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Loretta Said:

General Liability insurance?

We Answered:

Quite honestly, the rates vary widely from business to business. If you've already shopped around across a dozen places or so odds are you're seeing a very good representation of the average rates for your particular industry and location.

If it's at all helpful, one of my friends owns a comic book shop and his liability insurance is very reasonable. However his brother owns one of those companies where they turn human bodies into mannequins (like you see in those shows that roam the country) and his rates are simply astronomical. I find that a little more than ironic since the only people on his property are frozen solid and stored in boxes but that's a very complicated field for underwriting, I guess.

Rafael Said:

What does an insurance broker do?

We Answered:

An insurance broker is a liaison between an insurance company and a company or person looking for insurance. The big insurance broker's business usually consists of finding policies for companies. For example, a company may come to a broker and describe what kind of business it does. The broker will help determine what kind of coverage that company needs, i.e., general liability, property, professional liability, employee liability, theft, etc. and then will negotiate with an insurance company or several insurance companies that will issue the policies. The broker will generally collect the premiums and send them to the insurance company, receive notice of claims or losses and transmit those to the insurance company, and otherwise serve as a go-between. In my experience, insurance brokers generally work a fairly average nine to five, Monday through Friday work schedule, although insurance brokers would probably tell you that they work harder than that. Most insurance brokers start out working for a company, but with experience can open their own agency. I don't know what kind of education insurance brokerages require. I've met several people who started out in clerical positions in insurance broker companies right out of college, or sometimes high school, and then were promoted to higher positions in the company. I don't know, however, whether they were also taking classes while working.

Ethel Said:

How can I become an Insurance Broker or start an IMO in California?

We Answered:

Look, this isn't a stupid answer. You've been a captive agent, and you want to switch, to be an independent agent. You could PROBABLY hire producers under you, right now, even with your captive contracts, so there's nothing stopping you from doing that.

The trick is, obviously, how to get the appointments. Depending on what state you live in, it can be hard to almost impossible. It's going to depend on the size of your existing book; how much you think you can successfully transfer to a new carrier; the makeup of your existing book; and your loss ratios. Carriers pretty much want a minimum of $100,000 to roll over, with a viable business plan to increase it to $250,000 within three years.

If you don't have six figures of book to roll over, you don't have enough book to carry lots of different carriers.

The easiest carriers to get appointed with, who will let you act as an independent, are Progressive and Foremost. They don't write in all states, so that might not work with you.

You should probably join your local independent agents association - at least you'll make contacts there, and maybe you can get some leads for carriers appointing in your area.

Hazel Said:

Practice Test for OTL Exam (General Insurance Brokers License)?

We Answered:

Here's a place, the first one is free, then they'll sell you others.

http://www.insurance-schools.com/free_in…

But there should also be practice exams in the back of your study materials.

My advice is, get lots of rest, and read the questions very carefully.