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.
Peace Region, Northern Alberta
Commercial Insurance Broker in Grande Prairie
In the Peace region the contract usually decides the insurance, and a broker who does not read it costs you the purchase order. This page is about how we work with Grande Prairie businesses.
Operators and forestry majors here set out exactly what a vendor has to carry before any work starts, and those schedules are specific about limits, additional insured status and wording that a standard package will not include. A brokerage that files the document rather than reading it leaves you to discover the shortfall at the worst possible moment. Velocity works the other way round, starting from the agreement and pricing the program that satisfies it. Mandy Stierman has spent over twenty years doing exactly this kind of placement.
Why Owners Move
What we hear fromGrande Prairie business owners.
01
I sent them a contract and nobody read it
The insurance schedule attached to an operator agreement is the whole specification for your program, and it routinely gets treated as paperwork. Businesses find out they are non-compliant when a purchase order is already sitting there waiting.
02
I lost a job waiting for a certificate
A site wants proof of insurance before anyone starts, and the request goes into a queue behind everything else. Days pass, the crew sits, and the operator moves on to a vendor who could produce the document.
03
I never speak to the same person twice, and they never know my business
Contract work needs a broker who remembers which operators you deal with and what each of them demands. When the file changes hands every year, that knowledge is lost and you rebuild it from scratch each time.
04
Nobody has ever asked what happens when the crew leaves the yard
Remote sites, equipment stored overnight in places nobody is watching, and long distances between jobs all change how a program should be built. A policy written as though everything stays at one address does not survive contact with the Peace.
Why We Stand Out
What you get insteadas our client in Grande Prairie.
- Proudly independent, with fourteen insurance partners behind you
- No insurer holds a stake in us and none of them sets what we have to write, so a Peace region file goes to whichever underwriter is genuinely interested in it. When one raises your renewal without justification, thirteen others can look at the same submission.
- Relationships, not transactions
- One broker, the whole way through, who already knows which operators you work for. No call centre and no reassignment, so the person who set up your additional insured wording is the person you call about the next site.
- Deep commercial expertise
- Twenty years across front-line underwriting, complex placements, hard-market renewals and claims advocacy. Reading an operator schedule, knowing which requirements are standard, which are negotiable and which cost real money, is a skill that comes from having sat on the underwriting side of it.
- Built around how you really operate
- We start with the agreement on the desk and the equipment list beside it, then build to what the work demands. If you take on a new operator mid-term, that is one phone call rather than a compliance problem discovered later.
- Explained in plain language
- Additional insured, cross liability, waiver of subrogation and the limits your contract is asking for, explained in words that make sense. You should be able to read your own schedule and know whether you meet it.
- Superior service, backed by advanced technology
- Our systems are built in house, which keeps the turnaround on a certificate or a mid-term change measured in minutes. Coverage summaries and invoices sit in a client portal that opens on a phone in the yard as easily as on a desktop. Software is only worth having if the person using it never has to think about it.
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, Grande Prairie included. Read them on Google
Common Questions
Choosing a brokerin Grande Prairie.
Is Velocity an insurance broker for Grande Prairie businesses?
Yes, and the Peace region is a regular part of the book rather than an occasional file. We are an Alberta brokerage working remotely across the province, and provincial licensing means there is nothing available to a client further south that is not available to you.
Who will be handling my account?
Mandy Stierman, the owner. She reads the operator schedules, negotiates the placement and services the file afterwards. Nothing gets passed to a service desk once the policy is bound.
What sets Velocity apart from a bigger brokerage?
Contract work rewards a broker who remembers the detail, and volume brokerages are built to forget it. We hold fewer files so that yours is understood rather than processed, and the market access behind it is the same or better.
You are independent. How do I know the price is competitive?
Fourteen insurance partners and no default insurer means the file is genuinely shopped every year, and you see what came back. A broker owned by or tied to one company can only bring you that company’s number.
What happens at my renewal?
We look at it early, check whether the operators you serve or the equipment you run have changed, and decide whether to test the market. If we do, you get the alternatives and the reasoning rather than a revised invoice.
How quickly do you respond?
Same business day on questions, and certificates as fast as we can turn them around once cover is in place. If a purchase order is waiting on the document, tell us and it jumps the line.
What does it cost to use a broker?
Nothing beyond the premium itself. The insurer pays a commission out of what it charges, present whether or not a broker is in the picture. Going direct saves you nothing and costs you the advocate.
How easy is it to switch insurance brokers?
One broker of record letter and it is done. The policy moves with the same insurer, wording and premium intact, nothing is cancelled and there is no gap. Mid-term is fine, and you do not lose compliance for a moment.
Could you review my current insurance program?
Yes, free and with no strings. Send your policy along with any operator schedules you have to meet, and Mandy will tell you where you comply, where you do not, and what closing the gap would cost.
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 Grande Prairie broker
How do you prefer to work through your insurance?
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