Van Beurden’s Alternative Approach: A True Story

I recently met with a business that was facing a big premium increase. Here is their story.

This business had a long-standing relationship (20+ years) with their broker and per the business, their relationship with the broker was satisfactory – a very common theme I hear in our industry.

Several months before their Workers’ Compensation renewal date, I made them aware of their 23 point experience modification factor (ex-mod) increase. As you can imagine, the insured received a fairly large premium increase. The incumbent broker went to several insurance markets and found the most competitive quote in the insurance market … sounds great … right?

Fast forward to one week before their renewal (which was when they responded to me) and they asked, “What can you do to help?”

This is the part of the story that shows why I feel the renewal process is EXTREMELY flawed.

This prospective business did not know any different than what they have been programmed to do over the many renewal cycles with their original broker. Never was a conversation held to understand why there was an increase in the first place. Not one conversation occurred with this business about the accuracy of the ex-mod and how it was calculated. There was no conversation about what could have been done to prevent the increase from occurring. There was no conversation to prepare the business for the increase on their renewal so they could properly prepare for the increase.

The business simply was not prepared for the additional premium increase and had to figure out where to go from here. Why wasn’t an audit done to confirm the ex-mod was accurate? Why was there not a plan in place to minimize any premium increase? Why was the prospect not prepared for the increase? Remember, they “found the most competitive carrier.” How did that help the business to ensure they are continuing to be profitable?

With everything going on in the world today, now is the time to be proactive, not reactive. I would encourage you to stop accepting the status quo and be forward thinking. There is MUCH more to insurance than simply accepting the “cheapest quote” with your renewals.

Fast forward to today, the business is now a Van Beurden Insurance client. We have created a strategic plan to prevent any future increase, actively working on their open claims towards closure, auditing their ex-mod for accuracy purposes and overall strengthening their safety culture to prevent any future claims.

Unfortunately, the bar has been set very low by our competitors and I am looking to change that. Because of the flawed process, this is the reason why we have an Alternative Approach for our clients. We identify the risks they face, prepare them for any potential increase and ensure we create a Strategic Plan to prevent an increase from occurring again. There is absolutely no pressure with our process, so let’s have a discussion to see if our Alternative Approach fits you!

I look forward to starting a conversation to see how we can help. Call our office today!