By Stephen Lim, Lic# 0M66738

Shopping for car insurance is easy. Shopping for homeowners/renters is easy. Shopping for health insurance coverage is easy. But shopping for Commercial Insurance such as Medical Professional Liability Insurance or Cyber Liability Insurance can sometimes be tricky, not knowing who the best carriers are, how the submission process is handled, and who to contact to make the process as efficient as possible.

We’ve laid out some different ways you can search for commercial insurance in 2020. These methods can be utilized with most commercial insurance products. The goal is to give you a better understanding of your options.

One caveat to Commercial Insurance is that it typically cannot be “quoted” immediately without an application. This allows the underwriters to provide an in-depth and accurate quote that is obligation-free.

Search Your Self

1. If you know which insurance company you’d like to go with and don’t want to see many options, this is the best option for you.

2. Apply directly to the individual insurance company. If you are seeking multiple quotes, you will need to submit various applications.

3. What you’ll need: a completed application, loss run (claims history) reports for the past 5 - 7 years. If you’ve had multiple insurance companies, you’ll have to request loss runs from these numerous insurance companies.

4. Answer any questions that may arrive from each insurance company. This can be a massive drawback as this means maintaining communication with the multiple insurance companies representatives with questions sometimes being redundant.

5. Very few carriers offer an online application and instant quoting system. Typically, these are available for advanced practitioners and allied practitioners such as Nurse Practitioners, Physicians Assistants, Registered Nurses. For Physicians, you will usually need to complete a paper application.

Utilize a Direct Agent

1. Direct Agent works directly for the insurance company, which is very similar to “searching yourself.” You’ll still need to apply to multiple insurance companies.

2. A direct agent typically only has access to one insurance company, the one they work for.

Search Using a Brokerage

1. Utilize a brokerage to shop multiple different Medical Malpractice Insurance companies with a single digital application. This provides the flexibility of only applying to search for numerous insurance companies’ quotes.

2. A proper brokerage should be able to obtain loss run reports for you, based on the information provided on previous carrier history.

3. Review multiple quotes, designed and presented most consistently, to compare the benefits and drawbacks of each indication.

4. If utilizing a brokerage, ensure you only use ONE agency/brokerage. Typically when utilizing two separate agencies, only one will be able to quote you, and the other will be blocked, which creates delays of up to 5 - 8 business days

5. Shop Agency First - Not Insurance Companies - A proper agency will be able to provide multiple indications, so ensure the Agent you are working with has the access, knowledge, and the process to make shopping for Medical Malpractice Insurance as efficient as possible.

We understand that searching and shopping for Medical Malpractice in 2020 can be a bit archaic. California Attending Physicians Insurance Agency, CAPIA, has the necessary infrastructure and processes to make the experience as efficient and seamless as possible. Contact us or chat with us today!