What Your Insurance Broker Should Be Doing Proactively
(and Probably Isn’t)
The Difference Between a Broker Who Quotes and One Who Actually Works for You
There is a version of business insurance brokerage that works like this:
But at some point, usually after a claim goes sideways or a coverage gap surfaces at the worst possible time, the client starts asking a different question.
That is the question that separates a quote machine from a broker who is actually working for you. And the answer becomes obvious not in what the broker says, but in what they do between renewals.
A broker who only shows up once a year with a price is not managing your insurance program. They are processing a transaction.
If you have been asking what your insurance broker should be doing and the only answer you have gotten is a renewal price, that gap is worth examining. We have also written about what it looks like when a broker has simply outgrown your account and what to do about it.
Checking In Before Renewal, Not Just At Renewal
Insurance is priced and structured based on what your business does. When what you do changes but your program does not, gaps form. A broker who waits until renewal to ask about changes is already behind.
Mid-term check-ins do not need to be formal or complicated, but they need to happen. The trigger is usually growth, change, or both. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Scenario One
When a business is growing fast, especially a new client where we expect significant revenue increases over the policy term, we will write the program at inception based on best-case projections for sales and payroll.
If sales and payroll are running ahead of projections, we adjust the rating figures mid-term. The client pays the increased premium spread across the remaining installment months instead of getting hit with a massive audit bill at the end of the policy period.
Our definitive guide to workers comp audits explains exactly how these surprises develop and what you can do to stay ahead of them.
Another scenario
A client lands a new contract or project opportunity with significantly higher insurance requirements than they have had before.
We see this often with companies that grow from handling contracts with $1 million insurance requirements to suddenly needing $5 million in liability limits.
Last common scenario
The third situation is simply keeping pace with rapid growth.
A client launches a great product or service, growth takes off, and the insurance program that was adequate six months ago is now inadequate.
Once the insurance is written, it is out of their mind. They have a business to run. Scheduling that touchpoint four or five months out and making the call is how you prevent the program from falling dangerously behind the business.
The reaction from clients when we make those calls is almost always the same: “I am glad you reached out. We have had this growth that I do not think we currently have enough insurance for.” They know. They just were not going to be the ones to bring it up.
If this sounds like a different conversation than you have been having with your current broker, book a call with us to talk through what mid-term program management actually looks like.
Benchmarking Your Program Against Similar Companies
Most business owners have no frame of reference for whether their insurance program is adequate, light, or heavy compared to those of similar companies. They know what they pay, and that is about it. A proactive broker gives them context.
This is particularly valuable in management liability, professional liability, and cyber insurance, where limits vary widely, and the consequences of being underinsured are severe.
We work with wholesale brokers who aggregate data across hundreds of accounts, and that data allows us to say with some specificity that companies in your space, at your size, typically carry this level of directors and officers coverage or this level of cyber liability.
The RIMS Benchmark Survey, which aggregates insurance program data from hundreds of organizations across industries, is one of the independent reference points we draw on when building that comparison for a client.
That context changes decisions.
A business owner who has been carrying $1 million in D&O coverage because “that is what we have always had” will often move to $5 million when they see that their peers are carrying $5 million and understand why. It is not about upselling. It is about giving them the information they need to make an informed decision instead of defaulting to whatever was set up years ago.
Identifying Coverage Gaps Before They Become Losses
A coverage gap is the space between what your business actually does and what your insurance program covers. Gaps do not announce themselves. They surface when a claim happens, and the answer comes back: not covered.
When we take on a new client, the first thing we do is a full policy review, line by line, combined with in-depth conversations about the business operations. We are not just reading what is on the dec page. We are comparing what the policies say against what the business actually does, where it operates, what contracts it has signed, what its supply chain looks like, and where the exposures are.
These are not hypothetical problems. These are the kinds of gaps we find routinely.
If you want a sense of how common these problems are, we have documented the full picture in our business insurance review resource.
The gap analysis is not a one-time event, either. It is ongoing. As the business changes, we are evaluating whether the coverage is keeping pace. That is why the mid-term conversations matter. Every operational change is a potential coverage question, and if no one is asking, no one is catching it.
Contact us to run a line-by-line audit against your current program.
Fighting for Claims, Not Just Filing Them
This is where the difference between a passive broker and an active one becomes most visible and most costly.
The passive version of claims handling works like this:
If the claim gets paid, great. If the carrier sends a declination letter, the broker forwards it to the client with a “sorry, not covered,” and that is the end of it.
We handle it differently.
When a claim comes in:
And, when a claim is declined, we do not just accept it. We dig into the policy language and determine whether the declination is correct or whether there is a coverage argument to be made.
Here is a current example
One of our largest accounts, a distributor, had a container stolen from a transshipment point while it was sitting on the back of a trailer.
The ocean cargo insurer declined the claim because the goods were not stolen from the warehouse.
On the surface, that sounds like a reasonable denial. But the claims representative did not look at whether coverage existed under the transit section of the policy. We did.
We are in the middle of it right now, but we believe this is a claim that will be covered.
The point is that the client pays for insurance coverage, and when a covered event happens, the policy should respond.
If nobody is advocating for the client, if the broker just accepts the first answer the carrier gives, claims get denied that should have been paid. And over time, that adds up to real money and real frustration.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners maintains consumer guidance on policyholder rights and the claims process, including how to appeal a denial, but navigating that process effectively requires a broker who knows the policy language and is willing to push.
If you have had a claim declined and nobody pushed back on the carrier, book a call with us. Claims advocacy is one of the most consequential things we do.
Taking Action Mid-Term When the Relationship Is Broken
Most of the time, switching brokers happens at renewal. It is cleaner and simpler. But sometimes the situation is bad enough that the client cannot wait.
We have a situation right now where something as simple as a certificate request or getting a basic question answered was taking weeks with the prior broker. Weeks. For a certificate. The client was losing patience, and the insurer could not understand why it had to be so complicated. And after one interaction with the old broker, neither could we.
Helping You Prevent Claims, Not Just Insure Against Them
Insurance is the safety net, but preventing the fall is always cheaper than catching it. A proactive broker thinks about both.
The easiest place to see this is in workers’ compensation. When we look at a loss run and see frequency problems, a lot of small claims every year, we can drill down.
Once you see the pattern, you can do something about it. There are resources available, through the insurance carrier and through our own expertise, that most businesses never know they can use.
Our piece on root cause analysis walks through exactly how we identify and address the patterns that drive repeat claims.
But it goes beyond workers comp. We work with clients on mitigating theft exposure, reducing fire loss risk, and addressing operational vulnerabilities that drive claims.
And this is where the total cost of risk conversation comes in. When a loss occurs, the insurance payout is only part of the equation. There is downtime. Wasted inventory or materials. Overtime to catch up. Retraining costs. Administrative time spent on the claim itself.
We have put together a detailed breakdown of indirect loss costs for clients who want to run the full numbers on what a claim actually costs their business beyond the insurance payout.
Contact us to walk through your loss history and identify the patterns worth addressing before they cost you.
What Proactive Brokerage Actually Looks Like
If you read through this list and it sounds like a different world from what you are experiencing, that is the gap. And it is a gap worth closing.
A proactive broker is not doing these things because they are trying to justify their fee or generate more work. They are doing them because that is what it takes to keep a mid-market insurance program aligned with a mid-market business. Companies in the $25 million to $100 million revenue range are complex. They are changing. They are growing into new exposures faster than the insurance industry moves. Somebody has to be watching, and that somebody should be your broker.
The difference becomes obvious over time:
The short answer to what your insurance broker should be doing is all of the below, without you having to ask.
What a Proactive Broker Does |
What a Quote Machine Does |
|---|---|
|
Schedules mid-term check-ins at months 4-5 and 8-9 |
Appears at renewal and disappears until the next one |
|
Adjusts rating figures mid-term when revenue or payroll runs ahead of projections |
Lets year-end audit surprises land on your desk |
|
Flags new contract insurance requirements before you sign |
Waits for you to bring coverage gaps to them |
|
Benchmarks your limits against peer companies in your industry |
Has no frame of reference for whether your coverage is adequate |
|
Reviews full policy line by line against your actual operations |
Reads the dec page |
|
Identifies coverage gaps before a claim surfaces them |
Discovers gaps when a claim comes back denied |
|
Advocates with carriers when claims are declined |
Forwards the declination letter with no pushback |
|
Steps in mid-term when service breaks down |
Makes you wait until renewal to switch |
|
Analyzes loss run patterns to prevent future claims |
Insures against losses without addressing what is driving them |
Is Your Broker Working for You or Just Quoting for You?
If this list describes a level of service you are not getting, the question is not whether better exists. It does. The question is how long you are willing to go without it.
If you are clear on what your insurance broker should be doing and want to see whether your current program reflects that standard, start with a conversation:
To talk about what proactive brokerage looks like for your business.
No obligation, no sales pitch. Just a straightforward discussion about where you are and where you should be.
Questions about what should my insurance broker be doing?
Work with a Broker Who Is Actively Managing Your Program
At The Coyle Group, proactive brokerage is not a selling point. It is how we are structured. Every client relationship includes scheduled mid-term check-ins, ongoing policy reviews, and a commitment to staying involved in claims from start to finish.
95+
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Years Personal Experience
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The Coyle Group is 1st class! Gordon and his team are knowledgeable, responsive, and attentive to detail. Gordon is that rare breed of professional who genuinely cares for his clients and works hard to exceed their expectations. I highly recommend them.
The insurance brokerage service was truly tailored to my needs, nothing like those big brokers who steer you toward random policies that don’t fit your profile. Thank you to the team for your help.
I was working with another broker and having difficulty acquiring General Liability coverage. A colleague recommended The Coyle Group. They were able to get coverage bound in just a couple of business days and a policy issued in ten days, and with a solid carrier at a competitive premium. Truly impressive results, plus it was a pleasure working with them. I highly recommend the Coyle Group!
If any business is looking to work with an insurance brokerage firm that is not only excellent at what the firm does, but one that deeply values the needs of the clients, then The Coyle Group is the firm for you. Give them a call and see for yourself. I can assure that you will quickly agree.
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