have the coverages you thought you had. You should read the policy from front to back.

I can't tell you how many times I reviewed policies from customers who thought they had coverage when in fact they did not. It will be spelled out in the policy.

Good luck