Coverage you can count on (and afford).
For years, Home Furnishings Association member Barry Seidman was happy letting a longtime friend handle the business insurance needs for his store, Barney’s Furniture in Springfield, Ill. Even when the HFA’s insurance agents asked Seidman if he’d like a free audit and quote, Seidman demurred.
“My agent and I are good friends,” he said. “I liked that he was close by and figured I couldn’t do better on price or service.”
Finally, after years of being nudged, Seidman allowed an agent with the HFA’s Business Insurance Program to audit his policy. “I was shocked,” he said. “All those years I thought I was getting the best price.”
That was eight years ago. Seidman is still friends with his local insurance agent, but he is not a client. By switching to the HFA’s Business Insurance Program, he estimated he’s saved “tens of thousands of dollars.”
“It’s one of the few things I still kick myself over,” Seidman said. “I wish I’d made the move a lot earlier.”
Seidman is not alone. Other HFA members have boasted of similar savings after switching their insurance coverage to the HFA’s program, which is run in an exclusive partnership with the Arthur J. Gallagher Co.
The reasons are simple. Gallagher is the fourth-largest insurance brokerage firm in the world, said Nik Levin, Gallagher’s program manager for HFA members. “Much like a buying group helps some of your members save through volume pricing, we can offer HFA members the negotiating power of so many members.”
Levin said Gallagher works with nine insurance firms rated A or better. He said Gallagher’s team of agents working for HFA members has experience working with small retailers and knows their time is valuable. “When you need our service, we respond quickly,” said Levin. “Price is one thing, and we’re confident we can help members there, but you have to back it up with service.”
Joaquin Rodriguez has seen how fast Gallagher reacts. When a fire heavily damaged his store, Hacienda Furniture in Oxnard, Calif., in 2017, Rodriguez didn’t know where to start. Both delivery trucks were destroyed, and his inventory and showroom suffered heavy smoke damage. “It was a mistake,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t know where to start because who plans for something like this to happen?”
A year earlier, Rodriguez, fresh off joining the HFA, turned his insurance needs over to Gallagher. When it came time to file a claim, Rodriguez knew he’d made the right call. Within six weeks, Rodriguez had two new trucks and his smoke-free store was up and running again.
“They knew what to ask and what I needed to get up and running quickly again,” he said. “No question the HFA’s Business Insurance Program was one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made,” said Rodriguez. “It saved my business.”
Members interested in learning more about the association’s Business Insurance Program can contact their HFA member specialist at (800) 422-3778.
