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.
East Central Alberta
Commercial Insurance Broker in Vegreville
A Vegreville owner can work with an experienced commercial broker without driving to Edmonton to find one. This page explains how we look after businesses in a farm town from an hour away.
Vegreville is an agricultural town with a working main street, and most of its businesses serve the farms around it. Repair shops, grain and seed services, contractors, the stores and restaurants on 50 Street and the practices near the hospital are mostly run by the people who own them. Plenty of those owners bought their first policy from whoever was closest and have renewed it every year since without a second look. The town has also changed since the Case Processing Centre closed in 2018. Businesses picked up new work to replace what left, and their insurance often still describes the old business.
Why Owners Move
What we hear fromVegreville business owners.
01
Nobody has looked at my policy since I bought it
The renewal arrives, the premium goes up a little, and it gets paid. Meanwhile the shop added a bay, the fleet grew by a truck and the revenue on the application is three years old. A policy that no longer matches the business is the one that pays short at claim time.
02
My repair work started on the farm, and so did the insurance
A lot of shop and custom-work businesses around Vegreville began in a building on the farm, insured under the farm policy. Once outside customers bring trucks and equipment in for repair, that is commercial work. A farm policy may not respond to a customer’s combine damaged in your shop.
03
I need a certificate by Friday and cannot reach anyone
The town wants proof of liability insurance three weeks before an event at the Vegreville Social Centre, and an operator or general contractor wants it before you start. When the request sits in a queue at a large office, the deadline passes without you.
04
My building is insured for what it cost, not what it would cost to rebuild
Many of the commercial buildings on 50 Street and 50 Avenue are decades old, and their limits were set long ago. Rebuilding one today to current code costs far more. If the limit is too low, a fire leaves the owner paying the difference.
Why We Stand Out
What you get insteadas our client in Vegreville.
- Proudly independent, with fourteen insurance partners behind you
- No insurer owns any part of Velocity, so a Vegreville file goes to whichever market wants that class of business. A repair shop, a seed operation and a main street restaurant each suit different insurers, and we can approach all of them.
- Relationships, not transactions
- You have one broker, and you reach her directly. Mandy quotes the account, places it, sends the certificates and takes the call when something goes wrong. Nobody hands you on to a service team after the sale.
- Deep commercial expertise
- More than twenty years in underwriting, complex placements, hard-market renewals and claims advocacy. Garage risks and businesses with a foot in farming are where that experience pays off, because a standard package rarely fits them.
- Built around how you really operate
- We ask whose equipment sits in your shop overnight, how far your trucks travel, and whether a building stands empty part of the winter. Each of those changes the program, and none of them shows up on a short application form.
- Explained in plain language
- You hear what the policy covers and what it excludes, including the vacancy and freezing conditions that matter after a January like 2024. If something is unclear, ask, and you get a straight reply.
- Superior service, backed by advanced technology
- We built our own software, and it does the routine work so the broker can spend her time on your file. Your policies, certificates and invoices sit in a client portal you can open from the shop or the farm at any hour. Distance from Edmonton makes no difference to any of 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, Vegreville included. Read them on Google
Common Questions
Choosing a brokerin Vegreville.
Do you insure businesses in Vegreville?
Yes. We place commercial insurance for Vegreville shops, contractors, retailers, restaurants, clinics and non-profits. We are an Alberta brokerage based in Edmonton and work by phone, email and video, so the distance does not limit what we can place.
Who will handle my account?
The owner of the brokerage, Mandy Stierman, quotes and services every Vegreville file herself, so the person you call is the person making the decisions.
I run a repair business out of a shop on my farm. Is my farm policy enough?
Often it is not. Farm policies are written for farming, and repairing other people’s vehicles and equipment for pay is a commercial operation. Talk to us before a customer’s machine is damaged in your care, and we will tell you whether your current policy responds.
Can you get a certificate to the town for a Social Centre booking?
Yes. Tell us the date and the group renting the hall, and we arrange the event liability and send the certificate to the town. Its deadline is three weeks before the event, so call early.
How is an independent broker different from an insurer’s own agent?
An agent places business with the insurer they represent. We work with fourteen insurers, compare what they offer for your business, and recommend the one that fits. You see the options before you decide.
Do I pay a fee to use a broker?
No. Insurers pay brokers a commission that is already built into the premium. Buying direct does not remove it, and you lose the person who works for you at claim time.
How do I move my insurance to Velocity?
You sign a broker of record letter and we take over the existing policy as it stands. The insurer, the wording and the premium stay the same until we have something better to offer, and coverage never lapses.
What happens at renewal?
Before anything is quoted, we ask what changed in the past year. New equipment, a new building, more staff or a new line of work all go into the numbers. Then we test the renewal against other insurers where it makes sense.
Could you review my current insurance program?
Yes. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Send whatever documents you have, Mandy reads them herself, and she tells you whether the coverage still fits the business you run now.
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 Vegreville broker
How do you prefer to work through your insurance?
Related
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28 pages
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