Have businesses been cutting their insurance policies? Many say, yes. The statistics say yes also. With the economy being especially brutal to small-medium business owners, drastic measures have been noted by insurance agents around the country. Many business owners have seen a decrease in premium just due to the lowering of payroll but this wasn’t enough, they cut extras, and anything that was a policy add-on in an effort to lower the premiums.
Other approaches have been made to get policy premiums lower too. Strategies such as lowering the amount of coverage they carry and switching to a higher deductible, to dropping the amount of company vehicles covered; some have even opted to drop worker compensation coverage along with umbrella policies.
It does appear that businesses are trying to hold on to policies though. A recent survey showed that only 20% of brokers noted an increase in policy cancellations for non-payment, but 50% of the group did agree in seeing a notable increase in the shaving of coverages.
The one good thing that has so far surfaced from these trends is an education. Many business owners have become more insurance savy due to a strong desire to save money. They scrutinized every detail of their policy, researched what other agencies could offer, found deals and learned what they could do without and what they couldn’t.
The main thing to remember is that it shouldn’t always be about the cost alone. Your agent should be able to offer solid advice regarding your business coverage; moreover, the liabilities you could incur without certain coverage. Your agent should be an asset to you and your business.
