Can you Insure Against Time Wasters?

We all own some policies that insure us against risks of loss, such as loss of property, loss of health, or loss of income. If you’re like me, you probably engaged with the first provider to whom you were introduced and didn’t think about whether that particular person would be providing value. Did you consider whether that person may be the reason you would lose one of your most valuable assets – your time?

Before you place your valuable time at risk again, you may want to meet my friend James Gurule with IMA Financial Group. Clients come to IMA because they understand the value of IMA’s people – which is in insurance. Clients appreciate collaborating with James and his team because of their insights on crafting strategies tailored to support their client’s business goals and the extraordinary resources at their disposal.

“Solving insurance problems is important,” James points out, “but it is really the other ways that we manage risk that are equally, if not more, important. Insurance is a tool to finance risk. Our clients know that we’re not asking them to pay higher premiums for our own benefit; they know we have their best interests at heart and want to make sure their insurance policies and the other ways they’re managing risk are working for them. We love being a friend, but at the same time we must make sure we’re doing what’s right by our client.”

Doing what’s right by the client is a process as well as a priority. James pointed out that he doesn’t typically know immediately if he can help since no two clients are internally the same. He first learns the client’s goals, the challenges they are experiencing, and the opportunities they’re chasing. A prospect may not become a client right away, but more often than not James is the first or second person the prospect calls because he demonstrated his ability to think outside the box and showed the prospect all the resources he uses to make sure they get the best affordable coverage.

Helping clients obtain the right program that’s been curated for them is IMA’s specialty. However, value shopping does not mean that James and the people at IMA lose their client-first focus. James says, “We like to think of ourselves as a company that has all the personal service touches as your regional boutique shops, but all the resources, specialties, and offerings as the publicly traded shops. As one of the largest employee-owned brokerages, it is not just about selling a policy to us. We help people protect assets, and making a difference is who we are.”

One of James’ tasks is solving client’s problems, which includes “looking around the corner” for things that can potentially impact them. James relies on a “smorgasbord of team members,” each of whom focuses on a particular area – complex risk, environmental, ERM, M&A, loss control, or cyber risk, – to name a few. Some members have an industry or specialized focus. “By enabling our team approach, we structure a game plan in lockstep with the client based on data and analytics that they may previously have overlooked or of which they might not be aware. It is all about asking the right questions, pulling together the right expertise, and building trust.” In one case, James used his methods to identify nineteen places where he and the IMA team could increase the client’s insurance coverage while saving over $700,000 in premiums. Although this is not the norm nor the overall goal, it is a potential by-product of IMA’s process.

IMA has the resources to provide that level of value to its clients, and James and his team know how to access and utilize the resources available to them to find the best value. “If you don’t know how to access the resources internally,” James says, “you can’t identify the value the client isn’t receiving.”

James shared his favorite part of collaborating with clients – seeing the look on their face when he’s able to solve a problem or help them accomplish something with which they’ve been struggling. For example, James met the newly-installed, growth-oriented CEO of a plumbing company that had enjoyed a 30-year long relationship with its insurance broker. James and the IMA team performed a “get-acquainted” insurance and risk audit, resulting in recommendations to change or eliminate coverage. After making the changes, James and his team helped the client adjust its rating criteria and lower its insurance premiums by 25%. The CEO could then hire more people, increase capital investments, and immediately start down the road to growth he envisioned. The secret to James’ success with this client’s circumstances, as with so many of James’ clients, was his ability to listen and customize coverage instead of simply looking for cheaper policy premiums.

In another example, a prospect had been notified at the last minute by the prospect’s existing broker of a $30,000 premium increase at the time the policy was scheduled to renew. The prospect contacted James seeking an alternative, while also sharing his feelings of frustration with the renewal process. To the prospect’s delight, James and his team dove into understanding the prospect and its risk profile, communicated the prospect’s profile properly to the underwriters, and obtained a policy from a carrier with more robust coverage and fewer exceptions at about the same premium the prospect historically paid.

James confided that, if he were looking for insurance, he’d want to deal with someone who helps educate and is willing to tell him things he may not want to hear. James said, “You want someone who’s going to give it to you straight, whether it’s good news or bad news.” Also, he would look for someone with experience who knows their way around insurance – not someone “slinging” insurance – and someone who knows your industry and its nuances – or at least bringing with them someone who does.” There are a lot of smart and trustworthy insurance professionals out there, and it’s important to find someone who is aligned with you.

James also stressed that the insurance application and policy writing process takes time, so avoid waiting until you receive a policy renewal notice to get the process started. James recommends starting 3 to 6 months before a policy expires to find a professional and to make sure you’re not simply analyzing premium cost.

If you might be interested to see if James can help you, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.