Bouchard Insurance Blog What Do Hospital Gowns and Insurance Policies Have in Common?

"What do hospital gowns and insurance policies have in common? You're never as covered as you think you are!"Today's business world is complex and everchanging. Challenging developments in technology, scalability, workforce demographics and countless other areas create a multifaceted and uncertain landscape for business owners and entrepreneurs. One constant, however, is the need to protect your company from losses that could significantly impact operations and profits, or even force the doors to close permanently.Comprehensive exposure analysis is crucial to a sound risk management and insurance program, but is something that seems to be overlooked quite often. Business owners, C-suite executives, safety personnel and others with a hand in insurance decision making, expect their agency of choice to be looking out for their best interest and rightfully they should be. Nevertheless, gaps in coverage exist without anyone shining a light on important exclusions and/or limiting policy language until the absolute worst time: a significant claim. Why is this the case? Well, policy language is lengthy, complex and comes with a whole different set of "rules" that could give, take away, modify or reduce coverage depending on the triggering event. While reviewing policy language is not always fun, it is necessary to understand how coverage should respond when claims are filed.Insurance carriers do not want to cover "everything under the sun", and every policy will have exclusions which take away coverage in certain scenarios. The key is knowing what exposures are inherent to your business and selecting an agent who not only has a thorough understanding of your industry vertical, but your internal operations, procedures and future goals. In addition, the agency for whom the agent works needs to have a service and support staff with the knowledge, experience and diligence to ensure the policy and resources being delivered "live up" to the original proposal. Oh, and let's not forget, they must have access to all the carrier markets who have a program and appetite for your industry. Seems like a lot to wrap your head around, right?Here are some tips to improve your insurance experience and provide for a more comprehensive policy:Ask your agent the tough questions around limits, co-insurance, exclusions and your business practices.Require your agent to provide a list of exclusions and endorsements, and talk through applicable scenarios during renewal proposals.If any operations within your company have changed, notify your agent BEFORE boots hit the groundDo not "auto-renew" your policies without having a conversation around coverages, limits, values and policy languageInsurance policies, programs, appetites and outlooks change from carrier to carrier, almost monthly. Having an agent with a firm grasp on the changes and how they apply is just the first step in improving your experience and your premiums.ABOUT THE AUTHORJim Shamshak is a Sales Executive at Bouchard Insurance. Jim specializes in Property & Casualty, Workers' Compensation, and Health Benefits for large commercial accounts. | Connect on LinkedIn