Chris Atkinson
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Let me tell you a story about the trucking company that nearly went out of business. Yup, out of business. Put there by their insurance company. I want to tell you this story because it happens all too frequently. I have seen it many times. I get involved when the insurance broker calls. The story goes like this.
The insurance company safety representative sends you a letter.
The correspondence is regarding a recently held meeting at your offices. You and the Safety person met for a few hours. From you perspective, you thought it was a waste of time. You know, you would have rather been dispatching trucks or making money. It was some valuable time that you lost. Time, that you would have been doing something else more productive. Anything would have been more productive but meeting with that insurance person!
From the insurance company perspective, it was a productive meeting for them. The insurance company found out several things that they didn’t know about your operation. Now they have a few concerns about your business. They have sent to you a letter outlining some “suggestions” or best business practices, which they want you to implement. You got the letter. You knew that you had to deal with it, but with the market demands and problems you didn’t. The letter gathered dust until you totally forgot about it.
So your insurance broker calls you today.
They just received a letter from your insurance company. The letter states that because you the trucking company, have not addressed the concerns raised in the message, that they are not going to renew your insurance. Your broker states that if they cancel, that they (the broker) will have a tough time getting a quote from anyone, actually putting you out of business.
So what the heck happened? How could this have gotten to this point? Insurance canceled and your company out of business? Now, what?
The broker suggests that you quickly hire a trucking safety consultant. Many experts know what to do and how to fix it quickly. Get you back on the road, if you understand me.
The consultant can get you fixed and on the right side of the insurance company again.
So what is the moral of this story?
Don’t let letters from your insurance company go unanswered. You need to take the letter very seriously and respond to it. The first response should be within 30 days of receiving the correspondence. A follow-up letter needs to to be sent to the insurer either 90 days later or 6 months. The letters need to address the “suggestions” contained in the insurance companies message. What action have you taken to implement the ideas? The letters that you write either at the 90 days or 6-month interval need to address the ongoing implementation of the suggestions. The insurer needs to be brought up to speed on the ideas.
Never let an insurance letter go unanswered and unaddressed. You need to take documented action ASAP.
