Be prepared with a commercial insurance renewal checklist

Get a head start on your business insurance renewal

With Insureon, we can work with you 60-90 days before your renewal date to start any preparations. This provides the necessary time to gather financial information that insurance carriers need to determine what, if any, policy adjustments need to be made.

What is the insurance renewal process?

Your insurance renewal happens at the end of your policy period. This is when your insurance carrier will review your policies and adjust your coverage and premium. Before your next policy period starts, you'll either see your premium increase or decrease depending on several factors your provider will review. At this time, your insurer could also choose not to renew your policy, however this will only happen under certain circumstances.

Do commercial insurance policies automatically renew?

While some policies can automatically renew, most insurance policies will not. When it comes to your business insurance renewal, you should take an active stance and work with your agent to provide any business updates or complete renewal applications.

How do I manage my insurance renewal?

Your knowledgeable Insureon Account Manager can help you manage your renewal process. However, here are some considerations to help you prepare:

• Understand what contributed to any losses in the past, and have a plan in place to decrease those risks.
• Plan for any possible rate increases, which could come from insurance market changes or changes to your business.
• Determine which areas of coverage need to be increased or decreased to adequately cover your business.
• While saving money is important, don't settle for the lowest cost. Having the best coverages for the best price is most important.

Review the commercial insurance renewal checklist

If you answer "Yes" to any of the following questions, reach out to your dedicated Account Manager to start discussing your upcoming renewal.

Have you moved to a new location?

Moving from a home office to a commercial space, expanding to a new location, or opening an additional office could all trigger the need for changes to general liability insurance or a business owner's policy (BOP). In some cases, insurance rates may go down – especially if the new location is smaller and includes enhanced safety features, such as a wired alarm system or sprinklers.

Has your number of employees changed?

Staff changes could require updates to your workers' compensation insurance policy. Every state has different rules, but the majority require employers to purchase coverage as soon as the first employee is hired.

As employees join or leave the company, workers’ comp coverage levels should be adjusted. This ensures all employees are covered and business owners aren’t paying for staff members who are no longer with the company. The insurance renewal process is the perfect opportunity for business owners to verify they're carrying appropriate workers’ comp coverage.

Are you offering new goods or services?

Changes in service offerings may require adjustments to professional liability insurance coverage, and businesses that update product lines should revisit the product liability coverage in their general liability policy.

The renewal period is also a good time to verify if you have cyber insurance, which can protect small business owners from the financial fallout of a data breach. This coverage is often included in professional liability or general liability policies, or can be purchased as a standalone policy.

Did you purchase new business equipment?

The rates for commercial property insurance, which can be purchased separately or as part of a business owner's policy, are based on the type and amount of equipment a business owns, including new equipment. Significant changes to the value of business property could impact your annual premium. Commercial property coverage also only applies to equipment that remains in or on your business property.

If your equipment moves from jobsite to jobsite, you'll need inland marine or contractor's tools and equipment coverage, depending on the value of your equipment and tools.

Have your business practices changed significantly?

If your business practices have changed significantly, your insurance agent may need to adjust certain policies, such as general liability insurance, or add new ones, such as commercial auto insurance, to ensure the business is protected from additional risks.

Did you purchase or sell commercial vehicles?

Businesses that bought or sold a business vehicle in the past year will need to adjust their commercial auto insurance coverage if they haven’t already done so. In addition, businesses may need to add hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA) if employees use personal vehicles for business purposes. Personal auto insurance policies typically don’t cover work-related driving. A change to the company’s travel radius could also trigger an increase or decrease in coverage need.