Insurance Assurance℠

November 2009
Issue 111 Since the Year 2000

The bid process is not most insurance buyer's idea of fun. It's time consuming, complicated, stresses current relationships, and often does not result in a change in insurance agents or insurance companies.

All true.

However, done correctly, the bid process is the only way you know that your insurance is the best combination of coverage, price, and service the marketplace has available.

Further, over the past 15 years the insurance industry has fallen into a mode of apathy when an insurance account renews without competition. Underwriters just are not aggressive when they know there is no competition. The only way to be sure you are getting the best the market has to offer is to bid. Without competition, your insurance company can quote your premium a week before the renewal date and you have no option but to live with what they give you.

Build a bid process that allows competition to work for you. Competition requires the risk of loss to the participants. A true bid process will involve multiple insurance agents. Having one agent quote 5 companies means that your agent can't lose. Multiple agent means that each has to put her best on the line.

While two agents is competition, three may be chaos.

The insurance business has a nasty tradition that only allows one agent to quote each insurer. So, for example, if agent A and agent B are quoting your insurance plan, only one agent will be able to provided you with a quote from Travelers. (I have railed against this practice for years - it is anti-competitive and promotes laziness. It also is a system that most agents like and that reduces the overall workload of insurance companies.)

So, having three agents (or 4 or 5) means that the available insurance companies must be distributed to the various participants. Splitting companies up may not provide you with the options you're looking for as an insurance buyer looking for the best insurance program.

My ideal bid situation is the current agent and one other.

Join my teleseminar series for bankers who manage insurance for their banks.

Five sessions over three weeks that will give bankers insight into the coverage they need and the issues to look out for.

Get Info Here

I probably buy more insurance than anyone else in the US. I also sold insurance for 20 years. I get calls every week from insurance agents struggling. Its no secret that while this newsletter is designed for insurance buyers, more than half my subscribers are insurance people. My monthly personal productivity column appears in Insurance Journal. I post to insurance chat rooms and insurance agent forums. I hear from many agents looking for a better way.

I recently finished my Six Figure Insurance Commission System to help insurance agents sell more insurance and build better client relationships.

Learn More Here

Insurance Assurance℠ Workbooks

A few months ago I announced my Insurance Assurance℠ Workbooks as an effective way for small businesses to judge and improve the quality of their insurance programs without spending thousands to hire me. The response has been amazing.

At $99, the digital edition is proving to be very popular.

The idea is simple. Insurance buyers have trouble coming up with the right questions to ask their agents. My workbook gives them the questions, along with insight into the coverages that are important to consider.

Business Insurance Audit Toolkit - For Small and Medium Sized Organizations of All Types. Digital and Softcover Editions

Bank Insurance Audit Toolkit - For Bankers Who Manage Their Bank's Insurance. Digital and Softcover Editions

Insurance Help Topics Blog - WWW.InsuranceAssuranceBlog.com

Free Time Mastery Teleseminar - WWW.ScottSimmonds.com/time

www.BankInsuranceBlook.com. - The blog version of my book, Simmonds on Bank Insurance. A comprehensive buyer's guide for bankers who buy insurance for their banks.

www.WorkCompBlook.com. - Blog version of Simmonds on Workers' Compensation Insurance. How to manage and buy workers' compensation insurance. Filled with information to control your work comp costs.

Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Regards,
Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM, CMC
"The Guy with the Big Insurance Brain"

Providing Unbiased Insurance Assurance℠
Phone 207-284-0085
Fax 802-992-4027
Scott@ScottSimmonds.com
www.ScottSimmonds.com

www.InsuranceAssuranceBlog.com

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