Is there only one question to ask your business insurance broker? Certainly not. Before you sign any policy, think about the following questions that you should ask your broker.
The first question to ask your business insurance broker is: what is the insurance company’s AM Best or Moody’s rating? This type of rating is important if you want to know how stable your insurance company is. If a company is not all that stable, they will have a poor rating. However, if their rating is high, you may want to consider this company. Still, before you decide upon one company, you will also want to ask if an insurance broker is right for you.
Does your broker specialize in the sort of company that you are running? If you run your own landscaping business, you may not want to deal with an insurance broker that usually handles accounting firms. Why? Simply put, the types of claims that an account will file are a lot different from those of a landscaper … make sure your broker knows your business. Equally important is the types of plans that your broker can offer you.
What good is a broker if their available plans do not fit your needs? Although this is an important question to ask your business insurance broker, many people do not consider this question. Find out what sort of plan you are seeking, and then ask whether or not your broker can provide it. Also, you may want to ask whether or not you will be dealing with the same broker every time – some companies will ask many different people to handle your business, and this can be more than frustrating.
Finally, asking about a company’s list of personal clients is always a good indicator. If a company cannot produce a list of well known clients (especially those within your field), you may want to look elsewhere. In short, make sure that you thoroughly understand all that an insurance broker can offer you, and never settle for less than what you require.
The most important question to ask your business insurance broker is – all of the above questions. Do not be afraid to ask a slew of questions … after all, it will be your policy on the line if you miss any important piece of information. Insurance does not have to be difficult, but it can be tedious. Still, if you take the time to learn all about a broker, your business will be much better off for it.
By: Aazdak Alisimo
Archive for October, 2009
Question to Ask Your Business Insurance Broker
October 29th, 2009Freight Brokers & Broker Agents
October 27th, 2009
What’s the Difference between a Freight Broker and a Broker Agent? And which way is the best way to go?
These are common questions from those interested in this industry. Let’s try to shed some light on these questions.
1. A freight broker is fully self-employed and is required to obtain his or her broker authority. A fully self-employed freight broker will do his or her own invoicing to customers and will pay the motor carriers. Essentially, the freight broker is running a complete business.
2. A broker agent works for another freight broker and does not need to obtain a broker authority. The agent works under the authority of his or her freight broker and is not responsible for invoicing or paying the trucks.
There are pros and cons to each option.
First, a fully self-employed freight broker is required to get their broker authority but they retain 100% of the profit on each load. Further, the freight broker is totally responsible for invoicing the customer and making collections as well as paying the motor carriers. Having sufficient capital and good cash management skills are an absolute necessity. Since time is required to run an entire business, the freight broker has relatively less time to search for new customers and find trucks.
Second, a broker agent is not required to get his or her broker authority and, therefore, this option is less costly. But the broker agent splits his or her commission on each load with the freight broker. Most of the agent’s time is spent searching for new customers and finding trucks.
Third, most freight brokers are seeking experienced agents. There are a few who will accept new inexperienced agents but these freight brokers are far and few in between. If an agent is new or inexperienced, the freight broker normally does not want to spend a lot of time training or “hand-holding”.
To recap, as a broker agent, you don’t need your broker authority. You work under the authority of another freight broker. It’s possible to begin as either a freight broker or broker agent and then switch to the other. The two fundamental differences are the scope of the duties and responsibilities and the fact that the broker agent does not need their authority.
Regardless of whether you work as a freight broker or broker agent, you may work out of your home. And you will meet and work with customers and carriers over the entire country.
All you need to get started is:
A good computer with a high-speed internet connection, Preferably two telephone lines (one could be either a cell phone or internet telephone), A good fax machine, Proper education and the drive and determination to succeed.
For both freight brokers and broker agents, good, comprehensive training or on-the-job experience is absolutely essential.
Here are a few topics you can expect to learn if you take freight broker or broker agent training:
How to use the Loading Boards How to find shippers How to search for trucks How to talk to shippers and dispatchers How to pre-qualify your motor carrier How to calculate rates Step-by-step procedures for booking a load How to get set-up with your motor carriers How to monitor and track your loads How to set-up and manage your information flow
By: John D. Thomas
A Review of Empire Business Brokers
October 25th, 2009
There is a lot of work that goes into the buying and selling of businesses. It is a far more complicated process than the buying or selling of a home or vehicle (not always simple endeavors either). If you were trying to find a business to buy you might think about looking through the businesses represented by Empire Business Brokers. This is also a good company to look into if you are hoping to learn more about selling businesses.
Empire Business Brokers is a network of business “brokers” who are all working to sell businesses and franchise opportunities as well as working as consultants for people who are trying to buy an already existing business or franchise. This company has over seventy offices throughout the United States, Central America, Spain and Mexico. This company is more than a simple business “flipping” operation.
The company offers individuals who are looking for a new career the opportunity to start their own Empire Business Broker office. Do not be fooled though-this is no “get rich quick” scheme. This opportunity requires a significant amount of time, energy, work and money investment to get off the ground.
Empire Business Brokers offers potential brokers training and the franchise promises that investors will realize a return on their investments within a year of opening operations. They will have access to profit centers and the consultants who work in them.
They will also have access to the always growing databases of franchises and businesses for sale as well as the database that lists the people who are hoping to find the perfect business to buy. As broker with Empire Business Brokers, you will receive training and marketing support on an on-going basis by the other successful brokers in the business.
This is not a quick decision. The start up capital is between twenty five thousand and fifty thousand dollars. Hopeful brokers need to fill out a Franchise Application Form and then begin a dialogue with one of the company’s Directors. If you meet all of the requirements you will then visit the corporate offices in Buffalo and meet with the company President as well as the company’s Directors. From there, you will begin to work on the franchise deal.
Obviously, once you have been granted permission to open your own franchise office of Empire Business Brokers, you are able to hire employees and pay them commissions on the businesses that they sell, but how you do that is up to you. You might work best as a sole proprietor.
This is not a company that you should enter impulsively-in fact, you can’t start your own brokerage impulsively, the company is not set up that way. If you can afford the startup capital and you have some sales talent and don’t mind working very hard to get off the ground, you could do very well as an Empire Business Broker. In fact, we encourage you to open your own business if you think you have what it takes.
By: Brian Garvin
