As businesses continue to face skyrocketing property insurance premiums across the commercial real estate, manufacturing and logistics industries, among many others, one Chicago business owner has created a solution.
B Insured Commercial Insurance Solutions, an independent, Illinois-licensed insurance brokerage firm, has been launched to bring pricing transparency, lower rates, and greater coverage options to businesses throughout the metropolitan area. The formation of B Insured by Dan Brown, the founder and president of Brown Commercial Group, a commercial real estate brokerage firm, is in response to soaring insurance costs that are having a significant impact on many businesses’ operating expenses.
According to Brown, B Insured is designed to bring relief to commercial tenants, property owners, investors and businesses throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Operating independently from the real estate brokerage firm, B Insured will also service other lines of insurance. The new company is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
“The cost of insurance has risen 20 to 40 percent or more over the past few years, creating a significant financial burden that is difficult for any business to absorb,” said Brown. “B Insured will disrupt the standard insurance procurement process to bring needed relief to businesses.”
While many large insurance companies can only quote insurance based on their own policies and pricing, B Insured leverages a large roster of carriers to shop for the best pricing and coverage.
“As an objective business partner, B Insurance has the opportunity to source a range of policy options and secure competitive pricing from top-tier carriers with A++ ratings,” said Kimberly Beard, Senior Vice President of B Insured and a 19-year veteran of the insurance industry in the Chicagoland area. “This adds tremendous value for the business, as we function as their trusted partner throughout the process, from securing the initial policies to sourcing the best renewal options. In some cases, we are seeing companies decline to renew policies to minimize their risk – and this is something we can stay ahead of to help give businesses better options.”
According to research from Deloitte, insurance costs are forecasted to continue to increase across the country, and could double in some areas by 2030. The Chicago area is seeing significant increases, as rates increase to offset significant insurance company expenses to cover weather and natural disaster-related events.
Amanufacturing business occupying 10,000 square feet of space and owning $3 million in equipment may have paid as much as $15,000 in insurance two years ago. Because of increasing costs, that same coverage today might be as much as $18,750 just on business coverage alone, not to mention workers compensation rates that are also rising at the same or higher levels. This example from Rockford Mutual related to a business location covered in Alsip, IL. By using an insurance brokerage firm like B Insured, that business will now be able to have a broader range of carriers and cost options to consider, ultimately leading to lower rates.
Among the insurance carriers B Insured works with are Travelers Insurance, Hartford, Kemper, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Berkley Aspire, Berkshire Hathaway Guard, Rockford Mutual and others.
