Here's a few simple ways businesses can find savings in their business insurance programs:

Skin In The Game

Many people don’t realize the impact that increasing the amount they’re willing to self-insure can have on their premiums. Start here: why do you buy your insurance? (Because you have to, right?). The entire principle behind insurance is that it’s for the catastrophic claims that you can’t afford to pay out of pocket (think fatal car accident or workplace injury). Yet, most businesses buy their insurance as if it’s for the thousand-dollar fender bender. Increased deductibles tell insurance companies that you’re willing to have some skin in the game and make you a much more desirable risk.

Risk Management

Certain business insurance rates are experience-rated. Meaning, your last few years of claims history are either having a positive or negative impact on your costs. One way to mitigate this is to consider higher deductibles. The other is to have a proactive approach to keeping your employees and your business safe from serious accidents. The difference between a company with a .95 experience rating and the company with a .80 rating is that one is lucky and the other is good. The other difference is 15% in savings.

Review Your Coverages Annually

Businesses experience many changes throughout each year. And, rightfully so, they don’t think about their insurance after every single one. However, many of those changes can have an impact on your overall insurance costs. If your insurance program isn’t keeping stride with your business, you could be paying too much. Also, depending on the work you do, you may no longer have a need for certain coverages. If not, make sure you’re not paying for something you’ll never need.

Shop Around

“I’ve been with so-and-so since I started in business”. When we hear that from business owners, we cringe. We also smile a little on the inside knowing that if given the opportunity, we’ll likely be able to help them out significantly. Insurance agents tend to “mail it in” for long-term clients and they rarely take the time to shop the market to see if there’s a better option out there. Sometimes the best thing you can do is get a fresh set of eyes from another agent every few years to make sure your agent is still earning their commissions and trying to save you money.

Hunter McHugh

McHugh Insurance Group