All Forum Posts by: Paul Brown

Thanks John. I see you are in Riverside. I used to own an Allstate insurance agency many years ago that was in downtown Riverside right by the train station. Love that city.

Hi Nathan,

Brokers are local and state by state. I am in Illinois so I can't really help with state specific details but here is some info. I am not sure how much you know about insurance so if I am giving you too basic of information then I apologize in advance. There are 2 types of "agencies / brokerages" in the insurance world. The first is “captive agents” who only represent one carrier "brand" like Allstate, State Farm, Farmers, American Family, etc. Most of the time the companies “carriers” they represent focus primarily on personal lines of insurance and they don't do alot of commercial. I want to be clear that these are good companies but often their hands are tied and since they don’t write a lot of commercial insurance policies they underwrite it hard and err on the side of caution meaning they often charge a lot to cover unexpected losses. It’s common that they offer commercial insurance to accommodate their personal lines customer base but price it high since it’s not their bread and butter. It's worth getting a price from them but they usually need all of your other insurance to make it competitive.

"Brokers" on the other hand represent alot of different carriers which most you will have probably never heard of (which isn't a bad thing but always do your homework on the carrier and their ratings). To make it more confusing there are different types of "brokers" in the insurance world. Some focus on niches like medical, small business, personal etc. So you may call a broker and they don’t even do commercial real estate but ask them who does and get a referral. Note that when I say “commercial real estate” that is a generic term for non-personal insurance including landlord policies for single family and multi-family residential as well as typical office, industrial, etc.

Here is my suggestion. I would call some local Captive agents and get some quotes. After you talk to the first one write down all of the millions of pieces of information they ask for and put a form / spreadsheet together listing all the details of your properties (ie: address, size, age, brick/frame, alarms, age of roof, etc). other brokers are going to need the same info. Having a “list” that you can send to others and on an annual basis to shop for rates is key…future you will thank present you for doing this! To find brokers I would start by checking with local real estate agents (commercial agents might be preferred), bankers, local Chambers of Commerce and obviously other local investors. Note that most brokers offer policies in their state or neighboring states due to licensing requirements. If you call a broker and they don’t handle commercial real estate ask for referrals as they probably know who in the area handles that type of risk. When you start working with brokers who are giving you quotes ask what carriers they represent and let other brokers know what “carriers” you are already getting quotes from so multiple brokers don’t submit your info to the same carriers. Again…these brokers represent multiple carriers so there will be some overlap here and there. Since you should now have all of your info in a single document you can just email it to all the brokers so you don’t have to spend hours on the phone with them. Carriers’ rates change year to year depending on their losses so you should repeat this process every year or so. It’s important to note though that having a solid relationship with an insurance agent/broker is key for building a good team so I wouldn’t switch or hop around each year unless the savings was substantial as a good insurance agent is worth his/her weight in gold. What you are paying for is not only coverage from the carrier but advice, guidance and service from the agent/broker.

***NOTE: I AM NO LONGER AN INSURANCE AGENT AND HAVEN'T BEEN FOR YEARS BUT THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINION/RECOMMENDATION

I used to own an insurance agency. You need to find a broker that can shop for commercial rates. Stay away from the name brands Allstate, State Farm, Farmers, etc. they can do it but since they dont specialize in it they charge insane prices. Also you need to shop your insurance annually and a good commercial broker that works with multiple carriers can do that for you. 

I'm new to the forum. I live in Elmhurst, IL and own a small business (moving company) which I am implementing an exit strategy over the next few years. I own a couple of industrial properties in the Chicago Suburbs that I lease back to my moving company. I'm hoping to build a portfolio over the next few years as I transition out of my business. I'd like to continue with industrial properties but am also interested in residential in the western suburbs. Lombard, IL & Villa Park, IL is my focus but open to other areas. My 15 year old son is along for the journey as I want him to start learning at a young age which is what I wished I had done earlier. He loves it as well and we enjoy our time together doing it. Anyways, I just wanted to introduce myself and that I'm looking forward to learning and networking with others in the forums.