Commercial Insurance Renewal Checklist
December 1, 2024
Assessing your businesses insurance coverage on an annual basis is critical to keeping your business healthy. As your business grows and changes, so will your insurance needs. Typically 60-90 days before your renewal date is a good time to start reviewing your insurance needs with an independent insurance agency, like Lewis Mohr.
How Does The Insurance Renewal Process Work?
Your insurance is renewed at the end of your policy period, which is typically one year in length. This is when the insurance provider will adjust your coverage and premiums based on market trends and your company’s history and operations. This can lead to increases or decreases in the amount you pay each year in premiums and is when an insurance provider can choose to not renew your policy.
It’s important to know that most insurance policies will not renew on their own. However, if you are working with a quality insurance agency, your agent will reach out 60-90 days in advance to discuss renewing your policy. You’ll want to understand the losses you have had in the past and how you will plan to decrease those risks. Planning for possible rate increases is also important as the insurance market and your business changes.
Insurance Renewal Checklist
What should you consider when preparing to renew your insurance policies? Here are some considerations:
1. Employee Count
Making changes to the number of staff is a typical part of most businesses. While workers’ compensation and group health insurance changes are typically made when employees are hired or leave, other insurance policies will be adjusted based on broader trends in your employee count or only after key hires.
2. Goods or Services
When your business introduces new goods or services or removes them from its offerings, it’s imperative to consider how this affects your risk profile. Not only will you want to insure your business is covered for new risks, you do not want to pay for insurance you don’t need.
3. Industry Changes
As changes happen in your industry and as more regulations get introduced, you’ll want to review that your business is adequately covered. For example, you’ll want to make sure you have the correct minimum limits required by your state’s regulations if there are any changes. Or as cyber threats increase across the business landscape, you’ll potentially want to increase your coverage limits for cyber liability insurance.
4. New Equipment or Vehicles
Changes to the equipment you own or as its value decreases can alter your insurance needs significantly. Each time you renew your policy it’s a great time to reassess the value of your equipment so you are not under or overpaying for insurance coverage.
5. Business Locations
When you change offices or add a new location you’ll need to reassess your general liability and commercial property insurance coverage. Policy renewal is a great time to make sure you are properly covered at each location. As fire and flood events become more commonplace it’s important to assess if any of your locations have an increased risk of loss and if more coverage is warranted.
Additionally, just as you assess the value of your equipment and vehicles, each renewal period is an important time to assess the value of your property. If you were to experience a property loss due to a catastrophic event, but your insurance coverage is only covering your property for how much it was worth five years ago, it could potentially ruin your business.
It’s vital to have an experienced insurance agency looking out for your business’s needs. Choosing a family-owned, independent insurance agency that’s been in business for more than 50 years, like Lewis Mohr Insurance Agency, is a great first step to making sure you are managing your risk appropriately. If you have questions about insurance for your business, please reach out via our website or by giving us a call. We’re happy to help!
