Welcome to SOI!

Welcome to SOI!

Your information has been received!

Please continue reading below for Policy Pricing

Part 1: Important Info

We appreciate you considering Security Operator Insurance for your business needs.  Here are some important things to know about us right off the bat:

• We are not here to sell you anything.  Our approach is to introduce you to the options we offer, answer your questions, and assist you through the process.  If we can help, great!  If for some reason we can’t, we are happy to recommend you to someone that can.
• We are the only Veteran owned agency in the Country that focuses on helping Start-up and small Security agencies grow.
• We are a family agency.  This is the ONLY insurance we have ever offered and we are experts at it.
• We currently have 600+ clients insured in 42 States.  We know what you need and want to work WITH you to find the best coverage for your agency.
• You will always get our best deal up front.
• Once you become a client, we will continue to be a resource to help you GROW your agency!

Rest assured that ALL of our Private Security & Investigation insurance policies:

1. Meet and/or exceed State and Client requirements.
2. Include coverage for ARMED work! (Unless specifically shown as an Excluded Operation.)
3. Can be financed. (No credit checks required for insurance financing!)
4. Come with Outstanding SOI service ALL year long!

Part 2: Our Insurance Products

**Please note all programs shown are for Commercial General Liability including Professional Liability.  When needed, Worker’s Compensation will ALWAYS be a separate policy and will be in addition to the premiums shown below.**

Great Coverage / Lowest Cost 

BEST SUITED FOR:
-Start-ups & Small Agencies on a Budget
-Solid program policy to get up and running, or grow your Agency
-Agencies that are focused on lower-risk operations.

COST:
$3,000 (+State Taxes/Fees) – This is the Minimum Annual Premium
$650 – Approximate Down Payment
$250-$300 – Approximate Monthly Payment

For a little extra premium, the policy can also…
**Include coverage for TRAINING of others (NOT your employees – That is covered under a Work Comp policy)
**Include coverage for PI work

COVERAGE:

• General Liability policy with Errors & Omissions with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per Occurrence/$2,000,000 Annual Aggregate
• Assault & Battery ($100k per Occurrence / $200k Annual Aggregate.  Can be bought up.)
• Care, Custody & Control ($50k per Occurrence / $50k Annual Aggregate.  Can be bought up.)
• Lost Key ($10k per Occurrence / $10k Annual Aggregate)
• Electronic Data Liability ($50k sublimit)
• Blanket Additional Insured / Waiver of Subrogation
• Terrorism INCLUDED (Most charge for this. We include!)
• Defense Costs (Outside the limits of Liability and unlimited)
• $0 Deductible (Yes, ZERO!)
• Carrier is A+ rated.

OPERATION EXCLUSIONS: (The type of work the policy will NOT cover)

To keep the policy as affordable as possible while maintaining the coverage needed, we MUST exclude some high-risk operations due to the large and/or frequent claims that are associated with them.  They are:

1) Armed retail security during business hours
2) K-12 school security
3) University security (Armed only / Unarmed is OK)
4) Executive protection for celebrities, entertainers, and athletes
5) Any and all security located with taverns, bars, or clubs during operating hours; ID Checks (This includes Gentleman’s Clubs)
6) Any and all special events without prior written approval
7) Any and all cannabis related operations
8) Security for subsidized housing and/or HUD housing authorities (Elderly & Disabled subsidies are usually OK. It’s Family subsidies they want to stay away from.)
9) Security or Guard work performed for abortion clinics and family planning centers
10) Security work performed for correctional facilities, detention centers or penal institutions; Prisoner transport; Parole officers
11) Baggage, cargo or personal screening for airports
12) Collection or repossession operations other than the location of property
13) Bail Bondsmen; Bail Enforcement
14) Security for all online gambling centers
15) Nuclear power plants
16) Traffic control
17) Undercover narcotic operations
18) Animal – Canine (Can be bought back subject to additional information)

**IMPORTANT NOTE**

When you are looking around for coverage for your agency, please recognize that the PROPER coverage includes (4) things…(NOT just General Liability!)

1. General Liability – This alone does not cover much for a Security agency. It covers a couple of things:
   • Onsite Bodily Injury & Property Damage – (ie, slip and falls at your office location, NOT your client’s). Basically, coverage where folks come to your office.  The majority of Security Agencies do not have this exposure!  How often will you have client’s come into your office?
   • Products – If you sell a product and it causes someone harm or damage. 99% of our clients do not sell anything other than security services, so again – no exposure!
   • Completed Operations – For work left behind after a job is done – (ie for a Roofing Company when a roof starts to leak 6 months after it has been installed). When your Employees leave the site, that’s it – Job done!  So yet – Again, no exposure!
   • So if GL is all you are being quoted by another agency, rest assured that you have little to NO coverage in the event of a claim so all you’re buying is an expensive piece of paper!  The GL policy MUST have these 3 additional coverage items attached:
2. Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) – For claims arising from things your Company might FAIL to do.  (ie  One of your employees doesn’t show up to work on time and the store gets robbed.)
3. Assault & Battery – For any hands-on related claims. (ie In the course of trespassing someone, the violator falls down claiming your employee touched/hurt them and sues you.)
4. Care, Custody & Control – For loss, damage, theft of client property while under your protection. (ie You are working a construction site contract and tools & equipment gets stolen.)

Rest assured ALL of our polices include all (4) crucial coverage items.  We simply would NOT insure any of our client’s without it.

Part 3: FAQ & Helpful Information Q: Is starting a security agency an easy thing to do? Any Suggestions?

It can be fairly painless if you can avoid the following.  We’ve seen these things shut down start-up security businesses pretty quick:

• Stay away from the higher risk ops until you have some time in business. This includes bars/clubs/bouncing, low income housing, prisoner transport, high-profile EP, abortion clinics… Things like that.  This will make things infinitely more difficult all the way around.  Focus on low risk ops to START then build out.  Things like office buildings, HOAs, construction sites, churches, car lots, warehouses.
• DO NOT be the cheapest company on the block. Your bill rate and your pay rate need have as close to a 50% profit margin as you can possibly get.  So, if you’re going to pay your guard $15/hr, you need to be billing your client at least $30/hr.  This will leave enough to pay your guard, Payroll taxes (FICA, FUTA, SUTA, etc.), insurance (GL & Work Comp), other expenses (uniforms, licenses, etc.), marketing and have some left to reinvest in the company or take home.
• Don’t jump into a contract that requires a lot of insurance to get onto the job site. Most contracts are not “guaranteed” for any amount of time.  If you buy a bunch of insurance (say $5mm Umbrella for a big hotel), you may never recoup that expense and that’s a massive impact to your bottom line.
• Most contracts are payable Net-30, NET-45 meaning once you submit the invoice, they have that amount of time to pay. In the meantime, you need to make sure your employees are paid.  You must have enough capital in your account to stand-up new contracts, so be aware of the terms.
• You need to be aware that starting a security agency is going to require some serious marketing. So you’ll either need to learn it (Google AdWords, Facebook, CPC Campaigns), Network heavily, or have it in the budget to hire someone to manage these things for you.

These are the top reasons we see companies struggle.  Hope this helps.

Q: Do you have any additional information on State Licensing?

Yes.  You can find information on a State-by-State basis on our Licensing Resource page.

Q: What if I need to work in Other States?

The coverage territory can vary from policy to policy, but typically includes The United States of America (including its territories and possessions), Puerto Rico and Canada.

Q: Is the cost per guard or per job?

No.  Every business insurance policy has a rating basis. For example, a hospital would be # of beds. A Dry Cleaner is rated on sales. Within the PROGRAM markets a security agency policy is typically rated on PAYROLL. (Not head count, or per job.) And YES, payroll would include W2 and 1099! Anyone who does work for your company that does not have their own insurance would inherit yours.

Q: Does the General Liability premium indicated also cover Workers Compensation?

No. WC is a separate insurance policy and would carry additional premium. We are happy to help you with this coverage as well.

Q: What other types of insurance policies do Security Agencies typically have?

• Worker’s Compensation – Covers work related injuries.
• Umbrella/Excess Liability – Increases the insurance limits of (1) or more policies.
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) – Covers a variety of employment claims such as sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
• Property / Inland Marine – Covers loss to property & equipment owned by the company.
• Crime (3rd Party & Employee) – Covers theft that occurs from an employee of your agency.
• Commercial Auto

Need More Info?
Have a short fuse and in a rush to get going on a new policy?
Just give us a call @ (813) 563-6510 and we’ll be happy to help you any way we can!