Things are constantly changing all around us; categories of industry, coverage forms, exposures, policy language – the list goes on and on. We all wear a risk manager hat in some way, so I’d like to share some tools that will help you identify and assess the exposures of your clients and customers.
I’m referring to Rough Notes Advantage-Plus. If you have not used it before, its exactly what it sounds like. A virtual tool that you can consult with to identify risks for any category of commercial customer. There are hundreds of classes of business to search through and they are easily organized and sorted with just the click of a mouse. This useful tutorial from IIABA, walks you through one example to show exactly what helpful information you will find within the tool.
Category: Retail Stores Risk: Florists
Retail stores are susceptible to premises liability claims because of customer traffic but large department and specialty stores are more susceptible than most. All retail stores have significant property exposures. The on-hand stock represents a considerable investment but the amount on hand fluctuates seasonally. For this reason, physical damage insurance on this property must be arranged carefully. When the insured occupies a non-owned building, insurance coverage must be arranged for the insured's interest in extensive improvements and betterments made to the premises. Crime insurance, in the form of employee theft and money and securities coverage, is also very important.
Then you are given a choice of selecting a specific type of retail store to learn more about. After clicking on the "Florists" tab you will see four steps needed to show up at a florist equipped to act as their risk consultant. Those steps are shown below.
Step #1: Understanding the Risk – This section of Rough Notes Advantage-Plus provides a summary of operations and an explanation of areas of exposures to evaluate for the risk to be insured. Also included are minimum coverages to offer and other types of coverages to consider as well.
Step #2: Exposure Identification Survey – You can then build a questionnaire to review with your customer designed to assist in revealing client exposures and uncover potential coverage gaps. The information serves as a guide in developing an insurance program to meet the client's needs. The questionnaire is a supplement to the ACORD forms, not a replacement for them, so the ACORD forms must also be completed and used.
Step #3: Proposal Assistant –The proposal assistant provides concise definitions for all coverages included in your customer proposal. The proposal assistant offers a comprehensive list of commercial lines coverages with succinct definitions to enhance customer understanding at the point of sale. It also offers links directly to the appropriate ACORD forms and more in-depth coverage analysis from PF&M.
Step #4: Customer Coverage E&O Checklist/File Documentation – Get a printable coverage checklist complete with a client/agent signature block to use with your customer to document coverages recommended and rejected by the customer. Important: Keep signed customer coverage checklists with the client file as documentation should a claim occur.
The Rough Notes Advantage-Plus tool does almost all the work for you and allows you to provide strong customer service, showcase your knowledge and cross sell and up sell programs. It takes only a short time to do your homework Rough Notes Advatange-Plus.
Learn more about the Rough Notes Advatange-Plus by logging on to https://www.independentagent.com/roughnotes/Pages/home.aspx.