When you are looking for business insurance quotes, either for the first time or at renewal, the question you will ask yourself is, how many quotes should I get?
The answer depends on a number of factors, the main one being, exactly how much time do you have to spare? You have a couple of options when looking. You can either choose to go direct to an insurer, an appointed representative broker that only provides quotes from one insurer. Or, you can go direct to an independent business insurance broker who will search the market for you. When we put it like that, it seems obvious that you should always search out the broker.
And of course this is true. Direct insurers spend an absolute fortune on advertising, their aim being to make you think that you only need to make one visit, to them, to get the best price and the best cover. However, in reality, this is not really giving you the best view of the market at any one time.
What you need to do, is whoever you speak to, ask them whether they are independent and have the ability to source quotes from more than one insurer or underwriter. If the answer is one, then your choice is limited. A broker may say that they have the option, for example, with restaurant insurance, to go to half a dozen different companies. This helps you because although you are going to only one company, you are effectively getting the best choice from a number of companies.
Brokers will not charge you for looking, they will take time to get from you, your demands and needs, as far as insurance is concerned. They will then use this information to trawl the market. Depending on what you do, this does not necessarily mean that it is going to be a lengthy task. Speak to most brokers at 9am and by lunchtime, you could have a quote emailed through to you. This is longer than it usually takes, if you need something quick, most brokers can get the quote, email it, go on cover and then send you the policy documents all within half an hour.
You can if you wish, go to more than one broker. Don’t always accept that what broker A can provide you is the best, but think carefully about the very cheap quote, usually they are only cheap for one reason and that is because there are gaps in the cover.