Business owners need General Liability insurance to protect their assets and finances in case of bodily harm or if their products or services cause harm to others. It provides a crucial safety net by covering legal fees, medical expenses, and damages that could otherwise devastate a business’s financial stability and reputation.
Together we can find solutions to address your insurance coverage and budget requirements
We don’t want you to pay more than you should either.
We have been helping Arizona business owners for almost 40 years. We are your local insurance advocates.
Wilson Insurance is actively looking to write the following classes of admitted business. Click each link to get detailed information about our appetite.
If you are looking for a bold, proactive insurance advocate, you are in the right place. Check out how we advocate for our customers below.
Wilson Insurance supports new venture businesses by providing them the tools they need to be successful so claims don’t develop in the first place. We check back with new customers after 3 months to check the fit of their policy and make adjustments where needed so they are not stuck with large premium audits.
We prepare new venture customers for upcoming milestones so that when they hire their first W2 employee, begin hiring subcontractors, purchase their first company vehicle, and double in size, they are doing so safely and profitably. This avoids claims that lead to rate inflation and frustration.
You are allowed to make mistakes. Having claims does not make you a terrible business. Paradoxically, some of the best customers with celebrated safety cultures began with an ugly, miserable claim.
Understanding why frequency and severity claims occur is just as important as understanding how companies transform as a result. By capturing lessons learned and working with insurance company partners to stop future claims from occurring we don’t just save you money, we help your company achieve operational excellence. If you are ready to change or don’t feel like your current agent is explaining your company’s transformation effectively, let’s talk.
If your company has higher hazard operations and has been railroaded into paying high premiums, peppered with fees, and lackluster service we would like to talk to you.
Weeding out carriers that don’t understand what you do is the first step. By working with carriers who appreciate what you do, we develop a persuasive narrative that differentiates you from your completion. Underwriters use that to justify policy credits and clear obstacles. If you pay $100,000+ in annual premiums, you may want a seat at the table and be part of the pricing conversation. We can make that happen.
Occasionally coverage lapses for any number of reasons. For you, it can feel extremely overwhelming. For us, it is another Tuesday. When you work with Wilson Insurance you work with a compassionate insurance advisor focused on moving forward. We can get coverage re-established quickly.
This provision prohibits insurance companies from pursuing a third party to recover damages for a covered loss. Because having your insurance company sue your customer to recover damages is as awkward as it sounds.
Is a status that provides coverage and policy limits to other individuals or groups that are not originally named in the policy
This provision requires a contractor’s policy to service a claim (primary) without seeking contribution from any other policy (noncontributory). Because asking your customer to pitch in to cover your claim is as awkward as it sounds.
Some companies obtain insurance to only satisfy a COI requirement short-term. This provision notifies COI holders when a policy is pending cancelation so they can ensure coverage remains in force throughout the period of time specified in the contract.
Feel free to send vendor packets and COI requests to [email protected]. Our dedicated COI specialist will quickly rush a certificate out that will include the applicable policy forms for review. If you do not have the required coverage, we will notify you what the cost will be to add coverage.
Maximum amount the insurance company will pay for all claims resulting from a SINGLE occurrence during the policy period
Maximum amount an insurance company will pay for ALL claims during the policy period
This provision allows the GL limit to apply to each individual project a contractor works on.
This provision allows the general aggregate limit to apply to each location scheduled on the policy
Covers lawsuits that are infringements on a person’s business persona or intellectual rights.
Protects your business from liability resulting from your products or completed operations completed away from your premises.
Offers ‘no fault’ medical coverage to reimburse medical and funeral expenses as the result of bodily injury or death sustained by accident under conditions outlined in your policy
Provides limited property coverage for damages to rented premises for which the insured is liable.
When your policy is written at the beginning of your term, you estimate what your exposure will be in the upcoming 12-month period. Sometimes those estimates are not accurate in hindsight. The purpose of a premium audit is to reconcile your estimated exposures versus your actual ones. Sometimes premium is returned.
Other times, an additional premium is owed. The goal is to not have too big of a variance because it can be disruptive to a company’s finances if a balloon payment is owned.
If you are not collecting certificates of insurance (COIs) from your subcontractors, you may have to pick up their premiums on your policy. Why? Without proper risk transfer, liability flows upstream.
Since COVID, insurance companies are moving away from physical audits and outsourcing them to 3rd parties. What is good for an insurance company’s bottom line may not be good for you – or your mental health! You may even feel like 3rd party audits erode your service or that they are re-underwriting your policy by wanting to change your class codes.
Wilson Insurance cares about your experience. If frustrations bubble up and you need help with your premium audit, we are here to advocate and fight for you. This isn’t our first rodeo.
Damage to business personal property, lost income, auto liability, E&O, workers’ compensation, data breach and cyber liability, liquor liability, EPLI, EBL, and intentionally malicious or illegal acts are examples of what is not covered by your GL policy.
A COI is a standardized form that proves you have insurance coverage in force. It does not provide coverage. It does clarify your policy effective dates, policy numbers, insurance carriers, and amounts and limits of insurance coverage. This makes it convenient for companies to determine you have proper risk transfer in place and who to file a claim with if damage occurs.
Every business operation is sorted by a unique code by the Insurance Service Office (ISO). This helps level the playing field between insurance carriers. Each code has a corresponding rate that is used to determine your premium.
Yes! Bundling coverage is an effective way to lower your total cost of insurance.
It is considered a best practice to bundle GL and auto together to avoid gaps in coverage.
Yes. Statistically, most GL claims occur in the first 4 years of being in business. Without coverage, you would be personally responsible for out-of-pocket costs and legal expenses.
Most admitted policies provide legal defenses up to your policy limits outside of your coverage limits. You will want to know upfront to avoid eroding your coverage limits if they are not. Lawyers are expensive.
Admitted markets are licensed by the Arizona Department of Insurance and must comply with state regulations. The Arizona DOI verifies their policy forms, rates, and requirements. Arizona’s insurance fund will help pay the claims if an insurance company fails. Travelers, Liberty Mutual, and Hartford are examples of admitted markets.
Non-admitted, Excess and Surplus Lines, or E&S markets are accessible only to licensed insurance agents. They are for hard-to-place or high-hazard companies. They offer more flexibility. They are not required to follow the Arizona DOI regulations. If a non-admitted carrier fails, Arizona’s insurance fund will not step in to pay claims.
It is a good practice to shop your policy every 3 years. If you feel your agent is disengaged with your renewal, Wilson Insurance would love to work with you on your next renewal.
Claims only follow you for a 5-year period. Every year a claim ages, it has a diminishing effect on you. Underwriters look at the amount of premium collected as well as the frequency and severity of losses you have incurred. A frequency of small claims is generally worse than a one-off severity pop because it indicates a subpar safety culture.
At Wilson Insurance we want you to have a healthy attitude about claims. It is unrealistic to think you will never have a claim. Insurance companies use math to determine if your account is profitable. The formula they use is total claims/premium= loss ratio. If your loss ratio is <50%, you are considered profitable. If you are 50%-100% you are marginal. If you are over >100% you are higher risk. The higher your loss ratio is, the lower your negotiating power is. Loss ratios are calculated on a 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year basis to provide perspective.
Great question! The average commission for admitted markets is 15%. The average commission for non-admitted markets is 10%.
