California Business and commercial insurance trends as I see the California Insurance Market evolve from the perspective of a independent California commercial insurance broker. Industries I have clients in include non-profits, manufacturing, commercial property owners, technology and software to name a few. I'll be discussing the trends in California Workers Compensation, Property Insurance, E&O, Errors and omissions, Directors and officers, D&O, EPLI, and other coverages
Saturday, January 17, 2009
California Start ups seek Business Insurance
Being a commercial insurance broker in California can be a rewarding career but in this economic environment it can be especially rewarding. I know this might sound like misplaced optimism or a sick sense humor but it's not. Most businesses in California are experiencing reduced payroll and declining revenue I am finding a good number of people who find this the ideal environment to start new ventures. Some of the businesses I have been working with the past few months are designed to exceed with the market conditions that we are facing and others are just good entrepreneurs finding niches that they can succeed in.
One such business is a foreclosure trustee organization that was born out of the collapse of Land America. We obtained General liability BOP, D&O, Professional Liability, California workers compensation, a fiduciary policy and a few ancillary mono-line policies. The business is operating in Orange County and had projected revenue of $1 million for 2009 and after the first month of operation it appears that this is a conservative estimate. They have shared with me first month revenues in excess of $300,000, which is exceptional for a startup.
Another client that we obtained coverage for is handling REO Property management and the founders are entrepreneurial individuals in the Inland Empire of Southern California who have experience in facility management and banking relations. They needed to put into place a general liability policy as well as a professional liability policy to begin procuring contracts. These are two examples that are obviously skewed towards the environment we are in but they are only one segment of growth I am seeing.
This week we were working on a workers compensation case for a client who had never hired employees as his business was always small enough that he handled all of his own equipment rental business. He was hired onto a production taking place in Hollywood and is providing the equipment as well as the professional staff to man the equipment. He was ecstatic with his growth and the potential for 2009.
You can see that although the general mood in the California business environment is very cautious their is still s silver lining out there and we have reasons to be optimistic.
