| Question | Answer |
| Who is InsurancePoliciesOnline.com? | We are an independent insurance brokerage located in St. Louis, Missouri. InsurancePoliciesOnline.com is managed by brokers placing business through the Charles L. Crane Agency, one of the 100 largest in the United States. Since 1885 Crane has been providing superior coverage and service to its clients. We've brought to you, online, the types of services we offer all our clients. |
| How long does it take to apply for coverage? | That all depends on how many different coverage's you want. One line of coverage, such as general liability, may only take you 10 minutes to complete the quote request, review your proposal, complete the application and bind your coverage. Of course, having all the suggested information will speed things up! We have designed this process to make it as fast and thorough as possible. A complete insurance program can be put together within 35 minutes!
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| I need to gather more information to complete my quote request. Will I have to re-enter all my data? | No. As you complete each quote request, you will have a chance to review the information you entered. The quote request will remain open until you have verified and "Submitted" the information to us. To return to your quote requests, simply login and return to the quote request that need to be completed. |
| My industry or business class is not listed. Can I still buy my insurance online? | InsurancePoliciesOnline.com is constantly adding to the industries and business classes that we can serve online. Only eligible businesses are shown on the site. You may still set up a user account and complete an information request to find out. We will notify you when we do offer service for your company online. |
| I operate my business in two different states. Can I buy my coverage from InsurancePoliciesOnline.com? | Absolutely. While our quote requests are only designed to provide a quote for one state at a time, other states may be added onto your policy at any time. Simply send us an email or complete a change request.
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| When will my coverage become effective? | Whether you receive your proposal immediately online or via e-mail after you have requested a quote, you can make your coverage effective as early as two business days later. All insurance policies become effective at 12:01 A.M. You can choose an effective date up to thirty days in advance as well. |
| How can I pay for my policy? | InsurancePoliciesOnline.com offers our policyholders direct billing from the insurance companies. You make a deposit payment to us with a credit card when you bind coverage and future bills will come directly from the insurance company. Installments may be spread out over the term of the policy. Most companies do not charge interest on your remaining premium. However, some may charge a small installment fee of $3 to $6 per payment. You may pay your full annual premium at any time. |
| What limits of liability coverage should I buy? | Generally speaking, you should always purchase the highest limits you can reasonably afford. Even a small company can have an accident resulting in a large claim. Other issues to take into consideration are minimum limits required by the city or county in which you work and the required limits of general contractor's for whom you may work. Many commercial accounts will require contractors to have minimum auto and general liability limits of $500,000 to $1,000,000 or more. |
| I am just starting my business. How should I estimate my payroll, sales and number of employees? | General liability and worker's compensation policies are both audited when they expire. What that means is that the insurance company will compare the actual number of employees and payroll amounts to what you told us when we quoted your policy. All you need to do to get a quote is provide the closest estimate of what your number of employees and payrolls will be over the coming 12-month period. Take the total number of hours you expect to work a week for all employees, multiply it by your average hourly pay and then multiply that total by the number of weeks you expect to work per year. If you find that that your estimate was too low, we can change it at any time. It is always best to make your estimate as close as possible. This allows you to pay your premium over the length of the policy instead of getting a large bill after the audit. |
| What limit of property insurance should I buy? | All commercial property coverage provided by InsurancePoliciesOnline.com uses a replacement cost valuation. This is the cost to replace old property with new. You should purchase coverage on each location (building and contents) in an amount sufficient to replace all of the property you own at that location. Remember, the most expensive insurance you have is the policy you didn't buy! Choosing too low of a limit for your property coverage is just as bad. |
| I have an office in my home. What coverage do I get from my homeowners? | Most standard homeowners policies are designed to only provide coverage for your personal property and liability. They will specifically exclude business property or liability arising from business operations. While some homeowner policies may offer limited coverage for business property, it is not the most appropriate method. A commercial property policy will provide coverage for all of your business property, but not your home. You can request coverage for the business contents of your home office at our Property Quote page.
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| What is the difference between a bond and insurance? | There are many differences between the two, but the basic difference is this: an insurance policy is intended to provide protection against financial loss to the policy holder, bonds are intended to provide financial protection or guarantee to a third party. To put in another way, an insurance policy is for the benefit of the insured while a bond is for the benefit of the obligee. |
| How will my account be serviced? | Your account may be serviced in a variety of methods. You can request changes to coverage, add or delete vehicles, order certificates of insurance or request evidence of property insurance all with our online forms. There is a special e-mail address just for policyholders that you can use to ask questions or make other changes. And, of course, we still have a toll free phone line staffed by licensed insurance professionals! |
| How do I turn in claims? | In our Resources section, you can find links to each carrier's web site where they give you the various ways in which you may turn in a claim. Most insurance companies provide a 24-hour claim reporting hotline. Your actual insurance policy will also include instructions on what to do in the event of a claim. |
| How can I renew my insurance plan? | Your insurance coverage will automatically renew with your current carrier. About 90 days prior to renewal, you will receive a renewal questionnaire via e-mail. This will be used to make sure that your insurance program is growing with your business and still providing all the protection you need at the right premium. Completing this review will give you an opportunity to request new coverage and learn about other programs available to your business. |
| What does it mean to name InsurancePoliciesOnline.com as my sole representative to the insurance company? | When you apply for, or purchase, insurance coverage from an independent agent, they must send your application and policy request on to the insurance company. To avoid any duplication of these submissions, it is necessary to give the insurance company verification that we are making an official request on your behalf. In practical terms, it is a simple method to make certain that we get the insurance company to issue the policy you requested from us. |
| What is the difference between an agent and a broker? | The difference is simple, but important. An agent is a paid employee of an insurance company. They must do what is in the best interest of the insurance company. A broker is independent. They (we) represent a variety of insurance companies. A broker's primary legal obligation is to act in the best interest of the client. We work for YOU. |
| What is with all the disclaimer's all over your web site? | Unfortunately, many insurance companies employ lawyers. These people are not in the sales department. They tend to think that consumers are unable to differentiate between us as a broker and them as the insurance company. So, we have to try to make it clear that we are an intermediary and NOT the insurance company. That is why we must state the obvious in many cases. |