Your Agent, Your Advisor, Your Asset
As an Insurance Risk Management Advisor I get the opportunity to do something that just about no other profession allows – gain insight on an almost endless array of different types of businesses. This is what led me to my job in the first place. Think about it; I have the occasion to speak with people who own large manufacturing companies, mom and pop country stores, all types of restaurants, bars and hospitality establishments, artist studios, nonprofits…the list goes on and on and on and…Why should you care about this as a business owner running one specific type of business? Well, in my opinion, a good Insurance Advisor should use this knowledge to become a three-pronged tool, much like a fork, and we all know how useful they are.
The first prong is, of course, the insurance piece. Insurance is complicated and obtaining insurance is generally not the highpoint of one’s day. It is your agent’s responsibility to listen to your needs, explain to you the options available and then to go to bat for you with various carriers to get you the best price. These are the bones of the relationship any business owner will have with their agent and quite often it will end there (heretofore known as the One Pronged Approach).
The second prong is our role as an advisor. This is exactly what it sounds like – we offer
advice and guidance. Not sure about what coverage option is best for you? Find your policy a bit too verbose to read word for word? You wouldn’t be expected to represent yourself in court, that’s why you hire a lawyer, so why should you be expected to navigate the ins and outs of insuring your business? In short, you shouldn’t. You give us your business and in return we give you our expertise.
The third prong is perhaps my favorite of the three. I like to think of it as the middle prong, without which the meat would slip right through and back onto your plate; the Asset prong. As I mentioned many paragraphs ago, I get the chance to learn every last detail about a multitude of different businesses. This gives me the opportunity to become a great resource to you as you build, expand or just do your business. Example; I recently spoke with a woman who was opening her new store and needed furniture to fill it with, but not just any furniture. She had a very precise vision of how her interior would look and it included a chic/shabby look that was difficult to pull off. As luck would have it, I had recently spoken with an antiques dealer that had a multitude of chairs, tables and shelving in just the style she was looking for – do you see where this is going?
There is so much to be said for having an independent insurance agent that maintains close ties to its community. There is even more to be said for having one that knows how to utilize those connections to benefit your unique business. If you or someone you know is looking for an agent that wants to do more than just quote your business, contact Bry Kingsbury by phone at 877-352-2121 or email her at bkingsbury@clark-mortenson.com.
