What Makes North Improvement Different? and other FAQs

What Makes North Improvement, LLC different from direct writers and other brokers?

• Unlike direct writers who only offer coverage from a single carrier, as an independent broker and advisor we have access to dozens of different carriers that we and our partner brokers work closely with. This means that not only can we typically get multiple carriers to compete to have you as their customer, we can also tailor the perfect custom solution for you, your belongings, and your business

• In addition to having been a senior insurance underwriter, our President and co-founder, Hayden Kopser, is a mobile app developer who is intensely focused on using technology to improve your insurance experience, which is something very new, and uncommon in the broker world

• We specialize in doing full-fledged family risk evaluations that aim to look beyond just the obvious ways the belongings you love can be damaged. Direct writers typically aren't equipped to look this broadly at your exposure, because they are limited to selling standard products

• Unlike other brokerages, we are cyber insurance experts and can help you understand the many ways you are currently exposed and how you can better protect yourself with a combination of better "cyber hygiene" and insurance

What is it like to work with North Improvement, what’s your process?

• Our process is simple and seamless. First we gather information about you. This can either be done through our online applications, over the phone, or even in person depending on your location – whatever route you prefer is fine with us. Next, we will review and consider the information you gave us, and then apply for quotes from carriers whose coverage and services will best fit your needs. Then, typically within a maximum of 24 hours, or even on the same day of submission, we should have multiple options ready to discuss with you. Once we have coverage options available we will set up a time to discuss them with you in detail

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• If you don’t eventually choose to buy an option we offer you, you won’t pay a dime! We only get paid through commissions from carriers when insurance policies are sold, so there is absolutely no upfront cost to you in working with us

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What types of coverage can you offer, and do you have minimum and maximum limits?

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• We are proud to offer an extremely diversified selection of coverage solutions, which includes, but is not limited to: coverage for small businesses; workers' compensation; homes; condos; rental locations; regular use automobiles and motorcycles; collector and exotic automobiles; jewelry; fine art; liability; umbrella/excess liability; yachts; cyber and fraud

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• While we specialize in providing coverage for large homes as well as small businesses, we can write homes starting at $250,000 in replacement cost, with no realistic cap. We can offer liability limits typically starting at $100,000 and with carrier approval, we can offer excess liability limits for affluent families up to $100 million or greater. Additionally, if we write your home, condo or renter's policy we can typically provide jewelry and fine art insurance at any limit you may require, with proper carrier approval needed for extremely large collections. As you can see, we have an enormous breadth of coverage options, so we should be more than capable of finding you a solution that fits your needs, whatever they may be

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You mentioned partner brokers, who are they and what do they do?

• We sometimes work with wholesale partner brokers. Wholesalers act as a middleman between independent brokerages like us and certain insurance carriers, who provide them with exclusive access to specialized products. They allow us to have access to work with more carriers than we could on our own. While using them only gives you more options for coverage, we take a reduced commission on our end. It’s nothing you will feel from a servicing or pricing perspective, and we feel it is worthwhile to reduce our standard commission if that means finding you the right coverage. If we use a wholesaler to find a coverage solution for you we will be sure to make you aware of their involvement in the process

What information of mine can your partner brokers and insurance providers see?

• While partner brokers will typically need to be able to see most of the information you provide us, they will never contact you directly, and will not be able to sell your information to any third parties. They strictly use your information to obtain price quotes, issue coverage and change policies. We still handle all of your business and will remain your only contact related to your quotes, policies, and claims. Wholesale brokers, like insurance providers are also subject to any and all data privacy laws that North Improvement, LLC must abide by (and sometimes more), so we’re confident that your information is as safe with them as it is with us

My Mortgage Company or Landlord didn’t say anything about using a broker

• That’s not uncommon. If you have a mortgage company or landlord who is requiring a specific amount of insurance on a home, condo or rental location they typically won’t care who the carrier is, because they are only worried about protecting their financial interest in your property.  It’s not a mortgage company’s job to know about everything you own or to conduct a broad assessment of your needs, and then create the perfect custom protection for you. Thankfully that IS something that we will do for you. We'll work to fulfill these legal or contractual requirements and then factor in what you truly need to be fully protected

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So what types of policies can you offer me?

• Where do we begin? From Small Business coverage, to Homes, Condos and rental insurance, to automobiles, jewelry, fine art, liability, yacht and more, we have options for just about anything you can think of. Think of it this way, if you value something we can probably find a way for you to get it properly insured for a reasonable price

How do you get paid?

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• Like most independent brokers we get paid a commission based on a percentage of the premium of the policies our clients buy. Some states also allow charging a broker fee for placing your coverage, and while some brokers do so in certain cases, that's not something we do at the moment. North Improvement, LLC gets paid by our carriers and partner brokers based on a percentage of the premiums we place, and we only get paid when our clients buy coverage. We strongly believe that this gives you the best value as a client, because it gives you the ability to get advice and quotes for free to test out whether we and our coverage offerings are right for you before you pay a dime. Our business relies completely on finding you the best coverage solution out there 

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