Municipal insurance: A "buyer's" advice to sellers

Rough Notes, Sep 1998 by Zinobile, Joseph D

You may also discover unreasonable expectations, such as: wanting all coverages on one policy, wanting a 75% price reduction on top of last year's 45%, or whatever. These are uncommon, but some clients have them. They must be dealt with in advance to protect your time.

Reality

The people who will be analyzing insurance proposals typically wear many hats and are BUSY. These are usually intelligent, hard-working people who will do their best; but, they are not likely to have 40 hours to make a detailed comparison of all proposals.

Some of the proposals that arrive in our office omit or obscure important information, contain errors, or are generally confusing. We spend many hours requesting, gathering, and sorting through information that should have been made clear in the initial proposals. Municipal employees responsible for insurance will not always do this. They may disregard a confusing proposal which is slightly higher in price, but which could be a strong contender due to superior coverages of which they are unaware. If you're going to participate, do your best! Make your proposal easy to navigate Organize your proposal into two sections:

Executive Summary

Use one page for a coverage/price summary, one to summarize "special" coverages (those which may not be present in other programs), and one to summarize how you will address any special expectations or problems you've identified. keep this brief?

Detailed Proposal

Here is where you put necessary boilerplate and any material that your agency requires for E&O claim prevention purposes. Include information on payment plans, loss control services, your agency's control services, your agency's promotional material, and other data here.

Most of the proposals we receive do not include a table of contents, an index, or numbered pages. Without these, analysis is more difficult. Imagine what the non-insurance professional has to go through! If you provide at least a table of contents and numbered pages, your proposal will stand out. If the client has an easier time navigating your proposal than any other, yours may become the "benchmark" against which others are compared-an important advantage! Clear, focused presentation If you make a presentation, spend as little time as you must on the summary should cover the prices and basic coverages: review them quickly, ask for questions, and focus on the items that might distinguish your program as superior to others.

Brevity and focus are especially important in any presentation to an elected board. Ask about and do not violate time limits. Set a priority for each item to be covered and follow that order. Be clear and concise with your words, and plan to complete the essential parts of your presentation in one-half of your allotted time, because you might be cut short!

Price is important in the client's decision-making process, but it will be the only determinant if the client does not perceive any reason to accept a higher-priced proposal. You may get only one chance to distinguish yourself...prepare well and stick to the essentials!