June 11, 2025 • 16 mins
Commercial insurance doesn't excite most business owners—until they actually need it. Steven Conway, with over 20 years of experience running his insurance agency, understands this reality better than most. "You don't need insurance until you need it," Conway observes, highlighting why proper coverage matters when the unexpected occurs.
The commercial insurance landscape constantly shifts, creating significant challenges for business owners. Insurance carriers regularly change their "appetites," suddenly restricting or dropping coverage for certain business types without warning. These market fluctuations can leave business owners scrambling, even when they've done nothing wrong. This volatile environment makes working with an experienced agent who can navigate these changes absolutely essential.
What truly separates valuable insurance advice from the ordinary is understanding that exclusions often matter more than inclusions. Conway emphasizes that business owners should look beyond what's covered to thoroughly examine what's not covered in their policies. The devil truly lies in the details—replacement cost versus actual cash value, flat-rate versus percentage-based deductibles, and specific exclusions that could leave a business vulnerable. "You're going to pay it at one end or the other," Conway explains.
Proactive communication remains vital for proper coverage. Business owners should clearly explain their operations and anticipated changes—whether hiring additional staff, expanding services, or extending business hours—as these factors significantly impact coverage needs and premium costs. Regular policy reviews help ensure that as your business evolves, your insurance protection evolves with it.
You can connect with Conway Insurance by visiting their website: https://www.conwayinsuranceok.com/ or finding them on BBB.org
Follow BBB Serving Central Oklahoma on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @BBBCentralOK
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, welcome to Build with BBB podcast.
My name is Kit Letcher, I'm thepresident and CEO for BBB,
serving Central Oklahoma, and Iwill be guest hosting our
podcast today and I am soexcited to be here with Stephen
Conway with Stephen ConwayInsurance, and we're going to be
talking about the very hottopic of commercial insurance.
So I hope that you get somegood nuggets and takeaways from
(00:23):
today's conversation and,stephen, thank you for being
here.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Good, we're excited that you're here.
So I'm curious about you know,insurance is probably not
something that people just wakeup one day and think you know
what I want to do Insurance.
I'm really excited about thatas my calling and career path,
so I'm curious how did you getinto this line of business?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Out of college first job just sort of grew with it
and I worked on the company sideof it in different aspects.
And then about 20-some yearsago I had the opportunity to
open my own agency and I did.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Nice, that's excellent.
Have you always been here inOklahoma?
Yes, okay.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Born and raised.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I love it so you understand the dynamics of being
an Oklahoma business.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Oklahoma small business owner.
Yes, because that's really yourbread and butter?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I hope I do.
It's great.
So I'm curious what are thethings that you really like
about providing insurance andworking with your clients in
insurance?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
It's just trying to get policies and coverages to
help them, because you don'tneed insurance until you need it
.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
And you know otherwise you don't need the
coverage until you need it.
So it's just hopefully get thempolicies, in event of an
unforeseeable loss, that theyhave coverage in place to help
compensate for their damages andlosses without them being too
much out of pocket.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, like you said, younever know what you need until
you actually need it.
And then an event happens andthen people often go back and
think, oh my gosh, what did Ieven sign up for?
Did I get the right kind ofinsurance?
So I'm curious what you've seenover the years as being some of
the biggest hurdles orroadblocks that business owners
face.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
On the insurance side .
I just think sometimes it justwhat industry they're in,
sometimes it just makes themharder to place and then
companies at times have changesin appetite so they end up
having to are forced to movebecause the company is no longer
riding that appetite.
Some of the biggest changeswere like property trying to get
your property covered intoday's market if you're on the
(02:13):
building so that's some of thehurdles is just trying to change
in the industry.
Not necessarily you didanything wrong, but just the
appetite for that particularwhat you're doing.
Carriers suddenly no longerwant to write or really restrict
what they're doing.
You're really trying to find aplace to place them.
So that's what I find sometimesthe most difficult.
(02:33):
That's the way the marketchanges and sometimes people are
just left sort of holding thebags or trying to where do we go
from here?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, and I'm assuming that's why working with
somebody like you makes itreally easy, because you can
help direct people to the rightkind of path forward, or hey,
these are some changes that arecoming, so things that you might
want to consider changing orlooking at for the next couple
of years.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yes, yeah, just the change in the market and then
helping find a carrier ormarketplace that fits with what
they need in a policy.
Yeah, and also companies arethere to help the insurance too.
So, like a lot of companies onthe commercial side of risk
management companies to helpmitigate, minimize coverages.
So it's just not all aboutpaying claims, sometimes
(03:20):
commercial.
A lot of commercial carriers dohave risk management teams in
place to help clients, you know,to see where there might be
issues and help mitigate them.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, can you think of any like situations and I
realize I'm putting you on thespot when I say this Can you?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
think of any situations where you've seen
that really work well for someof your clients.
This year's gone on theworkers' comp side is that when
I worked for a company we hadsome companies that had high
losses and they got the riskmanagement team involved and
they made recommendations.
The company companies heededtheir recommendations and then
after a few years they noticed adecrease in claims, helps lower
(04:04):
claims, typically helps theirworkers' comp rates and stuff
like that.
So it can be valuable if thecompany is willing to take heed
of that Right.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Sometimes we don't want the advice forgiven.
Yeah, it's fair.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
So yeah, so you know, but then also the primary job
of the company is to pay theclaims.
Legitimate claims Right.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Right, what as you're working with your clients and
you're going through theirpolicies and doing annual
renewals and things like that,what are the questions you wish
that business owners would askor think about before they come
to that meeting as a way to bemore educated or well-informed,
so that they're leaving with theright information?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I think just giving the agents a clear understanding
of what you're doing you know,the clearer you are that the
agent understands what you'redoing, that way they can get a
better idea of what coveragesyou might need and plus relay
that to the underwriters too.
Yeah, you know also whatchanges you might seek going on
in the down the road.
That way we can be prepared.
(05:02):
And then also, I mean justasking also what's not be
covered for, and people don'trealize that, whether it's
commercial, personal, whatever,sometimes it's not so much
what's covered, it's theexclusions, limitations and
restrictions in the policy thatare just as important, or maybe
even more important than theactual what's actually covered
in the language of the policy.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah, that's a really great point.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think a lot of people lose what's covered.
Well, okay, this is covered,but you need to look at what's
also not covered.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Here's the things that won't be paid for yeah, and
you know.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I think that's a lot of people they lose that you
know that's a big thing, that Ithink a lot of people they
don't focus, they don't payattention to that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, yeah, no, that makes perfect sense.
I'm curious when you say thatthe business owner should come
and be prepared to talk aboutwhat changes they're seeking,
and what kind of things wouldthat entail?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Like if they're planning on hiring more people,
if they're making to look totake on more payroll, if your
thing's based on payroll, thatcould have a negative impact at
audit.
Because that way you might beable to be proactive and get it
adjusted midterm as opposed toaudit and you're not hit.
See what the rates might be,just kind of like what, what if
there's going to be changes downthe road.
That way you can both you andthe client the agent and the
(06:28):
client can kind of work togetheras far as maybe helping get a
good what you're looking at ratewise and how that's going to
affect it.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
So same as if you're like before you buy a car what
is this going to do to myinsurance?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, buying a take on this new contract, I'll have
to hire five more employees.
Well, how's that going toaffect my rate?
How's it going to affect mycoverage?
You know stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
And one of the things that you mentioned earlier was
also having your insurance agentor broker have a clear
understanding of what it is thatyou do.
So I know we meet with oursonce a year, if not more
frequently, based upon just kindof our goings on, so they're
very familiar with ourorganization and our operations.
But would you recommend anin-person meeting or even like a
(07:10):
tour of offices?
How involved do you think aninsurance broker should be?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I think it's between them and the client.
Some people you know they, justthey don't want to.
You know they, just here's thenumbers.
So it's kind of like you knowhow much the client wants to put
the agent involved.
If it's unclear, if the clientis okay with the agent going on
site and kind of view it, thatsometimes gives an agent a
better idea as far as theexposures of what's going on.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And make sure everything's rated right.
Definitely review, talk to thembecause operations change year
to year.
You could own a bar and you'reopen.
You close at 10 every night andthen all of a sudden you decide
to be open till 2.
That could change the risk.
Or you were just serving beerand then all of a sudden now
(07:59):
you're serving alcohol and foodI mean hard liquor and food so
that changes the exposure.
Or like a church you could be achurch and all of a sudden
you're going to be running adaycare from it.
You know that happens in themiddle of policy term Sometimes.
You know, walking through youcan kind of see that and also
agents can kind of maybe justsee things that might be an
issue.
Come underwriting for hazards,you know that looks like that
(08:24):
might be an issue withunderwriting.
So, it can be addressed a littlebit sooner.
So you know that looks likethat might be an issue with
underwriting.
So it can be addressed a littlebit sooner.
So you know, as always, themore information you had,
sometimes it's better.
That way there's no less chanceof surprises.
It's just basically what theclient and the agent feels
comfortable with.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Good Well, switching gears just a tiny bit.
You've been accredited with BBBfor several years now and I
know I remember when we firstmet and you came on board as an
accredited business and werelike, OK, tell me what this is
and why I should be accredited,and we had a long conversation
about it.
And so now that you've beenwith us for years and I'm so
(08:58):
glad that you've stayed on boardI'm curious what benefits you
see from being accreditedbusiness and why you choose to
stay accredited business and whyyou choose to stay.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Still, being old school, you know the BBB still
has that One of the first placesthat you could go to as a
consumer for validation of howthe business goes Comments, you
know and that they're actually alegitimate business.
I think that still holds someweight, holds a lot of weight
because of just the history.
So I just think just beingaccredited and knowing that the
consumers can actually file acomplaint and it's looked into,
(09:31):
I think holds a lot of weight,you know still.
So it's also good to have that.
You know people, when you seeaccredited it means there's at
least some process, edit processthat that business went through
to be accredited and thatthey're meeting certain
standards to be accredited, justnot paying money for it, that
they do have to actually meetcertain standards.
That's the reason I keep it.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Okay, good.
So as a business owner and aconsumer, you still look for
accredited businesses and ifthose businesses display their
seal of accreditation and usingthe website, yes, One thing I do
is I do go and look and say youknow, are they accredited?
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Are they licensed?
You know, do they have any?
Are they accredited?
Bbb Are there any bad reviewson BBB?
My understanding with BBB is ifit's a, just because a review
is not necessarily posted unlessyou guys do research on it, it
has to be verified, just postanything they want.
There's no validation as far asthat person.
So at least if someone's got abad review on their website to
(10:30):
me on their profile, that meansthat the BBB at least did some
validation, that there wasconcerns, that this was a
legitimate complaint.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
And post it, as opposed to just willy-nilly.
I didn't.
You know, I didn't like the wayyou talked to me.
I'll post a bad review, so.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yeah, that's accurate .
We do get people that call andsay I just want an apology.
I'm like that's not what we'rehere for.
It needs to be an actualinteraction where you need a
resolution.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
So it just gives another validation for my
business.
Excellent.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
You are a business that comes to most of our
networking events, which I lovethat you are engaged that way.
I'm curious how that hasbenefited your business.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I just think just getting your name out to other
business owners so you know youmight not naturally do business
for them, but they have you inmind for other people you know
they see you around, that youget to know them, the trust you
know, and then just being ableto be seen out there that you
are open for business.
Other business owners see youas open for business.
So, just again, validation andverification that you're around
(11:34):
and you're looking for clientsand you're active and you're
hopefully get to know the peoplethere that they trust you get
to know you where they can.
They feel comfortable, though,about referring people to you.
Yeah, and vice versa too.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Yeah, I'm sure you've made some good connections over
the years.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, I have.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
That's good.
So, with everything that we'vetalked about today, and just the
insurance industry specifically, what is the like?
One big takeaway, or two bigtakeaways that you would love
for business owners to think?
Everybody has a pocketbook,whether it's business or
personal.
Price isn't the end-all be-all,as far as what a policy.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
It's just looking at what you're being quoted.
If you own a commercialbuilding, what's the value of
the insurance in the building?
What type of valuation are theyinsuring it for?
Replacement cost, actual cashvalue?
What's your deductible?
Is it a 2%?
When it hails a 5%, is it a 10%deductible?
Because all that is going todetermine the rate.
So a lot of people say, even onthe commercial side, is this
(12:41):
person quoted me X amount ofdollars?
The devil's in the details.
It's like, okay, what are theycovering, like a building?
(13:02):
How much are they covering thebuilding for?
Are they doing replacementcosts versus natural cash value?
Are they quoting a 10% win-hailor are they time of claim?
You're going to pay it one endor the other.
You're either going to pay atthe premium or what they pay you
on the claim.
That's what I just tell people.
Just look at your policy.
What's written.
Ask questions.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Mind your exclusions.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, look at what's not covered.
But also, you know, like,what's the difference in this
quote versus that quote or thesequotes?
And they're not all going to bethe same, they're not all going
to be exact.
So you'll have to make adecision that's best for your
business or family and go withit.
But it's looking at the details.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Excellent.
Okay, so one of the things Iwanted to touch on today is your
website.
You have a lot of differentinformation for a variety of
people on your website, so tellus a little bit about what
individuals, consumers, businessowners can find when they go to
your website.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Typically I have, like the major carriers that I
represent, their contactinformation has, like if someone
needs to make a payment, youknow, claim processes and stuff
like that.
Also blogs, like a lot ofpeople do, just things that I
find that might help clientsinformation about if you're a
contractor or if you own arestaurant, just things you I
find that might help clients'information about if you're a
contractor or if you own arestaurant, just things you
might want to consider as far ascoverages or things that
(14:18):
they're not all be all.
You know it's not all be alllist, but it just kind of helps.
Hey, I didn't think about that.
And then you know also justnon-insurance related stuff that
still affects everybody, likefraud, cyber risk, stuff like
that.
So just stuff that I findinteresting, that I think that
my clients or people might, youknow, think about.
Just looking at it might behelpful.
(14:40):
So even if it's a little tidbitof information that they can
put away and maybe help themlater on, or a question they
might ask their own agent orsomebody that's doing some form
Perfect, like you know, like ifyou own your house, people don't
think do you hire a contractor?
Do you have, can I see yourcertificate of insurance, just
things like people don't realize.
Hey, he tells me he's insured.
Or, like you know, did you go?
(15:00):
You know you hire anelectrician.
Did you go to the electrical,the industry boards and see if
their license is still valid?
So do you want to hire anelectrician that the license is
not valid and doesn't haveinsurance?
I mean, probably not.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Which is why you should choose an accredited
business.
That's another thing, becausethey check that for you.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
That is true.
If you go to BBB and just go totheir websites, type in
electrician and then find onenear your zip code, they're more
than likely probably they arelicensed and they're having bad
reviews.
So that's another reason youuse BBB.
Yeah, but people don't think ofthat like what happens if that
person you hire doesn't haveinsurance and they burn down
your house, right, that's anextreme situation, but it's
(15:40):
stuff like that.
They don't necessarily have tobe like you need these coverages
, but just things that aretangent to the insurance world
that hopefully get people just alittle tidbit and information
that might be able to help themin their lives.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yeah, excellent.
Well, we will be sure toinclude your website and more
details about your blog also inour details for our show.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Well, thank you for being here with us today.
I certainly appreciate it.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
You can certainly find pastepisodes and this episode on our
YouTube channel and any otherplace that you can listen to
podcasts, and thank you forjoining us and we're excited to
see you next time.
Bye.
Hi, welcome to Build with BBB podcast.
My name is Kit Letcher, I'm thepresident and CEO for BBB,
serving Central Oklahoma, and Iwill be guest hosting our
podcast today and I am soexcited to be here with Stephen
Conway with Stephen ConwayInsurance, and we're going to be
talking about the very hottopic of commercial insurance.
So I hope that you get somegood nuggets and takeaways from
(00:23):
today's conversation and,stephen, thank you for being
here.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Good, we're excited that you're here.
So I'm curious about you know,insurance is probably not
something that people just wakeup one day and think you know
what I want to do Insurance.
I'm really excited about thatas my calling and career path,
so I'm curious how did you getinto this line of business?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Out of college first job just sort of grew with it
and I worked on the company sideof it in different aspects.
And then about 20-some yearsago I had the opportunity to
open my own agency and I did.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Nice, that's excellent.
Have you always been here inOklahoma?
Yes, okay.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Born and raised.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I love it so you understand the dynamics of being
an Oklahoma business.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Oklahoma small business owner.
Yes, because that's really yourbread and butter?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I hope I do.
It's great.
So I'm curious what are thethings that you really like
about providing insurance andworking with your clients in
insurance?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
It's just trying to get policies and coverages to
help them, because you don'tneed insurance until you need it
.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
And you know otherwise you don't need the
coverage until you need it.
So it's just hopefully get thempolicies, in event of an
unforeseeable loss, that theyhave coverage in place to help
compensate for their damages andlosses without them being too
much out of pocket.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, like you said, younever know what you need until
you actually need it.
And then an event happens andthen people often go back and
think, oh my gosh, what did Ieven sign up for?
Did I get the right kind ofinsurance?
So I'm curious what you've seenover the years as being some of
the biggest hurdles orroadblocks that business owners
face.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
On the insurance side .
I just think sometimes it justwhat industry they're in,
sometimes it just makes themharder to place and then
companies at times have changesin appetite so they end up
having to are forced to movebecause the company is no longer
riding that appetite.
Some of the biggest changeswere like property trying to get
your property covered intoday's market if you're on the
(02:13):
building so that's some of thehurdles is just trying to change
in the industry.
Not necessarily you didanything wrong, but just the
appetite for that particularwhat you're doing.
Carriers suddenly no longerwant to write or really restrict
what they're doing.
You're really trying to find aplace to place them.
So that's what I find sometimesthe most difficult.
(02:33):
That's the way the marketchanges and sometimes people are
just left sort of holding thebags or trying to where do we go
from here?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, and I'm assuming that's why working with
somebody like you makes itreally easy, because you can
help direct people to the rightkind of path forward, or hey,
these are some changes that arecoming, so things that you might
want to consider changing orlooking at for the next couple
of years.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yes, yeah, just the change in the market and then
helping find a carrier ormarketplace that fits with what
they need in a policy.
Yeah, and also companies arethere to help the insurance too.
So, like a lot of companies onthe commercial side of risk
management companies to helpmitigate, minimize coverages.
So it's just not all aboutpaying claims, sometimes
(03:20):
commercial.
A lot of commercial carriers dohave risk management teams in
place to help clients, you know,to see where there might be
issues and help mitigate them.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, can you think of any like situations and I
realize I'm putting you on thespot when I say this Can you?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
think of any situations where you've seen
that really work well for someof your clients.
This year's gone on theworkers' comp side is that when
I worked for a company we hadsome companies that had high
losses and they got the riskmanagement team involved and
they made recommendations.
The company companies heededtheir recommendations and then
after a few years they noticed adecrease in claims, helps lower
(04:04):
claims, typically helps theirworkers' comp rates and stuff
like that.
So it can be valuable if thecompany is willing to take heed
of that Right.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Sometimes we don't want the advice forgiven.
Yeah, it's fair.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
So yeah, so you know, but then also the primary job
of the company is to pay theclaims.
Legitimate claims Right.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Right, what as you're working with your clients and
you're going through theirpolicies and doing annual
renewals and things like that,what are the questions you wish
that business owners would askor think about before they come
to that meeting as a way to bemore educated or well-informed,
so that they're leaving with theright information?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I think just giving the agents a clear understanding
of what you're doing you know,the clearer you are that the
agent understands what you'redoing, that way they can get a
better idea of what coveragesyou might need and plus relay
that to the underwriters too.
Yeah, you know also whatchanges you might seek going on
in the down the road.
That way we can be prepared.
(05:02):
And then also, I mean justasking also what's not be
covered for, and people don'trealize that, whether it's
commercial, personal, whatever,sometimes it's not so much
what's covered, it's theexclusions, limitations and
restrictions in the policy thatare just as important, or maybe
even more important than theactual what's actually covered
in the language of the policy.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah, that's a really great point.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think a lot of people lose what's covered.
Well, okay, this is covered,but you need to look at what's
also not covered.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Here's the things that won't be paid for yeah, and
you know.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I think that's a lot of people they lose that you
know that's a big thing, that Ithink a lot of people they
don't focus, they don't payattention to that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, yeah, no, that makes perfect sense.
I'm curious when you say thatthe business owner should come
and be prepared to talk aboutwhat changes they're seeking,
and what kind of things wouldthat entail?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Like if they're planning on hiring more people,
if they're making to look totake on more payroll, if your
thing's based on payroll, thatcould have a negative impact at
audit.
Because that way you might beable to be proactive and get it
adjusted midterm as opposed toaudit and you're not hit.
See what the rates might be,just kind of like what, what if
there's going to be changes downthe road.
That way you can both you andthe client the agent and the
(06:28):
client can kind of work togetheras far as maybe helping get a
good what you're looking at ratewise and how that's going to
affect it.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
So same as if you're like before you buy a car what
is this going to do to myinsurance?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, buying a take on this new contract, I'll have
to hire five more employees.
Well, how's that going toaffect my rate?
How's it going to affect mycoverage?
You know stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
And one of the things that you mentioned earlier was
also having your insurance agentor broker have a clear
understanding of what it is thatyou do.
So I know we meet with oursonce a year, if not more
frequently, based upon just kindof our goings on, so they're
very familiar with ourorganization and our operations.
But would you recommend anin-person meeting or even like a
(07:10):
tour of offices?
How involved do you think aninsurance broker should be?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I think it's between them and the client.
Some people you know they, justthey don't want to.
You know they, just here's thenumbers.
So it's kind of like you knowhow much the client wants to put
the agent involved.
If it's unclear, if the clientis okay with the agent going on
site and kind of view it, thatsometimes gives an agent a
better idea as far as theexposures of what's going on.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And make sure everything's rated right.
Definitely review, talk to thembecause operations change year
to year.
You could own a bar and you'reopen.
You close at 10 every night andthen all of a sudden you decide
to be open till 2.
That could change the risk.
Or you were just serving beerand then all of a sudden now
(07:59):
you're serving alcohol and foodI mean hard liquor and food so
that changes the exposure.
Or like a church you could be achurch and all of a sudden
you're going to be running adaycare from it.
You know that happens in themiddle of policy term Sometimes.
You know, walking through youcan kind of see that and also
agents can kind of maybe justsee things that might be an
issue.
Come underwriting for hazards,you know that looks like that
(08:24):
might be an issue withunderwriting.
So, it can be addressed a littlebit sooner.
So you know that looks likethat might be an issue with
underwriting.
So it can be addressed a littlebit sooner.
So you know, as always, themore information you had,
sometimes it's better.
That way there's no less chanceof surprises.
It's just basically what theclient and the agent feels
comfortable with.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Good Well, switching gears just a tiny bit.
You've been accredited with BBBfor several years now and I
know I remember when we firstmet and you came on board as an
accredited business and werelike, OK, tell me what this is
and why I should be accredited,and we had a long conversation
about it.
And so now that you've beenwith us for years and I'm so
(08:58):
glad that you've stayed on boardI'm curious what benefits you
see from being accreditedbusiness and why you choose to
stay accredited business and whyyou choose to stay.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Still, being old school, you know the BBB still
has that One of the first placesthat you could go to as a
consumer for validation of howthe business goes Comments, you
know and that they're actually alegitimate business.
I think that still holds someweight, holds a lot of weight
because of just the history.
So I just think just beingaccredited and knowing that the
consumers can actually file acomplaint and it's looked into,
(09:31):
I think holds a lot of weight,you know still.
So it's also good to have that.
You know people, when you seeaccredited it means there's at
least some process, edit processthat that business went through
to be accredited and thatthey're meeting certain
standards to be accredited, justnot paying money for it, that
they do have to actually meetcertain standards.
That's the reason I keep it.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Okay, good.
So as a business owner and aconsumer, you still look for
accredited businesses and ifthose businesses display their
seal of accreditation and usingthe website, yes, One thing I do
is I do go and look and say youknow, are they accredited?
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Are they licensed?
You know, do they have any?
Are they accredited?
Bbb Are there any bad reviewson BBB?
My understanding with BBB is ifit's a, just because a review
is not necessarily posted unlessyou guys do research on it, it
has to be verified, just postanything they want.
There's no validation as far asthat person.
So at least if someone's got abad review on their website to
(10:30):
me on their profile, that meansthat the BBB at least did some
validation, that there wasconcerns, that this was a
legitimate complaint.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
And post it, as opposed to just willy-nilly.
I didn't.
You know, I didn't like the wayyou talked to me.
I'll post a bad review, so.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yeah, that's accurate .
We do get people that call andsay I just want an apology.
I'm like that's not what we'rehere for.
It needs to be an actualinteraction where you need a
resolution.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
So it just gives another validation for my
business.
Excellent.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
You are a business that comes to most of our
networking events, which I lovethat you are engaged that way.
I'm curious how that hasbenefited your business.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I just think just getting your name out to other
business owners so you know youmight not naturally do business
for them, but they have you inmind for other people you know
they see you around, that youget to know them, the trust you
know, and then just being ableto be seen out there that you
are open for business.
Other business owners see youas open for business.
So, just again, validation andverification that you're around
(11:34):
and you're looking for clientsand you're active and you're
hopefully get to know the peoplethere that they trust you get
to know you where they can.
They feel comfortable, though,about referring people to you.
Yeah, and vice versa too.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Yeah, I'm sure you've made some good connections over
the years.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, I have.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
That's good.
So, with everything that we'vetalked about today, and just the
insurance industry specifically, what is the like?
One big takeaway, or two bigtakeaways that you would love
for business owners to think?
Everybody has a pocketbook,whether it's business or
personal.
Price isn't the end-all be-all,as far as what a policy.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
It's just looking at what you're being quoted.
If you own a commercialbuilding, what's the value of
the insurance in the building?
What type of valuation are theyinsuring it for?
Replacement cost, actual cashvalue?
What's your deductible?
Is it a 2%?
When it hails a 5%, is it a 10%deductible?
Because all that is going todetermine the rate.
So a lot of people say, even onthe commercial side, is this
(12:41):
person quoted me X amount ofdollars?
The devil's in the details.
It's like, okay, what are theycovering, like a building?
(13:02):
How much are they covering thebuilding for?
Are they doing replacementcosts versus natural cash value?
Are they quoting a 10% win-hailor are they time of claim?
You're going to pay it one endor the other.
You're either going to pay atthe premium or what they pay you
on the claim.
That's what I just tell people.
Just look at your policy.
What's written.
Ask questions.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Mind your exclusions.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, look at what's not covered.
But also, you know, like,what's the difference in this
quote versus that quote or thesequotes?
And they're not all going to bethe same, they're not all going
to be exact.
So you'll have to make adecision that's best for your
business or family and go withit.
But it's looking at the details.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Excellent.
Okay, so one of the things Iwanted to touch on today is your
website.
You have a lot of differentinformation for a variety of
people on your website, so tellus a little bit about what
individuals, consumers, businessowners can find when they go to
your website.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Typically I have, like the major carriers that I
represent, their contactinformation has, like if someone
needs to make a payment, youknow, claim processes and stuff
like that.
Also blogs, like a lot ofpeople do, just things that I
find that might help clientsinformation about if you're a
contractor or if you own arestaurant, just things you I
find that might help clients'information about if you're a
contractor or if you own arestaurant, just things you
might want to consider as far ascoverages or things that
(14:18):
they're not all be all.
You know it's not all be alllist, but it just kind of helps.
Hey, I didn't think about that.
And then you know also justnon-insurance related stuff that
still affects everybody, likefraud, cyber risk, stuff like
that.
So just stuff that I findinteresting, that I think that
my clients or people might, youknow, think about.
Just looking at it might behelpful.
(14:40):
So even if it's a little tidbitof information that they can
put away and maybe help themlater on, or a question they
might ask their own agent orsomebody that's doing some form
Perfect, like you know, like ifyou own your house, people don't
think do you hire a contractor?
Do you have, can I see yourcertificate of insurance, just
things like people don't realize.
Hey, he tells me he's insured.
Or, like you know, did you go?
(15:00):
You know you hire anelectrician.
Did you go to the electrical,the industry boards and see if
their license is still valid?
So do you want to hire anelectrician that the license is
not valid and doesn't haveinsurance?
I mean, probably not.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Which is why you should choose an accredited
business.
That's another thing, becausethey check that for you.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
That is true.
If you go to BBB and just go totheir websites, type in
electrician and then find onenear your zip code, they're more
than likely probably they arelicensed and they're having bad
reviews.
So that's another reason youuse BBB.
Yeah, but people don't think ofthat like what happens if that
person you hire doesn't haveinsurance and they burn down
your house, right, that's anextreme situation, but it's
(15:40):
stuff like that.
They don't necessarily have tobe like you need these coverages
, but just things that aretangent to the insurance world
that hopefully get people just alittle tidbit and information
that might be able to help themin their lives.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yeah, excellent.
Well, we will be sure toinclude your website and more
details about your blog also inour details for our show.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Well, thank you for being here with us today.
I certainly appreciate it.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
You can certainly find pastepisodes and this episode on our
YouTube channel and any otherplace that you can listen to
podcasts, and thank you forjoining us and we're excited to
see you next time.
Bye.
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