I am back in the saddle now that I’m off the road, and this content is going to come to you fast and furious. Today I’m going to share with you one of the easiest hacks that I have that you can use to drive a wedge with a prospect, and it comes from all places Certificates of insurance.
For crying out loud! What are you talking about, David? What in the world are you doing with certificates? Well, listen, I could go down the easy road and say that I look at certificates to make sure that the auto limits are right and the General Liability limits are right. We all know to do that. But here’s the one that I find more often than not allows me to have a conversation past that initial stage with the prospect, and it involves the umbrella, but specifically workers’ compensation. How many times have you looked at a certificate of insurance and you see that the Employer’s Liability limits on the umbrella are at the state minimum or on the workers’ comp? Rather, how many times have you looked at a certificate of insurance and realized that the employer’s liability limits on the workers comp are at the state minimum? We know that the umbrella is not going to write over top of that, and it is an extremely inexpensive charge for you to take those limits from state minimum to a million across the board, so you get the full benefit of the umbrella riding over top of it.
Now, if you’re a younger producer who’s new to the game, this may not seem like a big deal to you, but I have to tell you, getting a little longer in the tooth as an old dog these days. I’ve seen some claims that hit those employer liability limits. More importantly, I’ve seen them hit the umbrella because the employer liability limits were exhausted. Thank God my clients had million-dollar limits. We’ll get into more about what that looks like, talking about occupational disease and some of the ways that other people can sue an employer under employer’s liability, but for right now, what you need to know is there’s really no reason to ever write employer liability limits for anything less than a million across the board.
If you’re writing umbrellas for your clients right now, I would highly recommend that you go back and look to make sure that it’s doing what it’s supposed to do and writing over everything, including those employer liabilities on the workers comp. If it’s not, you’re leaving yourself open to a guy like me coming in and pointing it out, and I can promise you when I use the claim scenarios that I use, I’m going to get that business owner’s attention. So take some time, review your clients, look at the certificates you’re issuing and make sure that umbrella is doing its job and you’re going to be safe from the predators out there.
Influence is one of the most powerful tools we have in business, leadership, and personal life. Used well, it inspires people, builds trust, and creates ethical results. Used poorly, it can slide into manipulation and self-interest.
Reinvention is one of the most powerful themes in the insurance industry. Some of the best commercial producers in the country did not grow up wanting to sell insurance. They did not study risk management in college. They did not come from an agency family. They found this industry after they tried something else. They found it after life pushed them toward a career where performance, autonomy, and mindset determine the outcome.
The most successful producers in the middle market did not get there because they quoted faster, smiled bigger, or knew how to talk longer. They got there because they learned how to differentiate themselves so clearly that prospects had no choice but to see them as trusted advisors. They learned to operate like businesspeople first and insurance technicians second. They learned how to tie operational mechanics to insurance outcomes. They learned how to control their time, their pipeline, and their future.
In commercial insurance, the most dangerous threats to your book of business aren’t always visible on the loss runs. One of the most overlooked vulnerabilities for middle market producers is ignoring the personal lines needs of their business owner and executive clients.
The commercial insurance industry is one of the few professions where someone can enter with no experience, no connections, and no background in risk management and still build a long, lucrative career. But success is never automatic. It requires hunger, humility, curiosity, and the willingness to keep showing up even when the process feels overwhelming. That is why the story of Pam Seidler has already started making waves among new and aspiring commercial producers.
In an industry where tradition often outweighs innovation, artificial intelligence and automation are slowly but steadily reshaping how independent insurance agencies operate. The push toward smarter, more efficient workflows is no longer a matter of if—but when. While many agencies are still evaluating how AI fits into their operations, early adopters are already reaping the benefits of streamlined submissions, faster processing, and actionable data insights.
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