How it works
Three steps.
One is yours.
The entire process, from first question to bound coverage, including how we’re paid, which most agencies would rather not bring up.
About three minutes. No obligation.
The steps
The whole process, unabridged.
Each step with its edge cases attached, the part most process pages leave out.
Tell us what you need.
About three minutes, online or on the phone. We ask what you're insuring, where it is, and a little history, only what underwriters actually require to price your risk. No account creation, no twenty-field form, and your phone number is optional.
If your history has a dent in it (a claim, a lapse, a nonrenewal), say so plainly. It changes which carriers we ask, not whether we'll help. Underwriters find out anyway. Telling us first keeps the surprise on our side of the desk.
Already have a policy? Equally good starting point. Send it over. The declarations page (the summary sheet on top) is enough, and we’ll shop what you actually have against the rest of the market.
What you do
Answer honestly. Rough guesses are fine, and “not sure” is an answer we can work with.
What we do
Turn your answers into a submission underwriters can price, and flag anything that will need one follow-up question instead of ten.
We shop the market.
Your risk goes to the carriers whose appetite matches it. Appetite is the industry word for the kinds of customers a carrier wants. Every carrier prices aggressively inside its appetite and defensively outside it, which is why identical coverage can come back at very different prices. Halvern represents 60+ carriers, so we can chase that spread on your behalf.
If the market comes back thin (some risks are genuinely hard to place), you'll hear that too, along with what we tried and what we'd try next. Silence is not one of the steps.
What you do
Nothing. This step is ours.
What we do
Submit to the markets that fit, compare what comes back, and read each policy form (including the exclusions, the list of things a policy won't pay for) before anything reaches you.
You pick. We bind it in writing.
You get options side by side in plain English, plus a recommendation with the reasons attached. When you choose, we bind the coverage (“bind” is the industry word for putting it in force) and confirm it in writing. Until that written confirmation exists, nothing is in effect. No form on this website can change that.
There's no pressure to decide on our clock. Every quote comes with its expiration date attached, and if one lapses while you're deciding, re-running it is our job, not a fresh start for you.
What you do
Decide, on your schedule. We'll tell you how long each quote stays valid.
What we do
Bind with the carrier, confirm your coverage in writing, and send your policy documents and ID cards.
The money
How we get paid.
You can't judge advice without knowing how the adviser is paid. So here it is, in full.
Commission is the industry’s default. Disclosure isn’t. Here’s both.
By commission from the insurance carrier. When a carrier issues your policy, it pays Halvern a percentage of the premium for placing and servicing it. That commission is built into the price of the policy, the premium you’d pay anywhere, so you don’t pay us a separate fee, and a quote from us costs nothing.
A small number of hard-to-place risks involve a placement fee, a charge for the extra work of finding a market for an unusual risk. If yours is one, you’ll see the fee in writing, itemized, before anything is bound. If it isn’t in writing, you don’t owe it.
We put this on its own page because commission creates an incentive worth naming: a bigger premium means a bigger commission. The section below is what we do about that.
One more thing the commission buys: renewal is not a rerun of last year’s invoice. When your policy comes up, we shop it again: the same market sweep as day one, unprompted. If staying with your carrier wins, you stay knowing why. Staying should be a choice you re-make each year, not a default that happens to you while you’re busy.
Halvern Insurance
Compensation
- Who pays us
- The insurance carrier
- What they pay
- A percentage of your premium
- What you pay us
- No separate fee
- Quotes
- No charge, no obligation
- Placement fees
- Rare, disclosed in writing before binding
Any fee disclosed in writing before binding
The alternatives
Three ways to buy insurance.
The same four questions, asked of each way you can buy.
How buying through Halvern compares with comparison sites and captive agents, across service, coverage options, costs, and time and efficiency.
House rules
What we will not do.
Commission pays for the lights. These are the rules that keep it honest.
01
Inflate your limits to inflate our commission.
Higher limits mean higher premium, and higher premium means a bigger commission. That is exactly why every limit we recommend comes with a reason you can check.
02
Hide the exclusions.
Every policy has a list of things it won't pay for. We read it to you before you buy, not after a loss.
03
Let a form bind your coverage.
Nothing on this site (no form, email, voicemail, or text) puts insurance in force. Coverage exists when a licensed agent confirms it in writing, and not a moment before.
04
Tell you to switch when you shouldn't.
If the policy you already have is the right answer, that is the recommendation you'll get, even though it pays us nothing.
Timelines
How long this actually takes.
Honest ranges, not marketing ranges. The variable is underwriting, not us.
Standard personal lines
Often same day
Auto, home, renters, condo: anything with a clean history and a standard market. Talk to us in the morning and you'll usually have options before the evening.
Standard business risks
About one business day
BOPs, general liability, workers' comp for well-understood trades. Underwriters have questions. We usually already have your answers from the first three minutes.
Complex or specialty risks
Days to a few weeks
Unusual operations, prior claims, coastal property, anything that needs a specialty market. More underwriting means more waiting. And we'll tell you that up front, with a date, not a shrug.
Turnarounds are for standard-market risks during business hours. If yours will take longer, you’ll hear it from us first, not from silence.
“No separate fee” describes standard placements. A small share of hard-to-place risks carries a placement fee, always itemized in writing before anything is bound. If it isn’t in writing, it isn’t owed.
Start here
You've seen the process. Start it.
Step one takes about three minutes. Steps two and three are ours.
About three minutes. No obligation.
