New policy insurance thread

I am not sure of the types of operations they will work with. They focus on operations located in AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, FL, GA, OH, VA, IL, IN, NC, SC, TX, and OK. I am not sure they will take on someone outside that area.

 

For new entrants might try out Brands Insurance in Cincinnati, OH, they specialize in truck insurance. Once you get a couple years under your belt break away from brokers who specialize in truck insurance. They mark up premiums, get quotes from local smaller brokers you will be surprised in the difference in cost.

 

Insurance brokers can't mark up insurance prices by law. You pay the same rate for the same product from the same insurance company regardless of which broker you buy it from. The difference is that some brokers specialize in high risk insurance like new truck drivers and car drivers with a recent DUI. Higher premiums equal high commissions. Some brokers can get you quotes from 50 insurance companies, and some brokers only deal with 10 insurance companies, so it pays to shop around. Insurance "agents" only represent a single company such as Allstate, Farmers or State Farm.

 

For hotshot (people running 1 ton pickup) Progressive has good rate. The trick to get around new authority rejection is to insure the pickup as personal vehicle for a few months perhaps 6 month terms then switch over to commercial, this is what I gather from online readings not sure if it works.

 

Try National General. That was the only one that would write my new dot.

 

What was the total for 1st year?

 

Actually they can mark up the premium, that's why 5 different agents quoting the same insurance company can come back with 5 different premiums. The only thing that is the same is base rate that each insurance company had to file with each state every 6 months to year.

 

Actually, no they can't. If there are variations in rates for the same insurance company for exactly the same product, then they are quoting some additional benefits that you aren't seeing or they aren't explaining. Brokers don't determine the rates or the commission percentages, those are set by the insurance company. I was a licensed insurance broker in 12 states for 30 years, and I could never quote a lower rate for exactly the same product that another broker was quoting. You said it yourself that the "base rate" is the same. Different brokers will quote additional benefits to change the rate, but other brokers can add those benefits as well if you want them. The rates are broken down by coverage type. It isn't difficult to compare the rate breakdown to see what the differences are between quotes from different brokers.

 

What state and lines did you write? Did you do commercial or just personal?

Except when it comes to commercial policies. Those are truly a free for all. This last round of renewals came back with 3 quotes from different agencies all quoting the same stuff but all with vastly different rates. The difference in rates were almost a $10k spread between the 3 agents.

 

I was licensed in the 11 western states and New York for life only and F&C commercial. Unless something has changed in the last couple of years, that's not something I could ever do legally. So those 3 different rates were for the exact same plan through the same insurance companies? Unless the brokers are charging a separate processing or service fee which is allowed. But it has to be listed separately from the insurance rate and I've never heard of one that exceeded a flat $100 or perhaps $25 per month for processing ACH withdraws from your bank account. If you do receive a quote for the same plan limits through the same insurance company from different brokers and the rate has huge variations without disclosing the reasons why, I would ask for the rate breakdown, and if they are charging excessive fees it might be something worth bringing up with your state insurance commissioner office, or perhaps call the insurance company direct to see if they can explain it.