Last edition I used this space to talk about change and adapting to new situations in an old profession. I did not say “the world’s oldest profession” for those of you who may have gone there. Seriously though, it is not often that coverage that has responded in a certain way gets applied differently, and quite frankly correctly. I ran into this and have started educating my clients that they need to adjust the way they do things in case claims occur. 
That brings me to a situation that I had just last week. When a claims occur. As an insurance broker, I deal in calculated risk. Sometimes, that just means ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda’. I hate when that happens. If you think about it, you could think that selling insurance is selling fear. Fear that you will be injured, fear that you will lose something, and fear that you will cause damage. When I deliver a policy, the only tangible thing the client receives is paper. Now I know that it’s actually a lot more than that. But think of it like this….most everything you buy, you can touch and feel – A car, a suit, a TV, a cellphone. When you ‘buy’ insurance, you buy a promise, a promise of protection against the fear that something bad is going to happen. This brings me back to last week. I have a client that in the past three years bought an insurance policy that protected him from mechanical breakdown and downtime. He did not use this policy during those three years. He knew that if he experienced a mechanical breakdown of any kind, my policy would pay for a tow for the disabled vehicle and the time he was down while his unit was being repaired. This year, on April 1st he decided not to renew that policy. On April 23rd, his yoke gave way, sheared off, ripped through his fuel tanks and not only disabled his unit, but caused environmental exposure. Luckily, his primary trucking policy will pick up the environmental liability but he is out the initial tow from the scene, the secondary tow over 300 km back to his home terminal and will not be paid while he repairs the unit. I felt terrible for him – Woulda, coulda, shoulda… – three little words that now will cost him thousands of dollars.
I have never considered myself a salesman, I consider myself a facilitator. You tell me what you do, and I tell you all the
things that can happen while you’re doing it and the company that will protect you while you do it. Then I’ll help you do it the safest and most compliant way and hopefully avoid – the woulda, coulda, shoulda’s.
About the Author
Lisa Arseneau is transportation insurance broker with over 25 years of experience in the trucking industry. She is the Vice President of T.R.I.P Division of the Pearson Dunn Insurance. She is a member of the Ontario Trucking Association, The Toronto and Hamilton Transportation Clubs and is and is passionate advocate for her clients.
Lisa can be reached by email at larseneau@pearsondunn.com
