Guides
The broker of record letter, explained
Moving brokers and moving insurers are two different actions. Here is how a broker of record letter works.
Calgary Region
Commercial Insurance Broker in Airdrie
Fast-growing businesses outgrow their insurance without noticing, and nobody tells them. Most Airdrie files that come to us are insured for the company they were three years ago.
Growth is what makes this town, and it is also what breaks an insurance program. Revenue climbs, a second van appears, the tool inventory doubles and a lease gets signed, while the policy carries on describing a smaller version of the business. None of it surfaces until the day an adjuster reduces a claim over it. A broker who only re-issues last year’s numbers will never catch it. We rebuild the schedule at every renewal instead, which is straightforward when you hold few enough files to do it properly.
Why Owners Move
What we hear fromAirdrie business owners.
01
My limits have not changed even though we have doubled
Under-declared revenue and a stale contents limit are the two commonest reasons a commercial claim gets paid at less than the owner expected. Both come from a renewal that rolled forward without anybody asking a question.
02
I never speak to the same person twice, and they never know my business
When the file passes between people every year, nobody notices that the company has changed shape. Continuity is not a nicety for a growing business. It is the mechanism by which anybody spots the gap.
03
I had to chase them for a certificate and nearly lost the job
A landlord or a general contractor wants proof of insurance with a deadline on it, and the request joins a queue. For a young business trying to win its next contract, a slow certificate is a real commercial problem.
04
Nobody has ever asked what we do on site
A trades business, a retail unit at Sierra Springs and a light industrial operation in East Lake are different risks. Sold the same package, at least one of them is carrying wording written for somebody else’s work.
Why We Stand Out
What you get insteadas our client in Airdrie.
- Proudly independent, with fourteen insurance partners behind you
- No insurer owns part of us or sets our targets, so a growing Airdrie file can move to whichever underwriter wants that class this year. That flexibility matters most when a business changes fast enough to outgrow its original market.
- Relationships, not transactions
- One broker, every time, with no call centre and no queue behind her. The person who wrote your policy is the person who notices when the business you describe on the phone stops matching the one on the schedule.
- Deep commercial expertise
- More than twenty years across underwriting, complex placements, hard-market renewals and claims advocacy. Growing businesses hit awkward moments, and knowing where an underwriter has discretion will keep a mid-term change from turning into a re-write.
- Built around how you really operate
- The schedule gets rebuilt at renewal from what the business is now, not indexed off last year. Take on a contract, add a vehicle or open a second unit and it is a phone call, handled as it happens.
- Explained in plain language
- What each limit means and what happens if it is set too low, said plainly enough to act on. Under-insurance is the most avoidable problem in commercial insurance and the least often explained.
- Superior service, backed by advanced technology
- Our systems are our own, built in house and refined by the people who work in them, so the background admin never becomes your problem. A client portal holds your policies and your certificates, ready for the moment a general contractor wants proof of coverage before you can start. It was designed for humans first, and that is the only reason it stays out of the way.
Your Broker
Mandy Stierman · Founder & Principal Broker
Licensed Alberta broker · 20 years in insurance
Velocity Insurance Inc. is a proudly independent, female-led commercial brokerage founded and owned in Alberta. Mandy was formerly an Account Executive with Spruceland Insurance and is a member of the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta.
What clients sayabout working with us.
★★★★★
“She took the time to explain everything clearly in a way that actually made sense… her rates were more than competitive, and the level of service she provided was truly exceptional. It’s so refreshing to work with a woman entrepreneur who is not only amazing at what she does, but also genuinely cares about her clients.”
TJ Aneca · a month ago · Google
Reviews come from clients across Alberta, Airdrie included. Read them on Google
Common Questions
Choosing a brokerin Airdrie.
Do you have an Airdrie office?
No, and we do not need one. Velocity works remotely across Alberta and brokers here are licensed provincially, so the markets, the wordings and the claims handling are the same wherever the desk sits.
Who will be handling my account?
The owner, Mandy Stierman, and nobody else. She quotes it, places it and services it, and she is the one who picks up when something changes in the business.
What sets Velocity apart from a bigger brokerage?
A large office is built to process renewals efficiently, and efficient renewal processing is precisely what misses a business that has doubled. We hold fewer clients so the file gets rebuilt rather than reprinted.
You are independent. How do I know the price is competitive?
The file has no default home, so it gets tested against fourteen insurance partners and you see what came back. A captive agent can only quote the company they work for, however that company is feeling that year.
What happens at my renewal?
We ask what has changed before anything is quoted. Revenue, payroll, vehicles, equipment and any new lease or contract all go back into the numbers, and then we decide whether the market needs testing.
How quickly do you respond?
Same business day for a question, and certificates as soon as we can once the policy is bound. If a general contractor is keeping your crew off a site, say so and it goes to the front of the list.
What does it cost to use a broker?
Nothing extra. Our commission comes out of the premium the insurer charges, and it is in there regardless. What it buys is somebody who tests the price rather than accepting it.
How easy is it to switch insurance brokers?
One broker of record letter and the policy moves as it stands, same insurer, same wording, same premium, nothing cancelled and no gap. You do not have to wait for the renewal date.
Could you review my current insurance program?
Yes, free and without obligation. Send the documents over and Mandy reads them herself, with particular attention to whether the limits still describe the business you run today rather than the one you started.
The Next Step
Talk to the brokerwho would handle your file.
Send us what you have and we will tell you what we would do with it. If we are not the right brokerage for your business we will say so on the first call.
Talk to a Airdrie broker
How do you prefer to work through your insurance?
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