When comparing multiple quotes for general liability insurance, the average buyer can be inclined to simply choose the policy that has the lowest rate. Unfortunately, this strategy doesn’t always guarantee that the shopper is buying the ideal protection for his or her assets. Therefore, it is important to review all of your quotes using a couple of extra criteria before you decide which one to buy.
The Best Way to Evaluate General Liability Insurance Quotes
In the same way that it is important to adhere to a step-by-step approach while asking for quotes, it is also highly suggested for you to follow a well-organized process while evaluating the quotes you later receive from multiple insurance companies. This guarantees that, on top of finding the rate that meets your budget, you will additionally get a plan that fulfills your business’ present and long-term requirements.
Time – How is it Interpreted in the Policy?
The first thing you’ll want to assess is the way the policy coverage treats time. Basically, does the insurance policy insure your liability when an incident takes place (indicated in your plan as coverage at “time of occurrence”), or when the claim is filed (coverage on a “claims-made” basis)? Each definition has its own pluses and minuses to consider.
Time of occurrence coverage protects you against events that transpire within the period of time while you are insured – no matter when the claim is ultimately submitted. This is especially valuable should you run a business that exposes you to some form of future liability (e.g., selling something that might cause injuries, illness, etc. in the future). The possible downside of this kind of coverage is that it fails to take into account inflation, so the limits on your past coverage may no longer be sufficient to pay for claims made in the future.
Claims-made coverage, in contrast, insures you against claims made during the coverage period. Because of this, it’s much less difficult to manage for the insurer and carries no risk of inadequate limits caused by rising prices. The downside of this specific coverage is that most claims-made policies include limits on the time when the insured incident occurs, and thus supplemental coverage is frequently needed.
Gaps and Overlaps
The second thing you’ll want to consider while evaluating different quotes is the existence of any gaps or overlaps in coverage. Your procedure should consist of examining the types of coverage contained in each quote (e.g., product liability, professional liability, etc.), and determining if there exist any liabilities that your particular business could be exposed to which are not accounted for. You’ll also want to look for overlaps (i.e., redundant coverage across policies that renders one type of coverage unnecessary).
As part of your check for overlaps and gaps, you have to additionally consider any sort of industry, community, or national rules and regulations that affect your business. If there’s a particular type of coverage requested by the regulators of your respective industry, make certain it is built into every policy you consider.
Supplemental Options and Policy Limits
Finally, you’ll need to examine the policies’ limits per type of coverage, and figure out if plans for supplemental options (i.e., umbrella coverage) are provided. This step is, clearly, vital since you’ll need to be positive that the quantity of protection offered by each quote is equivalent before comparing the premiums against each other.
The Value of Accurate Comparisons
Unfortunately, comparing quotes for general liability insurance isn’t as easy as just looking at the premiums alongside one another. The average shopper’s perceived “neglegible” differences in two quotes can, in fact, constitute the difference in an insurance policy that provides enough coverage for his assets, and one that leaves him exposed to potentially-devastating liabilities. This makes an accurate evaluation of your quoted policies the most-essential part of the task of buying liability insurance for your business.
Next Up in This Group of Articles – Choosing a GLI Policy…