Questions? We've got answers.

First Underwriters is a truly independent broker — we represent your interests, not one insurance company's. What that means in practice:

• 50+ carrier relationships: unlike a captive agent who can only offer a single company's products, we put dozens of A-rated carriers into competition for your business.
• Industry focus: we concentrate on fields like construction, transportation, and manufacturing rather than spreading thin across every sector.
• Senior-level service: you work directly with experienced professionals, not a rotating cast of junior account managers.
• Proactive management: regular reviews, annual audits, and quick response to business changes — we don't place coverage and disappear.
• Claims advocacy: when a loss happens we use our carrier relationships to push for the coverage you're owed.

It's simple, and there's no obligation:

• 1 · Reach out at (425) 242-5357 or info@firstunderwriters.com.
• 2 · Consultation to understand your operations, current coverage, and pain points.
• 3 · Review your existing policies and loss runs (claim history).
• 4 · Market your coverage to multiple carriers for competitive pricing and terms.
• 5 · Compare — we present coverage differences, premiums, and our recommendation side by side.
• 6 · Transition — if you move forward, we handle the paperwork and details.

The process usually takes 2–4 weeks depending on complexity, and the initial consultation and quote comparison are free.

Yes — we charge a brokerage fee that varies with the complexity of your account. That transparent fee is what lets us provide senior-level service and genuine advocacy.

Why we charge a fee:

• True independence: our recommendations follow your best interest, not whichever carrier pays the highest commission.
• Comprehensive service: marketing to 50+ carriers, negotiating terms, managing claims, and ongoing risk management take real work.
• Expert resources: access to experienced professionals, safety consultants, and specialized industry knowledge.
• Proactive management: reviews, audits, certificate management, and fast response to change — well beyond basic policy placement.

What determines your fee: account complexity, industry risk level, service requirements (certificate volume, claims, safety needs), and premium volume.

All fees are disclosed upfront before any work begins. For specialized consulting — safety programs, succession planning, buy-sell design — any additional fees are agreed on before we start.

A full range of commercial coverage, including:

• General Liability — bodily injury, property damage, advertising injury, completed operations
• Workers' Compensation — employee injuries, medical expenses, and lost wages
• Commercial Property — buildings, equipment, inventory, business personal property
• Commercial Auto — trucks, vans, fleets, and hired/non-owned auto
• Professional Liability (E&O) — errors, omissions, and professional negligence
• Cyber Liability — data breaches, ransomware, privacy, and tech errors
• Employment Practices (EPLI) — wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment
• Directors & Officers (D&O) — protection for board members and executives
• Commercial Umbrella — added liability limits above primary policies
• Inland Marine — tools, equipment, and property in transit
• Builders Risk — projects and buildings under construction
• Business Interruption — lost income and continuing expenses during a closure

Cost varies widely with several factors:

• Industry & operations — higher-risk work like construction and transportation costs more than office-based services
• Annual revenue — premium often scales with sales volume
• Loss history — claims in the past five years drive rates up
• Coverage limits & deductibles — higher limits and lower deductibles raise premium
• Employees & payroll — workers' comp is payroll-based
• Location and your experience modifier

Rough ranges:

• Small, lower-risk businesses ($1M–$3M revenue): about $5,000–$15,000 a year
• Mid-size, moderate-risk ($5M–$15M): about $25,000–$75,000 a year
• Construction / transportation ($10M+): $100,000 and up

The only way to get accurate pricing is a quote based on your specific operations — reach out for a no-obligation analysis.

Your experience modifier is a multiplier applied to your workers' comp premium based on your claims history versus similar businesses. It's set by the NCCI or, in Washington, by L&I.

• 1.0 = average — your claims match the industry norm
• Below 1.0 = better — a 0.85 mod is roughly a 15% discount
• Above 1.0 = worse — a 1.35 mod is roughly 35% more

Example: on a $200,000 base premium, a 0.85 mod pays about $170,000 while a 1.35 mod pays about $270,000 — a $100,000 annual swing.

We help lower your mod through safety programs, claims management, and reserve reviews — often a meaningful saving for construction and manufacturing clients.

Almost certainly yes. If your business uses computers, stores customer data, accepts credit cards, or depends on technology, you have cyber exposure — and your other policies won't respond.

What standard policies don't cover:

• Breach notification and credit monitoring for affected customers
• Ransomware payments and recovery costs
• Business interruption from an attack or outage
• Legal defense against privacy lawsuits
• Regulatory fines and penalties
• Forensic investigation and data recovery

Your general liability, property, and even E&O policies specifically exclude cyber events, so without dedicated coverage these losses come out of your own capital. Cyber insurance typically runs $1,500–$8,000 a year depending on revenue and data exposure — a fraction of a serious loss.

When a loss happens, we handle the advocacy:

• 1 · Immediate response — call us at (425) 242-5357 and we'll guide the first steps and documentation.
• 2 · Claim reporting — we report to your carrier and make sure the details are right.
• 3 · Adjuster coordination — we work directly with the adjuster on inspections and paperwork.
• 4 · Advocacy & negotiation — if coverage disputes or low offers come up, we push back using our carrier relationships.
• 5 · Resolution — we monitor progress, press for timely payment, and make sure you receive what the policy owes.

Unlike going straight to the carrier, we interpret policy language, challenge unfair denials, and escalate to senior carrier management when needed.

We stay involved well beyond the annual renewal:

• Regular check-ins to catch business changes, new exposures, or growth that needs coverage adjustments
• Annual policy audit 90–120 days before renewal — coverage adequacy, claims trends, carrier performance, market options
• Renewal marketing to multiple carriers rather than simply accepting the incumbent's offer
• Certificate management — same-day certificates for new projects, contracts, or client requirements
• Regulatory updates on law, OSHA, and insurance changes affecting your business
• Loss-control support — safety reviews, incident help, and experience-mod management

You're never "set and forgotten" — your program evolves with your business.

Yes — cost control is a core part of what we do. The main levers:

• Competitive bidding — shopping your coverage across several carriers creates real pricing pressure versus an automatic renewal
• Experience-mod reduction — safety programs, claims management, and reserve reviews lower your workers' comp modifier
• Deductible optimization — raising deductibles where your loss history supports it
• Coverage audit — removing duplicate coverages and unnecessary endorsements while keeping protection adequate
• Risk transfer — contractual transfer, additional-insured requirements, and certificate tracking to reduce direct exposure
• Safety technology — telematics, dash cameras, and monitoring that reduce accidents and can earn carrier discounts

Clients commonly see meaningful savings while keeping equal or better coverage — we'll model the real numbers for your account.

A buy-sell agreement is a binding contract among business owners that sets out what happens to ownership when a triggering event occurs — death, disability, retirement, divorce, or bankruptcy.

Why it matters:

• Prevents paralysis — surviving owners aren't forced into business with a departed owner's spouse or heirs
• Fair valuation — the method is set in advance, before emotions and disputes run high
• Liquidity — when funded with life insurance, remaining owners get the cash to buy out the departing interest
• Family protection — the departing owner's family receives full value instead of a fire-sale price
• Tax efficiency — proper structure helps with basis step-up and transfer taxes

We coordinate with your attorney and CPA to design the agreement and structure the life-insurance funding so ownership transfers smoothly — protecting both the business and your family.

Ideally 5–7 years before your target exit — but it's rarely too early or too late to start.

Why 5–7 years:

• Value enhancement — time to improve operations and positioning to grow the business's worth
• Tax optimization — planning ahead can save substantially through the right structures and timing
• Successor development — training family or key employees for a smooth transition
• Market timing — flexibility to choose your moment rather than a forced sale
• Financial independence — time to build outside wealth so your security doesn't hinge on the sale price

Within 3 years? Still valuable — immediate tax strategies, basic succession planning, and marketability improvements. 10+ years out? Ideal timing to build long-term value drivers.

Signs to start now: age 50+, health concerns, partner conflict, burnout, a market opportunity, or unsolicited acquisition interest.

Yes. Construction is one of our core specializations, with 34+ years insuring:

• General contractors — commercial and residential
• Specialty trades — roofing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC
• Concrete, masonry, excavation, and site work
• Painting and finishing contractors

Construction-specific expertise:

• Workers' comp management — experience-mod reduction, safety programs, return-to-work
• Certificate management — same-day COIs with proper additional-insured, waivers of subrogation, and primary language
• Subcontractor tracking — verifying sub coverage stays active through the project
• Bonding relationships — direct surety connections for bid, performance, and payment bonds
• Builders risk — project coverage with proper soft-cost and ordinance provisions
• Prevailing wage — public-works and government-contract insurance requirements

Extensive. We've insured Pacific Northwest transportation companies for 34+ years, including:

• Trucking and logistics
• Delivery and courier services
• Limousine and luxury transportation
• Auto transporters and towing
• Last-mile delivery

Transportation-specific services:

• Specialty carrier access — insurers who understand trucking, for-hire liability, and fleet exposures
• Fleet safety programs — telematics, dash cameras, driver monitoring, and training
• DOT compliance — federal motor-carrier regulations, insurance requirements, and filings
• Hired/non-owned auto — coverage when employees use personal or rented vehicles
• Cargo & motor truck cargo — protection for goods and freight in transit

Yes. We specialize in apartment and condominium association insurance, with deep knowledge of HOA governance, reserve studies, and Washington condo law.

Association coverage:

• Property — replacement-cost coverage for buildings and common areas, sized to avoid special assessments
• General liability — slip-and-fall, premises, pool, and common-area incidents
• Directors & officers — protection for board members against mismanagement claims
• Fidelity bonds — theft and fraud protection for funds handled by boards or managers
• Water damage — enhanced coverage for the region's most common claim
• Loss assessment — protection for unit owners when association coverage falls short

We also coordinate reserve studies, educate boards, review policies for associations of every size, and partner with property managers.

It depends on complexity and how quickly we have your information:

• Simple operations: 3–5 business days with complete information
• Mid-complexity: 7–10 business days when marketing to several carriers
• Complex risks: 2–3 weeks for difficult placements, large accounts, or specialty markets

What affects speed: how fast you provide applications, financials, and loss runs; whether carriers need inspections; how many carriers we approach; and the time of year (renewal season is busier).

For urgent situations we can expedite within 24–48 hours. Best practice is to start renewals 90–120 days before expiration so there's time to market and negotiate without last-minute pressure.

For accurate commercial quotes we typically need:

Business information:

• Legal name, DBA, entity type, and years in business
• Address and any additional locations
• Description of operations and services
• Annual revenue (current and prior three years)
• Employee count and payroll by job classification

Current insurance:

• Current policies (declarations pages at minimum)
• 5-year loss runs
• Current premium breakdown and experience modifier

Industry details vary — project and subcontractor info for construction, vehicle and driver schedules for transportation, product and distribution info for manufacturing, and services and contract terms for professional firms. Don't worry if you don't have everything; we'll help gather it.

Yes — you can switch anytime, though whether you should depends on a few things.

Reasons to switch mid-term:

• Meaningful premium savings on comparable coverage
• Correcting a coverage gap or inadequate limits found in a review
• Escaping poor carrier service or claims handling

Things to weigh first:

• Short-rate penalties — some carriers charge a cancellation penalty; others allow pro-rata
• New down payment — the new carrier needs one even though you've paid the old
• Audit timing — workers' comp and some lines audit at year-end, which a mid-term switch complicates
• No coverage gap — and proper tail coverage for claims-made policies

We'll analyze your situation, calculate the true net savings, and tell you honestly whether switching now or waiting for renewal makes more sense.