The insurance market is evolving faster than most advisory models were built to handle. This guide is for founders who want more from the relationship.
Commercial insurance is in one of its most dynamic cycles in a decade. Carriers are repricing risk, adjusting capacity, and raising the bar on underwriting standards. The companies that navigate this well won't just survive the market — they'll use it as a competitive advantage.
Catastrophe-exposed regions are seeing sharper increases. Carriers are tightening sublimits on wind, hail, and convective storm. Early, detailed submissions win better terms.
Ransomware frequency and severity continue to climb. Carriers now expect MFA, EDR, and documented incident response plans. Companies with strong cyber hygiene are rewarded.
Social inflation and nuclear verdicts are the primary drivers. Umbrella and excess layers are tightest. Proactive risk management and loss history matter more than ever.
One of the more favorable lines. But medical cost trends are shifting, and experience modification factors are being scrutinized closely. Clean loss runs create real savings.
Stabilizing after years of hardening. SEC activity and employment litigation trends keep pressure steady. Well-governed companies are seeing the best renewals.
The traditional insurance advisory model was designed decades ago — when businesses were less complex and markets were more stable. The question isn't whether your broker is good. It's whether the model they're working within can keep pace with where your business is heading.
These aren't aspirational goals. They're the baseline of what a modern insurance advisory relationship should deliver. If you're not getting all six, there's room to elevate.
Great outcomes don't happen in 30 days. A disciplined 120-day renewal timeline means competitive marketing, thorough analysis, and time for informed decisions — not rushed ones.
You should see the carriers approached, the quotes received, the commission structure, and the rationale for every recommendation. Clarity builds trust. Trust builds better programs.
Your business changes every quarter. Your insurance strategy should keep pace. Formal stewardship reviews covering claims, market shifts, and coverage adequacy should be standard.
Calls returned in hours, not days. A named team that knows your account, your industry, and your people. When something urgent comes up, you shouldn't have to explain who you are.
The best advisory relationships identify emerging risks before they become claims. Site visits, loss trend analysis, and coverage gap reviews should be happening year-round.
When a claim happens, your advisor should be your advocate — in the room, managing the process, pushing for fair outcomes. You should never face a carrier negotiation alone.
No judgment — just an honest lens on where your insurance advisory relationship stands today. These are the questions the best-run companies ask themselves regularly.
One of the most common gaps in traditional advisory isn't about quality — it's about architecture. Insurance decisions have ripple effects across real estate, capital structure, tax strategy, and M&A planning.
When you buy, sell, or lease property, your coverage needs change — sometimes dramatically. Property insurance, business interruption, environmental liability, and lease-required coverages all need to be coordinated in lockstep with your real estate decisions.
Key person policies, surety bonds, and your overall risk profile directly impact your borrowing capacity and cost of capital. Lenders evaluate your insurance program — does your program reflect what they need to see?
Reps & warranties coverage, tail policies, change-of-control provisions, and target risk assessment are mission-critical in every transaction. The best deals integrate insurance diligence from day one.
Captive insurance structures, premium deductibility optimization, and loss reserve strategies can create meaningful tax advantages — but only when insurance and tax advisors are collaborating on a shared strategy.
"The most expensive gap is the one that sits between two advisors who never thought to talk to each other."
Centered Partners was founded on a simple premise: business owners deserve an advisory team where every discipline sees what every other discipline is doing.
Our team has built, bought, and sold companies. We've sat in your chair, made payroll, negotiated leases, and navigated claims. We advise from experience — not just expertise.
Insurance, real estate, capital markets, and M&A work as one team — sharing intelligence, coordinating strategy, and catching what falls between the cracks.
We don't wait for renewal to show up. Quarterly stewardship, mid-year market intelligence, and coverage reviews triggered by your business changes are standard.
You see everything — carrier submissions, competitive analysis, compensation structure, and the reasoning behind every recommendation. No black boxes.
A dedicated team that knows your business, returns calls in hours, and treats your time with the respect it deserves. When something matters, you shouldn't have to wait.
Your insurance program isn't a cost to manage — it's a strategic asset to optimize. We connect it to your real estate, capital, and growth plans.
A $55M logistics company came to us during a period of rapid growth. Their existing program was functional — but it had been built for a business half their current size. They weren't looking to fire their old broker. They were looking for a different kind of relationship.
"It wasn't that our old broker was bad — it was that we didn't know what great looked like until we experienced it."
— CEO, $55M logistics companyI've been a founder, an investor, and an operator. I've sat on your side of the table — managing companies, making payroll, negotiating transactions, and dealing with advisors who each saw one slice of my business but never talked to each other.
That experience is why Centered Partners exists. Not because other advisors are doing it wrong — but because I knew there was a better architecture for how advisory should work. One where insurance, real estate, capital markets, and M&A strategy are connected from the start.
I built Centered for people like me — founders and operators who want a genuine partner, not a transactional vendor. Someone who picks up the phone. Someone who brings you problems before they become crises.
Because I know what it feels like when someone doesn't.
The most expensive risks are the ones nobody mentions.
Trust isn't built once a year. It's built in the follow-through.
A complimentary conversation about where your program stands today — and where it could go from here.
A fresh perspective on your current coverage, structure, and market positioning.
How your program compares to peers in your industry and revenue range.
Where your insurance connects to your real estate, capital, and M&A strategy.
A strategic conversation, not a sales call. You'll leave with clarity either way.