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Marjorie Said:

Estimated costs for restaurant insurance?

We Answered:

I sell commercial insurance in Georgia, so the rates may be different, and yes, to give you a good quote, it would require lots of information, but here is the types of insurance coverage the restaurant would need:

General Liability
Liquor Liability
Property Coverage (Building and Contents)
Spoilage Coverage
Business Income & Extra Expense
Workers Compensation

Like I said earlier, I would need lots of info for an accurate quote: gross revenue/annual payroll/coverage amount for building and contents/building information, etc, but I think as an estimate, you would be safe to use $7500 per year.

Jennifer Said:

Ask: Online Auto Insurance Quotes, are they really safe and accurate?

We Answered:

You will have to shop around as you do.
Get a quote from insurers you get from yellow pages or from the web.

Gloria Said:

Becoming an online insurance broker?

We Answered:

There is some discussion in the Insurance Trade press at the moment as to whether comparison websites should be regulated by the Financial Services Authority or not.

If you become an agent of an insurance carrier e.g. an agent of Fortis, then you will have to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority or become an appointed representative of a company that is regulated by the FSA - this is certain.

the question then becomes: If you are supplied access to insurance companies quotation systems and provide quotes based on information provided are you then a representative of the company, an agent of the company or something else?

I suggest you look at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Do/ind… which gives details as to whether you need to be authorised by the FSA for your business model and also suggest you contact the FSA and, if you can get any advice from them, they might advise you further.

I am not stopping you from becoming an 'online insurance information provider' but 'broker' implies advice (unless you say you are not and don't give any - which is tricky), it is just that you have to be careful to ensure that you obey the current rules about insurance regulation.

To give an example, I was considering providing a service to help customers find local insurance brokers however that activity could be construed as assisting in the performance of an insurance contract - and thus require separate regulation.

As a (regulated) insurance broker myself, I and many like me would be annoyed if someone with no experience or knowledge of insurance is allowed to sell policies through the internet without having to obey what I am sure you have found out is a large body of rules via a loophole in the laws.