Broker vs Insurance Company
There are many times when pilots are discussing insurance and the question is asked who is your insurance company? or who gave you the best rate? Many of the answers are NationAir, Falcon, AOPA ect., when these are actually the broker you have chosen to work with. The insurance company, or carrier as we call them sometimes, is the actual underwriter that is issuing the policy and who will be paying claims.
Choosing the right broker:
There are many things to look for when you are choosing a broker to work with. You want a broker that is well established, that focuses only on aviation and has access to all the major markets. You should be confident in your brokers knowledge of the aircraft you own, the insurance policies and their strong relationships with the underwriters. You want a broker who attends national aviation events like Sun N Fun, EAA AirVenture and local regional fly-ins so they are up to date with industry information. What better way to know the aircraft then to see them up close and personal. Referrals go a long way as well, talk to your friends and see who they are happy with and who they are not. You want to make sure you will be getting great customer service and always have a knowledgeable agent on the phone to help you.
Shopping the market:
When you say you are shopping for insurance you really should not have to call more than one broker. Any broker will get the same quote from each insurance company if they present the same information to be quoted to the underwriters. Calling multiple brokers will not get you a lower quote from the same carrier. The only way two brokers are going to get different quotes is if the information presented is different or if the first broker did not check all the markets. Ask your broker who else did you check? What were their premiums? The broker cannot change the premium that was quoted, this is all decided by the insurance company. The broker will turn around and give you the exact information as quoted. By choosing the right broker you can eliminate the extra phone calls and forms by letting them do all the work for you.
In the end the broker is there to assist you the client. Whether it?s working out training details, getting something out of the ordinary approved or just helping you understand the policy. You must feel confident they are doing all they can for you. If you have any worries that they are not at it may be time to check around at your next renewal date and see what you are missing.
Jenny Estes
Vans Program Manager
NationAir Aviation Insurance.
www.nationair.com
Broker vs Insurance Company
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