Having your insurance policy retracted by an underwriter is something that any individual or business owner is reluctant to even think about. The fact is though that these things can happen and they can happen to anyone or any institution.
When a policy is cancelled, it is likely that it comes suddenly and unexpectedly. The sudden lack of coverage of course comes with serious repercussions. Naturally, an immediate fix will not always result in the best solution.
Here’s a genuine episode of an insurance policy that was rescinded without prior warning but ended with a happy resolution thanks to the expertise of an experienced agency.
As told by the insurance specialist in the commercial lines department of the agency:
Not long ago, the attending broker at the agency received a phone call from a business office building.
“I need a good insurance plan for my new building,” he said.
All factors about the property told the agent that this would be a simple transaction. With a new building made completely of steel and concrete there was no indication that any difficulties would crop up.
After an insurance search, a tailored policy was procured at a good rate. Following a preliminary inspection by the insurance company, the all-clear was given and the comprehensive policy was bound at a nice rate – $12,000 a year for $11 million coverage.
Out of the blue, the insurance company told the servicing agency that it was necessary to conduct a sprinkler inspection on the building. As the commercial property sprinkler inspector took in the condition of the sprinkler system, he noted that there were four decorative panels on the outside walls that did not suit the non-combustible material criteria of his company.
With the office building downgraded to the insurance class of a frame structure, the former office building policy was abruptly rescinded by the insurance company.
The distraught office building owner was told that the agency’s commercial lines specialist would shop the network of providers for him.
And she did – quite successfully, in fact.
The broker got immediately down to business. She negotiated with another insurance company that initially had given a slightly higher rate than the one bound and presented a tailor-made policy to the office building owner that included even wider coverage along with a cheaper premium than the cancelled policy.
You can guess the epilogue to this tale. There was one extremely satisfied client due to the agency’s untiring efforts to locate a winning conclusion.
