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 Chestermere
A lake city full of small, owner-run businesses is exactly the sort of place large brokerages service with a template. This page covers how we work here instead.
Chestermere has grown fast on retail, hospitality and the trades that serve a commuting population, and most of those businesses are small enough that a big office will not spend much time on them. That is where the problems start, because small does not mean simple. A lakefront operation trading hard in a short season, a shop at Chestermere Station and a condominium corporation all need different things, and the water and hail exposure here is genuinely local. Velocity carries a small book, which is the only reason any of that gets asked about.
Why Owners Move
What we hear fromChestermere business owners.
01
I never speak to the same person twice, and they never know my business
Small accounts rotate through whoever is free, so nothing about your operation is ever remembered. Every year you explain the business again, and every year the person writing it down leaves.
02
Nobody has ever asked what we do on site
A shop, a restaurant and a trades business get filed under the same broad category and given the same wording. Nobody asked whether you trade evenly through the year or make most of it between May and September.
03
I can never get a straight answer about what I am covered for
Water is the obvious example here, because sewer backup and overland flood are added to a policy rather than included in it. Whether you have either should not take a week to establish.
04
My renewal just turns up as a bill
The number arrives, nothing was tested and no part of it is explained. On a small file that is almost guaranteed, because shopping it properly costs a volume brokerage more than the account earns.
Why We Stand Out
What you get insteadas our client in Chestermere.
- Proudly independent, with fourteen insurance partners behind you
- Nobody owns a piece of us and no insurer gets the file by default, so even a modest account gets taken to market. Small businesses are the ones this matters most to, since they are the least likely to be shopped anywhere else.
- Relationships, not transactions
- One experienced broker holds the account and stays with it, which is rare on a file this size. No call centre sits between you and the person who wrote your policy.
- Deep commercial expertise
- Twenty years spent across underwriting, complex placements, hard-market renewals and claims advocacy, applied to accounts that would ordinarily be handed to whoever joined last. Being small should not mean being served badly.
- Built around how you really operate
- We ask where the premises sit relative to the lake and the storm ponds, and how much of your year is earned in the summer. Both change what the program should look like, and neither appears on a form.
- Explained in plain language
- Whether you have water cover, what it would pay for and what a closure in July would cost you against one in February. Those are answerable questions and you should have the answers.
- Superior service, backed by advanced technology
- The software behind this brokerage is ours, written in house and shaped by the people who use it every day. Your policies and your billing history are in a client portal, so you are never waiting on somebody to email you a document you already own. It was designed around how you work, and that is why it stays out of your 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, Chestermere included. Read them on Google
Common Questions
Choosing a brokerin Chestermere.
Do you insure Chestermere businesses?
Yes. We are an Alberta brokerage writing commercial policies right across the Calgary region, and we work remotely, so the markets available to you are the same as anywhere else in the province.
Who will be handling my account?
Mandy Stierman, the owner of the brokerage, from quote through to claim. On an account this size that is unusual, and it is the main reason people move to us.
What sets Velocity apart from a bigger brokerage?
A large office cannot afford to spend time on a small commercial file, so it does not. We built the business around holding fewer accounts, which makes a modest Chestermere file worth doing properly.
You are independent. How do I know the price is competitive?
Fourteen insurance partners and no house insurer means even a small file gets tested rather than renewed on autopilot, and you see what came back. That is the single biggest gap in how small businesses are usually served.
What happens at my renewal?
We check what has changed and whether the market should be tested, then show you the outcome with the reasoning. Small does not mean it renews without anybody looking at it.
How quickly do you respond?
Same business day for a question, and certificates as soon as we can once cover is bound. If a landlord at Chestermere Station has set a deadline, tell us and it goes first.
What does it cost to use a broker?
Nothing you pay us. The commission sits inside the premium either way, so going direct does not save money. It removes the person who would have argued about the price.
How easy is it to switch insurance brokers?
It takes one letter and one signature. The policy transfers with the insurer, wording and premium all unchanged, nothing cancelled and no gap at any point. Mid-term is completely normal.
Could you review my current insurance program?
Yes, at no cost and nothing owed either way. Send us the policy and Mandy will go through it herself, including whether you carry water cover and whether your income protection suits a seasonal business.
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 Chestermere broker
How do you prefer to work through your insurance?
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