Developing a bid-winning insurance program for your consulting firm

Entrepreneurs who step forward with their American dreams and launch their own engineering firm, environmental services or contracting, surveying or architecture endeavors often spend their time going over the operational plans in great detail. They invest their energies in reading the fine-print on landlord leases, software licensing agreements, office furniture contracts, and payroll vendors.

Yet somehow, when it comes to business insurance, the forward-thinking startups regress to bartering for tomatoes with a street corner vendor. How much is it going to cost overcomes the more important questions such as:

What are the programs and carriers that I need to enroll in that will not only be cost-effective, but will grow with me as my firm grows?

What are the contract requirements for an engineering firm twice and three times the size of my current size, and how do I plan for it now?

What is the roadmap to a complete insurance plan that helps me win bids and build my American dream faster?

The first question to ask yourself is who are the carriers in my profession that understand what I do? What types of contractual obligations I will be brought under that my insurance will need to respond to? What do my current customers require in terms of insurance types and limits? Not all quotes are the same. Price and functionality are usually interconnected. So, if you’re paying dramatically less than other firms your size, you will probably not be able to meet all the contractual requirements you see as you attempt to grow your firm.

In the engineering and consulting space, some of the common insurance requirements we see in bids include:

Professional liability, also known as errors and omissions or malpractice insurance.

General liability, which pays for claims related to bodily injury or property damage that result from your operations.

Commercial Auto liability insurance, whether you drive a personal vehicle or not.

Workers Compensation, whether you have employees or not.

Umbrella – which means an excess liability policy that is over and above the General liability, the Commercial Auto and the Workers Comp.

Contractual obligations such as naming a party “additional insured” or “waiving the right to subrogate.”

In terms of roadmap, at Puharic and Associates, Inc., we have a model for our consulting firms that we believe wins bids, fuels growth and gets you on your way to your American dreams. We think the smallest firm can position themselves for larger wins and NOT ruin themselves financially by overspending for insurance. We have seen many contracts in our four operating states, we have negotiated on behalf of our customers for 21 years. We have the model and can set you up for success not when you are larger and playing catch-up, but from day one.