General Liability Insurance Provider
April 27, 2025
by a searcher from Buena Vista University in Douglas County, CO, USA
Good afternoon everyone,
I’m reaching out to see if anyone here has recommendations or connections for commercial insurance providers specializing in temporary staffing.
We are in the final stages of closing on an event staffing agency within the next week. We have been working through underwriting with the current owner's insurance carrier (Philadephia); however, after more than a month of delays, they finally provided a quote, and it came in at nearly 10 times the owner's current premium, despite identical coverage. The primary reason cited is that I do not have three years of direct industry experience.
For context, the current owner and other employees will stay on to assist with training and consulting for at least the first year post-close. There is also a seller carry note involved, so they have a vested interest in the business's continued success. It seems that commercial insurance for this sector is quite specialized and difficult to secure. We are facing particular issues for the following reasons:
The owner has all staff categorized as W-2 employees (not 1099 contractors), making the reported total payroll and employee count appear high###-###-#### employees/year) when, in reality, the actual number of active employees per pay period is relatively low###-###-#### ), given the gig-based nature of the work, where many staffers only work a handful of events or remain active for just three or so months.
We also require liquor liability coverage since we provide bartenders for events.
Additionally, we cover three markets (CO, IL, & TX).
If anyone has experience with this or knows a good broker or carrier who understands the temporary event staffing model, I would sincerely appreciate any guidance or referrals. Thank you so much in advance for your help!
For context, the current owner and other employees will stay on to assist with training and consulting for at least the first year post-close. There is also a seller carry note involved, so they have a vested interest in the business's continued success. It seems that commercial insurance for this sector is quite specialized and difficult to secure. We are facing particular issues for the following reasons:
The owner has all staff categorized as W-2 employees (not 1099 contractors), making the reported total payroll and employee count appear high###-###-#### employees/year) when, in reality, the actual number of active employees per pay period is relatively low###-###-#### ), given the gig-based nature of the work, where many staffers only work a handful of events or remain active for just three or so months.
We also require liquor liability coverage since we provide bartenders for events.
Additionally, we cover three markets (CO, IL, & TX).
If anyone has experience with this or knows a good broker or carrier who understands the temporary event staffing model, I would sincerely appreciate any guidance or referrals. Thank you so much in advance for your help!