The Insurance Certificate Hack for Winning Prospects

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.

Maximizing Umbrella Coverage: The Importance of Workers' Comp Limits

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.

Understanding Employer Liability Limits: A Must-Know for Young Producers

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.

Protecting Your Clients: Ensuring Your Umbrella Insurance Does Its Job

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.

From Confusion to Clarity: How Insurance Agencies Can Unlock Growth Through Strategic Leadership and Culture

December 1, 2025 No Comments

In the fast-paced world of commercial insurance, the grind of daily operations often blinds agency leaders to the foundational cracks forming beneath them. Producers are focused on closing deals. Account managers are buried in servicing. Agency principals are juggling leadership, sales, operations, and finance. Yet in the midst of this hustle, many agencies lack the one thing that can unlock the next level of growth: organizational clarity.

Building Legacy Through Discipline: How Brian Shaw Transformed Adversity into Agency Growth and Purpose

November 26, 2025 No Comments

Brian’s journey isn’t one of shortcuts or overnight success. It’s the story of a man who has faced battlefields, boardrooms, and hospital beds — and come out the other side with an unshakable sense of purpose. His agency is young, his vision is clear, and his “why” runs deep.

Becoming the Specialist: How Niches, Networks, and Relentless Execution Create Elite Producers

November 26, 2025 No Comments

Every producer wants to win. But only a small percentage ever reach the level where winning becomes inevitable—not because they get lucky, not because the market is soft, but because they commit themselves to mastery. They study harder, niche deeper, build better networks, and execute with more consistency than everyone else around them.

Becoming the AI-First Agency: How Insurance Producers Can Leverage Automation to Outpace the Competition

November 24, 2025 No Comments

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a buzzword for tomorrow. It’s today’s most powerful tool for increasing efficiency, lowering costs, and growing your book of business faster than ever before. For insurance producers and agency owners, this isn’t a matter of curiosity or a “nice to have” anymore. It’s a necessity. The reality is that your competition may already be using AI-powered tools to identify prospects, streamline service, and close deals before you even realize you’re in the game.

Faith, Empathy, and Opportunity: How Lloyd Brown is Redefining Diversity and Purpose in the Commercial Insurance Industry

November 13, 2025 1 Comment

In every season of The Protege, one thing becomes crystal clear—success in the commercial insurance industry isn’t about where you start, it’s about who you become.
In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, I sat down with Lloyd Brown, a middle market producer from Orlando, Florida, whose story is equal parts faith, resilience, and purpose.

Why Being Liked Is Killing Your Sales: Mastering the Psychology of Closing

November 13, 2025 No Comments

Salespeople are often taught to be charismatic, friendly, and well-liked. But as David Carothers and high-ticket sales expert Austin Medlin explore in their recent conversation, that mindset could be the very thing sabotaging your close rate. Austin, the founder of CloseSales.com, brings a fresh perspective from outside the insurance industry that perfectly aligns with what commercial producers face daily: buyers who need leadership, not another friend.