November 3, 2025 • 23 mins
Work with Me: (https://tidycal.com/eringray/45-min-call-with-erin)
Most founders treat business insurance like a checkbox, hoping they never have to think about it again. In this episode, I simplify General Liability Insurance (GLI), breaking down what it covers, essential questions to ask your insurance agent, and how to approach insurance as part of your overall money management strategy.
In this episode we discuss:
- Clear definitions of what General Liability Insurance is and what it covers
- How to vet insurance agents for fit, values and industry expertise.
- The exact questions to ask about coverage, limits, exclusions, and endorsements.
- How premiums are calculated
- What to expect from annual audits, revenue estimates, and reserve planning.
Other ways to connect with me:
Come learn with me in my monthly workshops
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From my soul to yours,
Erin
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Erin Gray (00:00):
I know that insurance isn't the most favorite thing
for you to talk about or thinkabout when you actually think
about your business.
And also it is one of thosethings that we need to
understand.
So I'm going to dive intogeneralizability insurance
today.
That's it.
And I'm going to make it fun.
Because I think for a lot of uswomen entrepreneurs, I think it
(00:22):
can feel overwhelming andintimidating.
And so you may not necessarilyknow the questions to ask or
what to think about.
So in this episode, I'm goingto break down the key questions
to ask your insurance agent, orif you're looking to get a new
one about general liability sothat you can be insured
properly.
So let's dive in.
(00:42):
Okay, Ramesh.
So then this is where you fadeout the music because I'm going
to start teaching.
Okay.
So I want to say first andforemost, like everything, like
from this caveat of, well, firstof all, let me back up.
Obviously, I'm not an insuranceagent, I'm not an attorney,
blah, blah, blah, all my all ofthose disclaimers.
Okay.
But I have, as you know, yearsand years and years of doing
(01:05):
this type of work.
So from the 5D, the energeticperspective, we want to be
making a decision aboutinsurance from an empowered
place, from the assumption thateverything is working out and
not a fear-based place.
And so many insurance agentsand companies come from a
(01:26):
fear-based place.
So I want you to keep that inmind as I'm talking to you and
diving into the questions thatyou need to be asking.
Are you wearing your empowered,knowledgeable, assuming
everything is going to work outfor me hat, or are you coming
from a fear-based place?
So keep this in mind when youare talking to your insurance
agent.
(01:46):
Like I call it playing the 3Dgame, right?
A lot of times, most of thetime now, I live in the 5D, in
the energetic, in the spiritual,in my emotions, in my feeling,
in my intuition.
And I also know that like the3D observed world, even though
it's not exactly real, it's likewhat actually is happening is
in our mind.
But in the 3D world, in thebusiness world, most of these
(02:08):
people haven't caught up yet.
So I do have to play that gamea little bit.
So first and foremost isrecognizing that, right?
Like the three, the businessworld, a lot of it's still like
insurance and attorneys andbookkeepers and banking, a lot
of it, credit card companies,like all of that, financial
institutions, they still operatefrom the 3D world.
(02:32):
So think about insurance.
It's typically required and itmakes customers, not that
anything makes you do that,right?
But like if you're not aware,customers see that you have
general liability insurance, andthen they feel all warm and
fuzzy, even though customersmight actually not understand
what it means that you'reinsured.
So when I'm talking aboutgeneral liability insurance, I'm
(02:54):
talking about how it coversthird-party claims for any type
of like bodily injury, propertydamage, advertising might be in
there depending on your policy.
So I'll give you an example.
Recently, my husband, as I'vementioned, I think I mentioned
this on an episode, my husbandis starting a tree company
business.
So because I know all of theback-end stuff, I told him I
(03:18):
will help you.
So, you know, because he'sstarting a tree company or
business, and let's just use hiscompany as an example.
So let's say that he's cuttinga tree.
God, I'm not talking to you.
So just ignore this.
But for the example, he cuts atree and the tree falls and it
(03:40):
hits the house.
That's considered propertydamage.
Let's say that he cuts a treeand someone walking by and the
tree falls on that person, thatis considered bodily injury.
So that is what I'm talkingabout with your general
liability insurance.
It is for bodily injury andproperty damage.
So when most people, mostclients that I work with and
(04:03):
people that I talk to, they haveLLCs.
And I don't want to get intothe legalities here, but
theoretically speaking, an LLCis just a formation or a legal
entity or structure to protectyou from a personal.
There's lots of nuances andthings you have to do, but
(04:25):
that's the idea behind it.
An LLC is separate from youfrom personal.
And this is where I go back tobecause I have financial
knowledge, because I have beenin the financial industry,
financial planning, I understandthe way that certain investment
vehicles work.
And I don't want to go too deepinto this, but it pays to
(04:49):
understand when someone tellsyou, like, oh, well, you know,
having an LLC or having anumbrella policy is really going
to help you.
This is where I kind ofwouldn't say kind of, I really
have knowledge of qualifiedaccounts and non-qualified
accounts and actuallyunderstanding how this stuff
(05:10):
works.
So a lot of times insuranceagents might just like spew out
information.
But the point I want you to getfrom this is like you got to
ask questions and go deeper andmake them answer some of these
deeper questions because I thinka lot of people are just taught
in the insurance industry andthey may not actually understand
how this works.
(05:31):
So I'll leave that there forright now.
I I might do a podcast onqualified and non-qualified
accounts and how that actuallyworks.
So, you know, ideally thegeneral liability is going to
protect, and I don't even likethat word, right?
Like that's a very 3D word oflike we're having to protect
something, but it will protectyour business should something,
(05:55):
you know, some event happen.
And a lot of times insuranceagent might be like, well, it'll
protect your personal assetstoo.
And that's a whole rabbit holethat we can get into another.
But basically, it's going togive someone else, like I said,
it's going to give somebody elsea warm and fuzzy.
And if something does happen,is that you're probably what
(06:16):
I've always been told is you'reprobably going to settle out of
court anyways, because they'regoing to see the amount of
insurance you have.
So ideally, and I'm just beingvery general here, is the
general liability will help youtake care of, protect your
business and your personalassets and ensures that
(06:39):
basically if something were tohappen that the that the person
that is having to file the claimagainst your insurance is going
to be taken care of.
And because it's we live in the3D world, you know, what I have
been told is a lot of times youhave plenty of insurance.
Anything happens, you'reprobably going to settle out of
court.
(06:59):
It's not going to go to court.
So obviously, I'm not anattorney.
I'm not an insurance agent, butbasically you've got some
insurance that will take care ofthat.
So you're not having to comeout of pocket.
And also, hopefully, your anytype of personal assets are not
named in any type of incident.
(07:20):
Okay.
So really, this is what I wantto get into is like these are
the questions that you need tobe asking your insurance agent.
First and foremost, witheverything, is starting with do
you energetically align withthem?
My experience, you know, whenJason, my husband, decided to
start his company, I was like,okay, we need to get these types
of insurances.
(07:41):
Let me call a couple of people.
And one of the people that Icalled, I was asking her some
very specific questions.
I already knew the answers, butI was kind of checking to see
what she knew.
And I just was getting thisfeeling in my body, not just
because she didn't know theanswers, but it just didn't feel
it felt very transactional.
And she was telling me, justsubmit an application.
And I was like, hold on asecond.
(08:02):
Like, I don't even want to godown that route.
Like, first and foremost, Iwant to connect with someone
heart to heart, energetically,make sure we're on the same
page.
And then I want to look atapplication process.
So I always start with the 5Dfirst.
Energetically, do you actuallymatch with this person?
Do you want to have arelationship with this person?
Because ideally, as you grow,as you scale, you want to be
(08:27):
able to have a relationship foran extended period of time
because they're going to adviseyou and they're going to grow
with you and they're going togive you things to think about
that you might not be thinkingabout.
So, first and foremost isenergetic.
Do you actually match?
And I would call two to threepeople so you can get an idea of
what you feel like, or, youknow, zoom or see them if
(08:48):
they're local, but zoom them orhave a conversation to see if
you actually, you know,frequency-wise align.
I guess the first question thatyou would start to ask is
asking them if they have clientsin your industry that they
currently are supporting.
If they don't have knowledge ofyour industry, then they can't
(09:09):
provide you proper support andinform you of the questions that
you need to be thinking aboutor common claims so that you are
properly insured.
Like I've had clients come tome and tell me that they had
like a farmer's insurance agent.
No knocking on farmer'sinsurance agent and also like
business general liabilityinsurance, you actually need to
(09:29):
probably go through an agencywhere they can go out and they
can get multiple differentcarriers.
And they do, like I view anagency or an insurance agent
kind of in the same realm of afinancial planner, right?
Like I thought of it from a30,000-foot view for my clients.
And then I suggested multiplethings and then let them be able
(09:50):
to make their decision versuslike pigeonholing them.
Like farmers is typically whatI call captive, is they're going
to provide you with that typeof insurance versus being
knowledgeable, knowing aboutlots of different insurances,
business insurances, and thengoing out and going to different
insurance carriers.
Okay.
So the second thing is askingthem, what does my policy
(10:14):
actually cover?
So understanding what thelimits are for your bodily
injury, property damage, whatare the exclusions?
And I know that this can feellike, ugh, you know, insurance.
Like I know this might be rightup there with bookkeeping.
And also the time to understandyour policy is not when you're
(10:34):
using it.
So this is where I say, like,we've got to put our big girl
panties, get big boy panties on,and we gotta actually do some
of the stuff of the businessworld, right?
Like this is part of takingcare of yourself and your
business.
And I don't think we get tothis isn't where we get to just
outsource it and be like, so andso my insurance agent is taking
care of this.
No, like you need to understandthese things because as you
(10:58):
grow, you want to know becauseotherwise you're just going to
take yourself wherever you go.
So it's important that youunderstand some of this stuff at
a very foundational level.
The next question is are thereany gaps in my coverage that I
should be aware of or mindfulof?
Like ensure that your specificbusiness activities are
(11:18):
protected.
Like we just reviewed Jason'spolicy and it said anything that
has to do with any type ofcannabis was a complete out.
So I'm sure a lot of you arenot in the cannabis industry.
And also, like you here you goback to knowing, like having
your insurance agent know yourindustry and like what is
included and what is notincluded.
(11:39):
So um if they can't, if theycan't advise you, or I always
look at it as if because theyhave clients in your specific
industry, they're going to seeclaims come through.
They're going to see thingsthat you may not even be
thinking about as you grow andscale that they can pro that
(12:01):
they can advise you on and proand and mentor you because they
already have clients that are,you know, next level.
Also, what is the claimsprocess like?
Like, know how to file a claim.
A lot of times, here's what youideally want.
You ideally want to have aninsurance agent who then has a
(12:21):
couple or a team, like maybe twoor three people.
Like one person does billing,one person does certificate of
insurances, one person is likeyour account rep.
You know, like your insuranceagent is gonna be the person
that actually writes yourpolicy.
But more often than not, you'reprobably gonna be paired with
an account rep.
Um, unless it's a pretty, Idon't know, in-depth question.
(12:43):
You might go back to the to themain um insurance agent, but
they will have uh an account repthat you'll be assigned to that
you can connect with.
Any type of like audits or youknow, the policies get issued,
you're gonna have your insuranceagent is gonna probably take
care of that.
But just the, I don't want tosay the day-to-day, but like if
you have questions, theytypically pair you with an
(13:04):
account rep.
So know how to file a claim.
Like, what is the process?
Um, are you gonna have like aclaims manager that you work
with?
Or are they gonna just funnelyou off and you have to dial a
1-800 number?
So working with someone thathas a team, I think is
important.
It shows that they've been inbusiness for some time.
They have multiple years in thebusiness.
(13:26):
And then, you know, if you'vegot any issues with certificates
of insurance or billing or, youknow, claims or anything like
that, like you have certainpeople that you reach out to
that can support you.
The next question isunderstanding how your premiums
are calculated and ways to save,I guess.
Like a lot of times if you havepolicies, like if you have an
(13:49):
auto policy and you have ageneral liability and you have
Inland Marine and an umbrella,all of that, if it's typically
covered under one company,you'll get a discount, just like
your personal, right?
Like if you have your home andyour auto, they give you
discounts.
So depending on the industry,they might rate you or rate the
policy off of revenue, like yourincome and your payroll, or it
(14:12):
could just be payroll.
So ask about and understandthat.
Also, ask them, like Imentioned, about bundling the
policies or receiving discounts.
Because, like I mentioned, youknow, if you've got EO coverage
and umbrella and, you know, autoand general liability that
might go down, the price mightgo down because you're all at
one insurance company orcarrier, I should say.
(14:35):
Also, you want to ask forgeneral liability, you want to
ask about do they do annualaudits?
I have never met any insuranceagent that writes for general
liability that they don't do anaudit.
Most people do not know this.
So you need to understand howthat works and to also have your
(14:56):
insurance agent be on top ofit.
Like I've had two, two caseswhere one was the person did not
know that they needed to beaudited.
And so then they made more thanwhat they expected.
And when it came to audit time,they owed quite in the six
figures of audit money that theyhadn't accounted for.
(15:19):
Thankfully, he had the cash inthe account to pay for it, but
he didn't know that.
I've also had someone who liketheir insurance agent just like
ghosted them, like issued thepolicy, and then that's it.
Like this is another person whois on your team.
They need to be talking to youon a consistent basis.
And that doesn't mean to be,that doesn't need to be every
(15:40):
week, but quarterly or you know,twice a year, or just you
checking in, it's important.
Like you, you need people onyour team to support you.
So understanding how a generalliability works so that you're
not caught off guard when itcomes time to audit time.
Also, the question to ask is dothey charge for certificate of
(16:03):
insurance requests?
Some do and some don't.
Just ask that question.
Also, I don't know if this isthe correct wording, but like I
always ask, like, are they anover-under policy?
So, meaning if you give them anumber, a revenue number, and
let's say you don't hit it,which I don't, you know, like
(16:24):
energetically, I don't want togo down that path.
But like, okay, let's just sayyou don't.
Are they going to refund youthe premium difference?
Or are they only a policy thatif you go above it, then they'll
charge you.
So they're not going to giveyou the refund.
But that is something that youdo want to know and you do want
to ask so that you do understandwhat and and like what number
(16:44):
do you want to use?
Or, you know, when you areplanning for the revenue.
Also, I always did quarterlyreports on the general liability
and our well, our work comp wedid every month.
But on general liability, Iwould pull a report every single
quarter because I would want toknow are we in line with our
revenue of what we told them andour payroll?
(17:05):
Or are we under, are we over?
So that more so if we are over,then I wanted to be putting
money aside, or I wanted to beum, I think I would put it
aside.
I don't think I would mail itin.
I would put it aside so thatwhen it came time to audit, I
had the funds to be able to paythem.
So just being aware of howgeneral liability works, how
(17:26):
audits work.
You know, most insurance agentsdon't sit with you during the
audit.
And this is some of the stuff Ilove to do with clients is like
guiding them and helping andempowering them receive more
financial clarity on this kindof stuff in your business, you
know, like the insurance and thetaxes and the bookkeeping, like
I call it like all the CFOingstuff, right?
(17:48):
And I love to help women inthis regard.
So if you have been here for awhile and you know that this is
something that you are wantingsome support with, not just, you
know, the 3D part of this, butalso like the emotional side,
right?
Like I know that it can feeloverwhelming at times.
(18:09):
I know that sometimes fear cancreep in and that's normal, but
having someone alongside you,helping you, mentoring you,
supporting you along yourjourney, um, having someone in
your corner that gets it, youknow, I've been there, I
understand, I know what all ofthis looks and sounds and feels
like, not just in a theorylevel, right?
(18:29):
But like in real live business,I'm here to help you and I'm
here to support you.
So if that is something that isof interest to you and you
would love to connect and see ifwe are a good fit for each
other, all you have to do isjust click the link in the show
notes and schedule a good timefor you and we can have a
conversation and see how I canhelp.
So those are the questions thatI would ask if I was
(18:49):
interviewing either a newinsurance agent andor my current
one.
And then let's talk about themindset.
So I think whether it bebookkeeping or taxes or
insurance or talking to yourbusiness attorney, like
sometimes because we have somany beliefs and feelings around
money and what our nervoussystem feels with money and
(19:13):
business, it can feeloverwhelming, you know, it can
feel a little anxiety-ridden.
And I want you to know that youaren't the only woman that
experiences this.
A lot of women share theirsentiments with me of like it
feels like a lot.
And this isn't something that'staught in business school.
It's not taught most times, youknow, by the people that you
(19:36):
hire.
And some of that is because wedon't know the questions to ask.
And I also think some of it isbecause some of the mentors,
they're they may not be at theplace where they actually like
really want to teach.
And that's nothing bad on them,but I just think that we all
deserve to have really fantasticmentors and advisors, people
that are in our corner that wantto see us grow and want to
(20:00):
teach us and want us to learnthis stuff so that we can be
educated and empowered so we canmake good financial, and I'm
saying good in air quotes, butlike good financial decisions
for us and our companies.
So I do want to say though thatit doesn't get better by
avoiding it.
Like this is the stuff thatdoesn't get to be bypassed.
(20:21):
Understanding your booksdoesn't get to be bypassed.
Understanding how taxes workdoesn't get to be bypassed.
Understanding how yourinsurance works doesn't get to
be bypassed.
Because here's what's going tohappen.
If you're not willing to takethe time right now to learn some
of this stuff, when you growand when you scale, you are
(20:41):
going to have this kind of stuffjust at a bigger dollar amount.
And learning the lesson in thethousands versus the tens of
thousands or one hundreds ofthousands is a much easier, I
think, less effort way to do it.
So I highly encourage clientsto take the time to do this
(21:03):
foundational work so that youdon't have to learn this, like I
mentioned at one of my friends,at the $100,000 level.
Also, I want you to think aboutinsurance, like I mentioned in
the very beginning, from anabundant place.
You're assuming you won't everuse it and you have it so if
others can just feel warm andfuzzy about it.
You know, it's the part ofdoing business that, you know,
(21:27):
when you feel empowered, whenyou feel knowledgeable in all
areas of your money, the morethat you are going to become and
want to become versed and likeversed in it, and also learning
the language and understandinghow this works.
So working with a trustedadvisor, like this is also part
of self-care.
(21:48):
Self-care just isn't gettingyour nails done, going to the
spa, taking yourself onvacation.
Self-care is caring for yourmoney, caring for your business,
understanding your numbers,understanding how your insurance
works and your bookkeepingworks.
Like that's part of self-care.
Like, think about your businessas a baby.
This is part of caring for yourbaby.
(22:10):
Okay, so I'm gonna leave youwith a couple of like action
steps to take moving forward ofeither back to your insurance
agent or when you're hiringsomeone new.
First and foremost, I alwayslike to write down my questions
that I want clarity on.
Second, you know, setting yourintention like how I did, you
(22:31):
know, after I was already likewhere my awareness was is I was
already past that, right?
Like I was on the phone withthis lady, this one insurance
lady, and I was like, this justdoes not feel good.
So I got off the call, I setthe intention.
What do I actually want?
I want to come from a heartplace, I want to be connected.
I want to, and I even left themessage on two voicemails of
like, I want to be heartconnected and to get to know you
(22:54):
first and see if we're a goodfit for each other, and then
decide about working together.
But I wanted to meet or to talkto someone first before I just
started filling outapplications.
So connecting with someonethat, you know, would operate
from their heart, not theirmind.
And also it is safe.
And I am giving you permission,not that you need any, but I am
(23:16):
giving you permission to askall the questions.
Like the lady that I talked tothat I really connected with
that I love for Jason'sbusiness, I talked to her for 45
minutes before even filling outany application.
I wanted to ask her herexperience.
I wanted to talk about, youknow, the business.
I wanted to talk about myknowledge, what I would think I
would need help with, ask hersome specific questions.
(23:39):
And she was willing to take thetime to do that with me.
And that's what you deserve andyou also want to have in an
insurance agent.
So find someone that is goingto do that for you.
So when you're on the call andyou're, you know, ask all the
questions, take your notes.
Like I have pages of notes thatI have.
And then also afterwards, youdon't have to make a decision on
(24:00):
the call.
Like give yourself time toabsorb what you've learned, what
you've discussed, and then tomake a decision.
You know, I know that insurancesometimes gets a bad rap, and I
know it feels boring andintimidating.
It can feel this way, right?
If we think about it that way.
And this is one of those timesthat like we've got to play in
the 3D world, right?
(24:21):
We got to play the game.
But it is important for you tohave someone in your business
that supports you and you comingfrom the energy of empowered
and connected and grounded andknowledgeable.
Like that is important that youare coming from that energy.
So if you want support, youknow, creating more confidence
(24:42):
with your money, you know, doingsome of this CEO stuff, getting
all of this CEO stuff squaredaway, like making financial,
empowered financial decisions.
I would love to support you.
All you have to do is justclick the link in the show notes
and schedule a call, and we'llsee how I can help you.
But this is part of business,you know, like part of business
(25:02):
isn't just, you know, I thinksometimes we want to like just
do the parts that are in ourminds fun.
Also, too, we can makeinsurance fun.
It's it is a thought.
But this is the part too thatwe've got to do.
Like, this is the place wherewe get to put our pants on and
we get to say, you know what,this is CEO stuff.
I got to take care of this.
And you will thank yourselfdown the road because you will
(25:26):
learn what you need to learn.
You will be able to ask thequestions.
You will work with someone whocares about you and your
business and will be able toguide you as you grow.
Like there's all good, amazingbenefits from this.
So that's where I would startwith the GLI questions.
And as always, I'm rooting foryou.
(25:47):
I believe in you.
And I'll see you in the nextepisode.
I know that insurance isn't the most favorite thing
for you to talk about or thinkabout when you actually think
about your business.
And also it is one of thosethings that we need to
understand.
So I'm going to dive intogeneralizability insurance
today.
That's it.
And I'm going to make it fun.
Because I think for a lot of uswomen entrepreneurs, I think it
(00:22):
can feel overwhelming andintimidating.
And so you may not necessarilyknow the questions to ask or
what to think about.
So in this episode, I'm goingto break down the key questions
to ask your insurance agent, orif you're looking to get a new
one about general liability sothat you can be insured
properly.
So let's dive in.
(00:42):
Okay, Ramesh.
So then this is where you fadeout the music because I'm going
to start teaching.
Okay.
So I want to say first andforemost, like everything, like
from this caveat of, well, firstof all, let me back up.
Obviously, I'm not an insuranceagent, I'm not an attorney,
blah, blah, blah, all my all ofthose disclaimers.
Okay.
But I have, as you know, yearsand years and years of doing
(01:05):
this type of work.
So from the 5D, the energeticperspective, we want to be
making a decision aboutinsurance from an empowered
place, from the assumption thateverything is working out and
not a fear-based place.
And so many insurance agentsand companies come from a
(01:26):
fear-based place.
So I want you to keep that inmind as I'm talking to you and
diving into the questions thatyou need to be asking.
Are you wearing your empowered,knowledgeable, assuming
everything is going to work outfor me hat, or are you coming
from a fear-based place?
So keep this in mind when youare talking to your insurance
agent.
(01:46):
Like I call it playing the 3Dgame, right?
A lot of times, most of thetime now, I live in the 5D, in
the energetic, in the spiritual,in my emotions, in my feeling,
in my intuition.
And I also know that like the3D observed world, even though
it's not exactly real, it's likewhat actually is happening is
in our mind.
But in the 3D world, in thebusiness world, most of these
(02:08):
people haven't caught up yet.
So I do have to play that gamea little bit.
So first and foremost isrecognizing that, right?
Like the three, the businessworld, a lot of it's still like
insurance and attorneys andbookkeepers and banking, a lot
of it, credit card companies,like all of that, financial
institutions, they still operatefrom the 3D world.
(02:32):
So think about insurance.
It's typically required and itmakes customers, not that
anything makes you do that,right?
But like if you're not aware,customers see that you have
general liability insurance, andthen they feel all warm and
fuzzy, even though customersmight actually not understand
what it means that you'reinsured.
So when I'm talking aboutgeneral liability insurance, I'm
(02:54):
talking about how it coversthird-party claims for any type
of like bodily injury, propertydamage, advertising might be in
there depending on your policy.
So I'll give you an example.
Recently, my husband, as I'vementioned, I think I mentioned
this on an episode, my husbandis starting a tree company
business.
So because I know all of theback-end stuff, I told him I
(03:18):
will help you.
So, you know, because he'sstarting a tree company or
business, and let's just use hiscompany as an example.
So let's say that he's cuttinga tree.
God, I'm not talking to you.
So just ignore this.
But for the example, he cuts atree and the tree falls and it
(03:40):
hits the house.
That's considered propertydamage.
Let's say that he cuts a treeand someone walking by and the
tree falls on that person, thatis considered bodily injury.
So that is what I'm talkingabout with your general
liability insurance.
It is for bodily injury andproperty damage.
So when most people, mostclients that I work with and
(04:03):
people that I talk to, they haveLLCs.
And I don't want to get intothe legalities here, but
theoretically speaking, an LLCis just a formation or a legal
entity or structure to protectyou from a personal.
There's lots of nuances andthings you have to do, but
(04:25):
that's the idea behind it.
An LLC is separate from youfrom personal.
And this is where I go back tobecause I have financial
knowledge, because I have beenin the financial industry,
financial planning, I understandthe way that certain investment
vehicles work.
And I don't want to go too deepinto this, but it pays to
(04:49):
understand when someone tellsyou, like, oh, well, you know,
having an LLC or having anumbrella policy is really going
to help you.
This is where I kind ofwouldn't say kind of, I really
have knowledge of qualifiedaccounts and non-qualified
accounts and actuallyunderstanding how this stuff
(05:10):
works.
So a lot of times insuranceagents might just like spew out
information.
But the point I want you to getfrom this is like you got to
ask questions and go deeper andmake them answer some of these
deeper questions because I thinka lot of people are just taught
in the insurance industry andthey may not actually understand
how this works.
(05:31):
So I'll leave that there forright now.
I I might do a podcast onqualified and non-qualified
accounts and how that actuallyworks.
So, you know, ideally thegeneral liability is going to
protect, and I don't even likethat word, right?
Like that's a very 3D word oflike we're having to protect
something, but it will protectyour business should something,
(05:55):
you know, some event happen.
And a lot of times insuranceagent might be like, well, it'll
protect your personal assetstoo.
And that's a whole rabbit holethat we can get into another.
But basically, it's going togive someone else, like I said,
it's going to give somebody elsea warm and fuzzy.
And if something does happen,is that you're probably what
(06:16):
I've always been told is you'reprobably going to settle out of
court anyways, because they'regoing to see the amount of
insurance you have.
So ideally, and I'm just beingvery general here, is the
general liability will help youtake care of, protect your
business and your personalassets and ensures that
(06:39):
basically if something were tohappen that the that the person
that is having to file the claimagainst your insurance is going
to be taken care of.
And because it's we live in the3D world, you know, what I have
been told is a lot of times youhave plenty of insurance.
Anything happens, you'reprobably going to settle out of
court.
(06:59):
It's not going to go to court.
So obviously, I'm not anattorney.
I'm not an insurance agent, butbasically you've got some
insurance that will take care ofthat.
So you're not having to comeout of pocket.
And also, hopefully, your anytype of personal assets are not
named in any type of incident.
(07:20):
Okay.
So really, this is what I wantto get into is like these are
the questions that you need tobe asking your insurance agent.
First and foremost, witheverything, is starting with do
you energetically align withthem?
My experience, you know, whenJason, my husband, decided to
start his company, I was like,okay, we need to get these types
of insurances.
(07:41):
Let me call a couple of people.
And one of the people that Icalled, I was asking her some
very specific questions.
I already knew the answers, butI was kind of checking to see
what she knew.
And I just was getting thisfeeling in my body, not just
because she didn't know theanswers, but it just didn't feel
it felt very transactional.
And she was telling me, justsubmit an application.
And I was like, hold on asecond.
(08:02):
Like, I don't even want to godown that route.
Like, first and foremost, Iwant to connect with someone
heart to heart, energetically,make sure we're on the same
page.
And then I want to look atapplication process.
So I always start with the 5Dfirst.
Energetically, do you actuallymatch with this person?
Do you want to have arelationship with this person?
Because ideally, as you grow,as you scale, you want to be
(08:27):
able to have a relationship foran extended period of time
because they're going to adviseyou and they're going to grow
with you and they're going togive you things to think about
that you might not be thinkingabout.
So, first and foremost isenergetic.
Do you actually match?
And I would call two to threepeople so you can get an idea of
what you feel like, or, youknow, zoom or see them if
(08:48):
they're local, but zoom them orhave a conversation to see if
you actually, you know,frequency-wise align.
I guess the first question thatyou would start to ask is
asking them if they have clientsin your industry that they
currently are supporting.
If they don't have knowledge ofyour industry, then they can't
(09:09):
provide you proper support andinform you of the questions that
you need to be thinking aboutor common claims so that you are
properly insured.
Like I've had clients come tome and tell me that they had
like a farmer's insurance agent.
No knocking on farmer'sinsurance agent and also like
business general liabilityinsurance, you actually need to
(09:29):
probably go through an agencywhere they can go out and they
can get multiple differentcarriers.
And they do, like I view anagency or an insurance agent
kind of in the same realm of afinancial planner, right?
Like I thought of it from a30,000-foot view for my clients.
And then I suggested multiplethings and then let them be able
(09:50):
to make their decision versuslike pigeonholing them.
Like farmers is typically whatI call captive, is they're going
to provide you with that typeof insurance versus being
knowledgeable, knowing aboutlots of different insurances,
business insurances, and thengoing out and going to different
insurance carriers.
Okay.
So the second thing is askingthem, what does my policy
(10:14):
actually cover?
So understanding what thelimits are for your bodily
injury, property damage, whatare the exclusions?
And I know that this can feellike, ugh, you know, insurance.
Like I know this might be rightup there with bookkeeping.
And also the time to understandyour policy is not when you're
(10:34):
using it.
So this is where I say, like,we've got to put our big girl
panties, get big boy panties on,and we gotta actually do some
of the stuff of the businessworld, right?
Like this is part of takingcare of yourself and your
business.
And I don't think we get tothis isn't where we get to just
outsource it and be like, so andso my insurance agent is taking
care of this.
No, like you need to understandthese things because as you
(10:58):
grow, you want to know becauseotherwise you're just going to
take yourself wherever you go.
So it's important that youunderstand some of this stuff at
a very foundational level.
The next question is are thereany gaps in my coverage that I
should be aware of or mindfulof?
Like ensure that your specificbusiness activities are
(11:18):
protected.
Like we just reviewed Jason'spolicy and it said anything that
has to do with any type ofcannabis was a complete out.
So I'm sure a lot of you arenot in the cannabis industry.
And also, like you here you goback to knowing, like having
your insurance agent know yourindustry and like what is
included and what is notincluded.
(11:39):
So um if they can't, if theycan't advise you, or I always
look at it as if because theyhave clients in your specific
industry, they're going to seeclaims come through.
They're going to see thingsthat you may not even be
thinking about as you grow andscale that they can pro that
(12:01):
they can advise you on and proand and mentor you because they
already have clients that are,you know, next level.
Also, what is the claimsprocess like?
Like, know how to file a claim.
A lot of times, here's what youideally want.
You ideally want to have aninsurance agent who then has a
(12:21):
couple or a team, like maybe twoor three people.
Like one person does billing,one person does certificate of
insurances, one person is likeyour account rep.
You know, like your insuranceagent is gonna be the person
that actually writes yourpolicy.
But more often than not, you'reprobably gonna be paired with
an account rep.
Um, unless it's a pretty, Idon't know, in-depth question.
(12:43):
You might go back to the to themain um insurance agent, but
they will have uh an account repthat you'll be assigned to that
you can connect with.
Any type of like audits or youknow, the policies get issued,
you're gonna have your insuranceagent is gonna probably take
care of that.
But just the, I don't want tosay the day-to-day, but like if
you have questions, theytypically pair you with an
(13:04):
account rep.
So know how to file a claim.
Like, what is the process?
Um, are you gonna have like aclaims manager that you work
with?
Or are they gonna just funnelyou off and you have to dial a
1-800 number?
So working with someone thathas a team, I think is
important.
It shows that they've been inbusiness for some time.
They have multiple years in thebusiness.
(13:26):
And then, you know, if you'vegot any issues with certificates
of insurance or billing or, youknow, claims or anything like
that, like you have certainpeople that you reach out to
that can support you.
The next question isunderstanding how your premiums
are calculated and ways to save,I guess.
Like a lot of times if you havepolicies, like if you have an
(13:49):
auto policy and you have ageneral liability and you have
Inland Marine and an umbrella,all of that, if it's typically
covered under one company,you'll get a discount, just like
your personal, right?
Like if you have your home andyour auto, they give you
discounts.
So depending on the industry,they might rate you or rate the
policy off of revenue, like yourincome and your payroll, or it
(14:12):
could just be payroll.
So ask about and understandthat.
Also, ask them, like Imentioned, about bundling the
policies or receiving discounts.
Because, like I mentioned, youknow, if you've got EO coverage
and umbrella and, you know, autoand general liability that
might go down, the price mightgo down because you're all at
one insurance company orcarrier, I should say.
(14:35):
Also, you want to ask forgeneral liability, you want to
ask about do they do annualaudits?
I have never met any insuranceagent that writes for general
liability that they don't do anaudit.
Most people do not know this.
So you need to understand howthat works and to also have your
(14:56):
insurance agent be on top ofit.
Like I've had two, two caseswhere one was the person did not
know that they needed to beaudited.
And so then they made more thanwhat they expected.
And when it came to audit time,they owed quite in the six
figures of audit money that theyhadn't accounted for.
(15:19):
Thankfully, he had the cash inthe account to pay for it, but
he didn't know that.
I've also had someone who liketheir insurance agent just like
ghosted them, like issued thepolicy, and then that's it.
Like this is another person whois on your team.
They need to be talking to youon a consistent basis.
And that doesn't mean to be,that doesn't need to be every
(15:40):
week, but quarterly or you know,twice a year, or just you
checking in, it's important.
Like you, you need people onyour team to support you.
So understanding how a generalliability works so that you're
not caught off guard when itcomes time to audit time.
Also, the question to ask is dothey charge for certificate of
(16:03):
insurance requests?
Some do and some don't.
Just ask that question.
Also, I don't know if this isthe correct wording, but like I
always ask, like, are they anover-under policy?
So, meaning if you give them anumber, a revenue number, and
let's say you don't hit it,which I don't, you know, like
(16:24):
energetically, I don't want togo down that path.
But like, okay, let's just sayyou don't.
Are they going to refund youthe premium difference?
Or are they only a policy thatif you go above it, then they'll
charge you.
So they're not going to giveyou the refund.
But that is something that youdo want to know and you do want
to ask so that you do understandwhat and and like what number
(16:44):
do you want to use?
Or, you know, when you areplanning for the revenue.
Also, I always did quarterlyreports on the general liability
and our well, our work comp wedid every month.
But on general liability, Iwould pull a report every single
quarter because I would want toknow are we in line with our
revenue of what we told them andour payroll?
(17:05):
Or are we under, are we over?
So that more so if we are over,then I wanted to be putting
money aside, or I wanted to beum, I think I would put it
aside.
I don't think I would mail itin.
I would put it aside so thatwhen it came time to audit, I
had the funds to be able to paythem.
So just being aware of howgeneral liability works, how
(17:26):
audits work.
You know, most insurance agentsdon't sit with you during the
audit.
And this is some of the stuff Ilove to do with clients is like
guiding them and helping andempowering them receive more
financial clarity on this kindof stuff in your business, you
know, like the insurance and thetaxes and the bookkeeping, like
I call it like all the CFOingstuff, right?
(17:48):
And I love to help women inthis regard.
So if you have been here for awhile and you know that this is
something that you are wantingsome support with, not just, you
know, the 3D part of this, butalso like the emotional side,
right?
Like I know that it can feeloverwhelming at times.
(18:09):
I know that sometimes fear cancreep in and that's normal, but
having someone alongside you,helping you, mentoring you,
supporting you along yourjourney, um, having someone in
your corner that gets it, youknow, I've been there, I
understand, I know what all ofthis looks and sounds and feels
like, not just in a theorylevel, right?
(18:29):
But like in real live business,I'm here to help you and I'm
here to support you.
So if that is something that isof interest to you and you
would love to connect and see ifwe are a good fit for each
other, all you have to do isjust click the link in the show
notes and schedule a good timefor you and we can have a
conversation and see how I canhelp.
So those are the questions thatI would ask if I was
(18:49):
interviewing either a newinsurance agent andor my current
one.
And then let's talk about themindset.
So I think whether it bebookkeeping or taxes or
insurance or talking to yourbusiness attorney, like
sometimes because we have somany beliefs and feelings around
money and what our nervoussystem feels with money and
(19:13):
business, it can feeloverwhelming, you know, it can
feel a little anxiety-ridden.
And I want you to know that youaren't the only woman that
experiences this.
A lot of women share theirsentiments with me of like it
feels like a lot.
And this isn't something that'staught in business school.
It's not taught most times, youknow, by the people that you
(19:36):
hire.
And some of that is because wedon't know the questions to ask.
And I also think some of it isbecause some of the mentors,
they're they may not be at theplace where they actually like
really want to teach.
And that's nothing bad on them,but I just think that we all
deserve to have really fantasticmentors and advisors, people
that are in our corner that wantto see us grow and want to
(20:00):
teach us and want us to learnthis stuff so that we can be
educated and empowered so we canmake good financial, and I'm
saying good in air quotes, butlike good financial decisions
for us and our companies.
So I do want to say though thatit doesn't get better by
avoiding it.
Like this is the stuff thatdoesn't get to be bypassed.
(20:21):
Understanding your booksdoesn't get to be bypassed.
Understanding how taxes workdoesn't get to be bypassed.
Understanding how yourinsurance works doesn't get to
be bypassed.
Because here's what's going tohappen.
If you're not willing to takethe time right now to learn some
of this stuff, when you growand when you scale, you are
(20:41):
going to have this kind of stuffjust at a bigger dollar amount.
And learning the lesson in thethousands versus the tens of
thousands or one hundreds ofthousands is a much easier, I
think, less effort way to do it.
So I highly encourage clientsto take the time to do this
(21:03):
foundational work so that youdon't have to learn this, like I
mentioned at one of my friends,at the $100,000 level.
Also, I want you to think aboutinsurance, like I mentioned in
the very beginning, from anabundant place.
You're assuming you won't everuse it and you have it so if
others can just feel warm andfuzzy about it.
You know, it's the part ofdoing business that, you know,
(21:27):
when you feel empowered, whenyou feel knowledgeable in all
areas of your money, the morethat you are going to become and
want to become versed and likeversed in it, and also learning
the language and understandinghow this works.
So working with a trustedadvisor, like this is also part
of self-care.
(21:48):
Self-care just isn't gettingyour nails done, going to the
spa, taking yourself onvacation.
Self-care is caring for yourmoney, caring for your business,
understanding your numbers,understanding how your insurance
works and your bookkeepingworks.
Like that's part of self-care.
Like, think about your businessas a baby.
This is part of caring for yourbaby.
(22:10):
Okay, so I'm gonna leave youwith a couple of like action
steps to take moving forward ofeither back to your insurance
agent or when you're hiringsomeone new.
First and foremost, I alwayslike to write down my questions
that I want clarity on.
Second, you know, setting yourintention like how I did, you
(22:31):
know, after I was already likewhere my awareness was is I was
already past that, right?
Like I was on the phone withthis lady, this one insurance
lady, and I was like, this justdoes not feel good.
So I got off the call, I setthe intention.
What do I actually want?
I want to come from a heartplace, I want to be connected.
I want to, and I even left themessage on two voicemails of
like, I want to be heartconnected and to get to know you
(22:54):
first and see if we're a goodfit for each other, and then
decide about working together.
But I wanted to meet or to talkto someone first before I just
started filling outapplications.
So connecting with someonethat, you know, would operate
from their heart, not theirmind.
And also it is safe.
And I am giving you permission,not that you need any, but I am
(23:16):
giving you permission to askall the questions.
Like the lady that I talked tothat I really connected with
that I love for Jason'sbusiness, I talked to her for 45
minutes before even filling outany application.
I wanted to ask her herexperience.
I wanted to talk about, youknow, the business.
I wanted to talk about myknowledge, what I would think I
would need help with, ask hersome specific questions.
(23:39):
And she was willing to take thetime to do that with me.
And that's what you deserve andyou also want to have in an
insurance agent.
So find someone that is goingto do that for you.
So when you're on the call andyou're, you know, ask all the
questions, take your notes.
Like I have pages of notes thatI have.
And then also afterwards, youdon't have to make a decision on
(24:00):
the call.
Like give yourself time toabsorb what you've learned, what
you've discussed, and then tomake a decision.
You know, I know that insurancesometimes gets a bad rap, and I
know it feels boring andintimidating.
It can feel this way, right?
If we think about it that way.
And this is one of those timesthat like we've got to play in
the 3D world, right?
(24:21):
We got to play the game.
But it is important for you tohave someone in your business
that supports you and you comingfrom the energy of empowered
and connected and grounded andknowledgeable.
Like that is important that youare coming from that energy.
So if you want support, youknow, creating more confidence
(24:42):
with your money, you know, doingsome of this CEO stuff, getting
all of this CEO stuff squaredaway, like making financial,
empowered financial decisions.
I would love to support you.
All you have to do is justclick the link in the show notes
and schedule a call, and we'llsee how I can help you.
But this is part of business,you know, like part of business
(25:02):
isn't just, you know, I thinksometimes we want to like just
do the parts that are in ourminds fun.
Also, too, we can makeinsurance fun.
It's it is a thought.
But this is the part too thatwe've got to do.
Like, this is the place wherewe get to put our pants on and
we get to say, you know what,this is CEO stuff.
I got to take care of this.
And you will thank yourselfdown the road because you will
(25:26):
learn what you need to learn.
You will be able to ask thequestions.
You will work with someone whocares about you and your
business and will be able toguide you as you grow.
Like there's all good, amazingbenefits from this.
So that's where I would startwith the GLI questions.
And as always, I'm rooting foryou.
(25:47):
I believe in you.
And I'll see you in the nextepisode.
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