And why the wrong insurance agency can cost you more than money.
And why the wrong choice can cost you more than money
By Julian Summers, CEO of Sandco Insurance
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after years in the insurance industry, it’s this: when you’re choosing an insurance agency, you’re really choosing a person.
Look for someone who’s knowledgeable, gives you multiple options, and is willing to do the work to find the right coverage. Don’t just settle for the first quote you receive. Shop around.
And make sure you choose someone you trust and actually relate to. Insurance is a long-term relationship, and you want someone in your corner when things go wrong.
Most business owners don’t think much about their insurance agency until something goes wrong. And I don’t blame them. When you’re running a business, insurance usually ends up somewhere near the bottom of the list, right up until an employee gets injured, a client files a lawsuit, or your insurance company starts asking uncomfortable questions.
That’s when you discover the quality of your insurance agency.
The short answer is simple: Choose an agency that understands your industry, has access to multiple markets, communicates clearly, and treats your business like a long-term relationship rather than a policy number.
Your business changes. Your employees change. Your revenue changes. Your risks change. Your insurance should change with it.
Many people think an insurance agency’s job is simply to sell policies. But a good agency should understand how your business operates, identify potential risks, recommend appropriate coverage, and guide you when something unexpected happens.
I think a lot of business owners treat insurance like a commodity. In some ways, it is. You’re buying a policy and a promise that if something happens, you’ll be taken care of. But every business is different. You could have two donut shops a mile apart and have completely different needs.
That’s why we believe insurance should be explained in plain English, not buried under technical language.
Every industry has its own risks. A construction company and a healthcare practice shouldn’t receive the same advice.
One of the first questions I’d ask any insurance agency is: “How many businesses like mine do you work with?”
I’ve seen this first-hand. We once sat down with a crane company owner who told us he already had insurance. When we looked into it, we discovered that his policy didn’t actually cover the crane operations his entire business was built around.
He ended up paying more with us, but he actually had the coverage his business needed.
Experience saves money long before a claim ever happens.
Ask an agency which insurance carriers they work with. If they only have access to a few insurers, your options are limited before the conversation even starts.
At Sandco, we review multiple markets and provide clients with a market list showing which carriers we approached, what they quoted, and if they declined, why.
The goal isn’t simply to find the lowest premium. It’s to find the right balance between price, coverage and long-term value.
Many agencies work incredibly hard to win your business. Then… silence. Until renewal.
Personally, I think that’s backwards. The real work starts after the policy is issued.
Businesses need certificates of insurance, claims need guidance, audits need preparation, and companies grow and change.
These days, with AI and chatbots everywhere, we still believe in answering the phone. When a client calls, there’s usually a reason. We try to respond quickly and hold their hand through the process, because those small things can easily turn into big problems.At Sandco, COIs are often issued within 30 minutes, and we treat every renewal like a new business submission, shopping coverage every year, not auto-renewing and hoping for the best.
If your business operates in California, Workers’ Compensation can be one of your largest insurance expenses, and one of the easiest places to make expensive mistakes.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is incorrect class codes. Businesses often copy prior classifications without checking whether they’re still accurate. In a machine shop, for example, there can be multiple class codes with very different rates.
That’s why we don’t simply do an “apples for apples” comparison. We don’t know if the apples are actually apples.
The other major issue is unclosed claims. Open claims and reserves can affect a company’s experience modification and future premiums.
Small details can make a big difference.Workers’ Comp is one of Sandco’s core specialties, and a major reason clients switch to us.
The agencies that provide the most value usually ask the most questions. They want to understand how your business operates, your growth plans, your employees, and your risks.
Honestly, I love that every business is different. When we visit clients, we get to see how their businesses actually work. One day we might be walking through a machine shop, and the next we’re looking at a business making carbon-fiber wings for airplanes.
When we can see the business for ourselves, we can often spot potential risks that wouldn’t be obvious from a policy document.
Everyone wants to save money. I certainly do. But insurance is one of those purchases where you rarely discover its true value until the day you need it.
When a serious claim happens, nobody asks whether your premium was $500 cheaper. They ask whether you’re covered.
Ultimately, I want our clients to know they weren’t overcharged, that their coverage was correct, and that if they ever need to make a claim, they can sleep at night knowing they’re protected.
Insurance can be complicated, but we believe it should be explained in plain English. You should know what you have, what you don’t have, and what your options are before you need them.
That’s the peace of mind I want every Sandco client to have.
After over twenty years in this industry, I’ve learned that good insurance isn’t about finding the policy with the biggest number of pages or the lowest premium. It’s about having the right people in your corner.
My biggest piece of advice would be to meet your agent in person if you can. Don’t just choose someone because you found them online or because they gave you the cheapest quote.
When we take on a client, we try to meet them at their business and actually see how they operate. You learn a lot more that way, and you get to know the person who’s going to be looking after your insurance.
At the end of the day, you want to know that when you pick up the phone, there’s going to be someone on the other end who knows you, knows your business, and is going to answer.
All the best,
Julian Summers
CEO, Sandco Insurance
