Trish Wood: Experience is the Best Teacher

Trish Wood has covered clowns, cargo and contractors. She has twenty years experience in the insurance industry -13 years dealing with commercial work specifically and 3 years with The Pinnacle Group as the Commercial Lines Manager. Over time, she has seen changes in coverage, legislation and industry standards. She has seen businesses flourish and some fail. No change, however, has been as dramatic as those she's managing as a result of September 11, 2001.

While the rest of us dealt with the horror, the insurance industry faithfully did its job. Insurance companies have paid to clean city streets and replace emergency vehicles. They have covered business losses resulting from the communications shut-down and the airplanes brought down. Most importantly, companies have compensated families, providing financial stability and health coverage. Few, if any, insurance companies have been spared substantial loss.

As a result, Trish's job has become more challenging. Insurance companies are more conservative. To recover some of their losses and to manage future risk, the industry now imposes higher premium rates. Coverage is limited with more exclusions (conditions a company will not cover or will only cover for additional premiums). There are more legal issues to consider, and the number of lawsuits (even prior to 9/11) has increased significantly.

As a result, the amount of effort necessary for Trish to find coverage for her clients has increased, as has the amount of time it takes to implement a policy. As businesses received renewals with higher premiums and more exclusions after 9/11, they chose to shop around for better rates. The flow of applications increased while staff at insurance companies did not. Consequently, business owners need to submit applications or at least begin the search for better rates, well in advance of the date they need coverage.

To manage the flow, Trish keeps an expiration list for existing clients. Using the Internet, up-to-date information from newsletters and trade magazines and her many contacts in the industry, Trish knows when a client should consider seeking another carrier (in some cases, clients must change because an insurance company no longer offers the coverage they need.).

Trish is particularly concerned about the workers compensation market. Not enough businesses, contractors in particular, are paying into the system to support insurance pay-outs. Some carriers no longer accept new business, and many do not accept applications made within days of needed coverage. When a business needs a policy on short notice, sometimes within hours, Trish is forced to find the best one possible but often not at the best rate. Clients are then forced to use carriers with higher premiums or to enter the state program with premiums sometimes double or even triple the regular market.

The events of 9/11 may have battered New York and Washington, DC, but St. Augustine, The Pinnacle Group and Trish Wood have felt the repercussions. To minimize the effect on her clients, whether she's covering a seaside restaurant or a self-employed roofer, Trish draws on her expertise and every resource available to provide the best coverage for businesses and, ultimately, the families which rely upon them.