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.
Province-wide
Commercial Insurance Broker in Alberta
If the nearest brokerage with a commercial department is an hour away, working with one remotely is not a compromise. Most of our book already operates that way.
A good share of what we write sits outside the sixteen cities with their own page on this site. Those clients run trades businesses, oilfield service crews, rental property, clinics, salons, shops and cleaning companies, and they have one thing in common. The local office either does not do commercial or sends anything unusual away to somebody else. Velocity was built to work at distance from the start, because almost all of this job is documents, underwriter conversations and phone calls, none of which improve for being done down the street from you.
Why Owners Move
What we hear fromAlberta business owners.
01
My local broker sends anything complicated somewhere else
A small-town office often carries two or three commercial markets and passes anything awkward to a wholesaler. You end up paying for two layers and dealing with somebody who has never spoken to your underwriter.
02
Nobody has ever asked what we do on site
A yard with no hydrant nearby, equipment stored where nobody watches it overnight, or a shop on an acreage all change how a risk is priced. None of that appears on a form, and an underwriter left guessing at fire protection guesses expensively.
03
I never speak to the same person twice, and they never know my business
Rural accounts get spread across whoever is available, and the details that took years to accumulate never survive the handover. You become the only person who understands your own program.
04
My renewal just turns up as a bill
Nothing gets re-tested because testing it takes effort the account does not justify at a volume office. The number climbs each year and no part of the increase is ever explained.
Why We Stand Out
What you get insteadas our client in Alberta.
- Proudly independent, with fourteen insurance partners behind you
- We hold the market relationships directly, so your file goes to the underwriter who writes that class rather than through a wholesaler adding a layer. That usually means a better price and always means a shorter chain.
- Relationships, not transactions
- One experienced broker for everything, wherever you are. A business in Drumheller or Peace River gets the same person, the same markets and the same turnaround as one twenty minutes from the office.
- Deep commercial expertise
- Over twenty years across front-line underwriting, complex placements, hard-market renewals and claims advocacy. Commercial lines only, so an unusual rural risk is a normal file here instead of something to be referred onward.
- Built around how you really operate
- We ask about distance to a fire hall, what sits in the yard overnight and where the crew travels, because those decide the price. Several locations go on one schedule with limits per site, which is simpler and usually cheaper than separate policies.
- Explained in plain language
- What drives your rate, which parts of it you can change and which you cannot, said without jargon. Rural operators are used to being quoted at rather than talked to.
- Superior service, backed by advanced technology
- Our systems were built in house, which means a client in Grande Prairie gets the same service as one down the street from the office. Coverage, documents and billing sit in a client portal that works wherever you have signal. People came first in the design, so the technology carries the load and never asks you to.
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, Alberta included. Read them on Google
Common Questions
Choosing a brokerin Alberta.
Do you insure businesses outside Edmonton and Calgary?
Yes, right across Alberta. Brokers here are licensed provincially, so a business in Fort Vermilion or Milk River is written exactly as one down the street would be, and a good part of the book already sits outside the major centres.
How does it work if you are not local?
The same way it works for a client twenty minutes away. We take the details by phone or email, go to market, then send you the options with an explanation attached. Claims are reported by phone and we deal with the adjuster on your behalf.
Who will be handling my account?
Mandy Stierman, the owner, wherever you happen to be. Distance changes nothing about who reads your file, negotiates it or picks up the phone afterwards.
What sets Velocity apart from my local brokerage?
Market access, mostly. A small office with two or three commercial markets has to send anything unusual to a wholesaler, which adds a layer and a margin. We hold fourteen relationships directly and go straight to the underwriter.
You are independent. How do I know the price is competitive?
The file is genuinely taken to market rather than renewed where it sits, and you see what came back. Rural pricing is sometimes better than urban, since theft and vandalism exposure runs lower, and that only shows up if somebody shops it.
What happens at my renewal?
We look at it before the date, check what has changed across every location you run, and decide whether to test the market. You get the reasoning attached to whatever we recommend.
How quickly do you respond?
Same business day for a question, and certificates as soon as we can once cover is bound. Being remote makes that faster rather than slower, since nothing waits for an appointment.
What does it cost to use a broker?
Nothing directly. The insurer pays commission from the premium it charges you regardless, so buying direct does not refund it and simply removes the negotiation.
How easy is it to switch insurance brokers?
One broker of record letter, signed and sent. Your policy moves with the same insurer, the same wording and the same premium, nothing cancelled and no gap. Distance makes no difference to any of it.
Could you review my current insurance program?
Yes, free and with no obligation. Send the documents through and Mandy will read them herself, then tell you honestly whether the cover fits, whether the price stands up and whether it is worth moving at all.
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 Alberta broker
How do you prefer to work through your insurance?
Related
Keep reading about Alberta
28 pages
Related
Keep reading about Alberta
More about insurance in Alberta
Industries we cover in Alberta
Further reading
From the blog
Guides
What an insurance broker does, and how one differs from an agent
A broker is not a price comparison service with a person attached. Here is the job as it is really done, who pays for it, what the law requires of it, and how to tell whether you are getting it.
Guides
Why your Alberta commercial insurance renewal went up
Three things move a commercial premium, and only one of them is about you. Here is how to work out which one moved yours, and which part you can do something about.