Identifying your Risks

Before you can do anything about risks that your firm faces, you must be aware of them. Someone has to dig into the operation of your company and discover the risks to which it is exposed. It is difficult to generalize about risks that a firm is likely to face because the differences in operations and conditions give rise to differing risks. Some risk exposures are relatively obvious, while others can be and often are overlooked.

The process of identifying your firm's risks is actually a job for two people -- you and your insurance broker. Since you are familiar with the operation of your company, and your broker is a specialist in risk handling, you should make an ideal team; but you have to be willing to devote the time required to assist your broker. You must also be willing to furnish your broker with all of the necessary information to accurately assess your exposures to loss.

One of the most common errors in purchasing insurance is to divide the insurance among several brokers. If you buy a part of your insurance program from one broker and the rest from another, neither may be able to properly integrate the coverages required to make a proper program of protection. Your business insurance coverage is a single matter rather than a series of individual items. Select one broker in whom you have confidence and work with that broker to seek the proper solutions to your problems

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