Case Study 1

Property Coverage Case Study

A $1 Million Deductible Problem — and How We Fixed It

In this case, the insured’s property program had a $1 million aggregate deductible. That meant they would have to absorb the first $1 million in property claims before insurance would begin responding.

And it didn’t stop there. Once the $1 million aggregate was exhausted, the insured was still responsible for a $100,000 deductible per occurrence. We took a different approach...

By re-negotiating the entire insurance program and approaching a different panel of carriers, we were able to restructure the coverage and reduce the deductible to a flat $100,000 per occurrence. The potential impact was significant: one large claim could have resulted in approximately $800,000 less in out-of-pocket expense for the property owner.

Aggregate deductibles became increasingly common during the hard property insurance market, when capacity was limited and carriers were tightening terms. As the property market has softened, however, more favorable structures have become available — creating opportunities to revisit coverage terms that may no longer be necessary. In this case, we were also able to reduce the insured’s total premium by approximately $50,000.

The $50,000 premium savings was a great result, but the real win was eliminating the $1 million aggregate deductible and significantly reducing the insured’s potential out-of-pocket exposure.

The Takeaway

Your insurance broker should be doing more than simply shopping for the lowest premium. A strong broker should understand where the insurance market is heading, what coverage terms carriers are willing to offer, and when it makes sense to restructure your program. Sometimes, the biggest savings aren't found in the premium — they're found in better coverage terms and reduced risk when a claim occurs.

Liability Coverage Case Study

Turning a Coverage Restriction Into Better Protection

Firearms exclusions are not uncommon in the insurance market, particularly for properties located in areas with higher crime scores or a history of gun- or weapon-related incidents.

This is where building a master insurance program can create a significant advantage. When you bring multiple properties together under one program, you can leverage the portfolio’s overall size and buying power with insurance carriers. For example, there is a meaningful difference between one property generating $40,000 in premium and a 10-property portfolio generating $300,000 in premium. More premium can provide greater leverage with the insurance markets and create opportunities for more favorable pricing and coverage terms.

In this case, an individual property may have been subject to a firearms exclusion based on its specific crime score. However, when that property was combined with nine other locations with significantly lower crime scores, the underwriter could evaluate the risk across the entire portfolio rather than looking at one location in isolation.

As a result, we were able to secure the program without a firearms exclusion.

Reducing a $250,000 Deductible to $25,000 per occurance

We also identified another significant issue: the portfolio carried a $250,000 General Liability (specificically on the Assault & Battery coverage) deductible per occurrence.

For context, even on larger multifamily portfolios, a $100,000 per-occurrence liability deductible is considered substantial. Many portfolios historically have carried deductibles in the $5,000–$25,000 range, although the liability market continues to harden, with carriers tightening underwriting guidelines and reducing coverage in certain areas.

We were able to reduce this client’s deductible from $250,000 per occurrence to just $25,000 per occurrence — with no increase in premium. That means the insured’s potential out-of-pocket exposure on a covered liability claim was reduced by $225,000 per occurrence, without paying more for the program.

How Did We Do It?

We told a better story to the insurance market.

Rather than simply submitting the application and waiting for quotes, we took the time to provide underwriters with the information they needed to properly understand the risk.

We:

• Provided accurate crime scores for each location

• Documented the portfolio's loss history

• Demonstrated that none of the properties had experienced a firearms or assault/battery claim in the previous 10 years

• Addressed the potential concerns before they became underwriting obstacles

• Worked directly with multiple underwriters to ensure they were comfortable with the risk before providing terms

The result was broader coverage, a dramatically lower deductible for an important coverage, and no increase in premium.

The Takeaway

Insurance isn't always about finding the lowest quote. It's about structuring the risk correctly and presenting it effectively to the insurance market.

A knowledgeable broker can use portfolio size, loss history, underwriting data, and relationships with carriers to help tell the complete story behind a risk. Remember underwriters are just people...they respect the truth and real data with a conversation.

In this case, that approach turned a potentially restrictive insurance program into one with significantly better liability protection — at the exact same premium.