A lot of focus is spent by insurance agents on winning contractor’s business. Once the business is won, what comes next? For many business owners, the answer is not much. Perhaps that is the allure of bypassing insurance agents altogether for business owners and utilizing online raters. Have you ever felt this way?
A good agent is more than just a marketer. They are a trusted advisor.
Yesterday, I spoke to a prime subcontractor in Mesa, Arizona who moved their insurance to Wilson Insurance a couple of months back. Part of our onboarding process with new accounts is to check back within the first quarter to see how their experience is going and ask if we need to recalibrate anything. You can’t say you tailor coverage if you never check the fit occasionally, amirite?
This business owner relayed that his policy was fine – certificates were being issued promptly and his EFT payments were going out smoothly. When I asked overall how things were going he confided with a grumble that they recently had to fire an underperforming subcontractor. The result of their subcontractor’s poor workmanship was a two-week delay with their project and some embarrassment with a key customer.
As a result, this business owner had been shouldering the entire burden of understanding risk transfer for subcontractors. On top of running his business, he had tasked himself with researching ways to prequalify subcontractors and beef up their subcontractor agreement. Even though he had spent about ten hours researching the topics, he still didn’t feel like he was getting anywhere. He told me he was an entrepreneur, not a risk manager or lawyer.
My client was surprised that we not only cared, but we offered solutions. As they say in the West, this was not my first rodeo. You can imagine his relief when fifteen minutes later he had a Certificate of Insurance (COI) Review Template and a customizable Subcontractor Agreement vetted by a top insurance company (and their legal team)!
While the forms made sense to me, I suspected this subcontractor might understandably be overwhelmed by unfamiliar terms and coverages. After taking a day to process the information I sent, we set up a time the following day to go through it together. My goal is to always lift my customer’s insurance confidence and increase their ease of doing business.
It is conversations like this that energize me and remind me why I love being an insurance agent; I like helping people. At Wilson Insurance we want to be more than your insurance marketers. We want to be your insurance partner. Services that are embedded for Wilson Insurance customers for no additional cost are:
· Insurance Coverage Analysis
· Contract Review
· Developing a COI Compliance System
· Safety Training (toolbox talks, monthly, post-accident)
· Developing New Employee Orientation (NEO)
· Customizable Safety Manuals
· Business Continuity Planning
If you want more out of your insurance relationship and can benefit from partnering with a construction specialist, let’s connect!
Justin Chappell
VP Business Development
Wilson Insurance
480-964-2400
justin@wilsoninsuranceaz.com