Affiliated Insurance Brokers, a CCNZ associate, is celebrating 25 years in business this year and is proud to count two civil contractors among its longest-standing clients.
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As you might expect, we have seen a great deal of change in both the civil contracting and insurance industries over those 25 years.
At Affiliated Insurance Brokers, we appreciate that at the core of what we do, and must continue to deliver, is real advice and relentless support.
Most importantly, we place a strong emphasis on understanding your business and the unique risk management and insurance covers you need.
We have consistently found that while premiums are an important part of the process, relationships are won and lost on prompt service and strong claims advocacy.
At present, we have 44 people in our team across five locations. Earlier this year, we were very pleased to open our first branch in the South Island.
Our clients value our experience, industry knowledge, and independence. We regularly deal with a wide range of insurers and underwriting agencies and, due to the way we work as a genuine team, we are all inherently aware of how pricing is set and how claims are being handled.
Market Update
In 25 years, we have never had more insurers and underwriting agencies willing to insure civil contractors.
With this increase in competition, we have seen premiums materially reduce over the past two years. The insurer you choose should be by recommendation and never based on the premium alone.
We place a strong focus on consistency, industry expertise, sustainability, and most important of all – who pays claims.
Tip: If you have not seen a saving in your premium over the past two years, you are either buying more gear or having a tough run on claims. If you have not received an improved offer, ask why not.
Remarket Strategy
Strategy is key. How is this discussed and agreed with your broker? Are you given a detailed market analysis ahead of approaching all or selected insurers? What is the remarket designed to achieve, and is the approach consistent with previous remarkets?
Remarkets have the greatest value when there are new insurers, a change in activities, a material improvement in a previous claims history, or when an insurer’s service has become poor.
You should have confidence that your broker knows the market and faith in them to act in your best interests when making recommendations.
Tip: Take an active role in the remarket strategy and always ask to see the remarket results so you can be sure you understand which insurers offered the best or alternative terms.
Due Diligence and Discovery
We place a strong emphasis on helping our clients understand the key insurance terms and conditions they will later rely on at claim time. Civil contractors will have claims, so preparation and clarity are essential.
We also believe that understanding the nature of the works you undertake is paramount, and this is addressed in depth during our discovery process.
It is always important to clarify what is insured versus not insured (but actually insurable).
Good risk management always starts with the identification of risks, and that cannot be done from behind a desk. We visit our clients, often with a team of two, to ensure you have the opportunity to discuss what is important and what needs to be disclosed.
Tip: Make sure your broker is aware of absolutely everything you do. We do not rely on proposal forms; we collaborate with our clients to draft a detailed company profile, so you are in control of the information insurers rely on.
Fair, equitable, and totally transparent
How much do you pay your broker to arrange your insurance, take care of claims, and provide ad hoc risk management and contracts advice?
If you do not ask this question, how can you value the time and service they provide?
For nearly 20 years, brokers have had a statutory obligation to disclose their remuneration when a client requests this information.
Recent legislation goes a step further and compels brokers to clearly disclose what they receive in commission and fees, but this applies only to smaller clients.
A few years back, Affiliated took what we felt was a straightforward step to provide full transparency on remuneration to all our clients. We did this so our clients could clearly see how much we earn versus what the insurer receives (premium) and what the government receives (Natural Hazards Insurance Levy, Fire and Emergency Levy, and Goods and Services Tax).
Disclosing our remuneration sets us apart from a sales focus and places our independent advice at the heart of what we do. You can therefore be assured that our recommendations are in your best interests.
Tip: Make sure you have transparency in all your insurance- related costs. We are happy to speak with any CCNZ member to rationalise the remuneration proposed to undertake a review and insurance placement.
Affiliated commitment
Twenty five years in, our advice is simple: choose a broker who understands your work, fights for you at claim time, and is fully transparent about how they are paid. That is the standard we set for ourselves every day, and the standard CCNZ members can expect when working with us.
If you would like a confidential and independent review please contact: James Shearing / Director and Senior Risk Adviser on 027 246 0046
Email: james@affiliated.nz Web: www.affiliated.nz