How do I know I am getting a fair price with only one broker?

Ask which markets were approached and what each one said. A broker who has genuinely shopped it can tell you who declined, who quoted, and why the winner won. That is a far better test than a second number from somebody who has been handed your first one, and it is a question that separates the brokers who did the work from the brokers who did not.

What is a broker of record letter?

A short written instruction from you telling the carriers which broker represents you. It moves the account without re-shopping it, which is precisely why it exists. You are entitled to change who represents you without setting fire to the markets. If you want to move, use one of these rather than quietly starting a parallel submission.

So I am stuck with whoever I started with?

Not at all, and we would say the same if you were leaving us. You can move representation at any time with a broker of record letter, and you should if you are not being served. What does not work is having two people shopping the same risk at once. Competition it is not: two people end up fighting over a smaller and smaller pool of markets.

My current broker says the market is blocked. Is that real?

Almost certainly, yes. It is a genuine mechanism rather than an excuse, and it is checkable: ask which carrier and when. A blocked market usually clears after a period, but rarely before the renewal you needed it for.

Three identical submission folders from different agencies stacked on an underwriter’s desk with a rejection stamp resting on top

Should I have more than one agent or broker shopping my insurance?

No, and it usually costs you money rather than saving it. Carriers accept a submission from one broker at a time, so a second broker sending the same risk to the same market gets blocked, and the markets that lock out are frequently the ones that would have quoted best.

Call/Text(626) 344-2158

The same account, three times.Markets are blocked first come, and the fourth submission is simply declined.

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Tell us the situation.

One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.

We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.

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Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.

Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.

Have it reviewed Call/Text(626) 344-2158

The detail

Commercial insurers generally accept a submission on a given risk from one broker at a time, and a market is considered blocked once a submission has been registered to a broker.
Commercial market practice
A broker of record letter is a written instruction from the insured naming which broker represents them to the carriers, and it is the mechanism by which representation moves.
Commercial market practice

What this means for you

Think of it as poker. Your broker is playing the hand for you, and they can only play the cards they are holding. Give half the hand to somebody else and nobody at the table is playing to win. They are both playing not to lose the account.
The markets get used up. Every carrier a second broker approaches is a carrier your first broker can no longer approach, and blocked markets do not unblock because you changed your mind. The best market is frequently the one that got burned first.
A cheaper number is not automatically a better deal, and here is the trick to watch for: a second broker who sees your quote can go to the same carrier, change one deductible, and come back with something that looks cheaper. Same insurer, same policy, different excess. We have seen it done.
Compare like for like or do not compare. Limits, deductibles, exclusions and the endorsements the contract requires. If any of those differ, the two numbers are not answering the same question.
Pick one broker and give them everything. The version of the account with all the information gets the best terms, every time, and it is not close.

Need this handled?

Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.