The best insurance broker for a print shop is the one that fits your shop, your state, your lender and your customers, and you can test that fit with questions instead of a ranking. Ask how a candidate would handle customers' paper in your care, a misprinted run, press values and breakdown, and workers' comp class wording. Then check the license for your state and ask how the firm is paid. This is a checklist for print shop buyers. It does not rank or name any firm.
The short answer
- Test a broker with your shop's real exposures: presses and stock values, customers' paper and artwork, misprints, solvents, delivery, postage deposits and mailing data.
- Independent brokers, captive agents, wholesale intermediaries, direct carriers and online platforms are all legitimate. Each has trade-offs for a shop like yours.
- Ask in what capacity the firm acts for you, how it is paid, and what it will do in the first 30, 60 and 90 days.
- Verify the license on your state insurance department's lookup, and ask for the National Producer Number.
- A quote or a review request is not coverage. Coverage begins only when the carrier binds the policy.
How do you pick a broker when your shop runs on presses and customer paper?
Pick on fit, explained by criteria you can check. A digital quick printer in a strip center with a bank loan has different needs from a plant with four presses, a bindery, a delivery van and a direct mail operation that holds customer lists.
If a firm says it has a printer program, ask to see the forms and terms instead of relying on the label, and do not assume one does not exist. Then test how the candidate thinks with the scorecard on a first call.
| Topic | Why it matters in a print shop | What a useful answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Customers' property | Paper, artwork and finished goods sit in the building, and liability forms have a care, custody or control exclusion | Names the exact wording and options, not "you are covered" |
| Misprints and proofing | Errors cause financial loss that may fall outside general liability | Explains errors and omissions options and the contract's limit of liability |
| Press values and breakdown | A purchase price is not insurable value, and a press failure stops income | Asks for the equipment list and discusses replacement cost, breakdown and business income |
| Workers' comp class wording | Printing, quick printing, designers, drivers and installers can be rated differently | Explains the ownership change report, the mod and the audit, and asks how payroll splits. In North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming, explains the state fund and the broker's role there |
| Solvents and pollution | The pollution exclusion is wide, and wipe and waste records are inherited | Asks how it is worded and what separate options exist |
| Postage and data | Mail shops hold customer funds and mailing files | Separates crime from cyber and asks about retroactive dates |
| Lender and lease | Loss payable, additional insured and primary wording must be on the policy | Checks endorsements, not just certificates, against your loan and lease |
Which broker and market types fit a print shop?
In general usage an agent represents an insurer and a broker represents the buyer, but states define the roles differently and titles on a website do not settle it. Ask each candidate in what capacity it will act for you. See independent versus captive and how brokers get paid.
All of these options are legitimate, and policy terms vary by carrier.
| Option | How it generally works | Trade-off for a print shop |
|---|---|---|
| Independent agency or brokerage | Works with several insurers, paid by commission or fee | Choice of carriers, but depth with print exposures varies by firm |
| Captive (exclusive) agent | Represents one insurer or a group under common management | Deep knowledge of one carrier's forms, narrower choice |
| Wholesale broker or managing general agent (MGA) | A wholesale broker places business for a retail broker and typically has no contact with the insured. An MGA holds underwriting or binding authority delegated by an insurer and often works through retail agents | May open access for hard-to-place pieces such as pollution, reached through a retail firm |
| Direct carrier | You buy from the insurer without an intermediary | Simple, but advice and comparison stop at that insurer |
| Online platform | Submits your details to a set of carriers through an online system | Can suit a simple program. A shop with presses, a lender and customer contracts may need a person to review the forms, whichever channel you use |
| Group or association program, if one is offered to you | Eligibility and terms are set by the sponsor | Ask who sponsors it, which forms it uses and whether it fits your lender and lease. Do not assume one exists |
| Seller's broker | Knows the account history | May have done fine work for the seller, so ask whether the program fits you |
| Fee-based consultant | Paid for advice and does not place coverage | Independence, but a separate placement step. Licensing varies by state |
A small quick printer may fit a business owner's policy, covered in the core stack guide. See also retail, wholesale and managing general agents, the seller's broker versus your own and specialist versus generalist.
How do you test a candidate in a 30-minute call?
- Send the equipment list, a loss run and your lease beforehand, and see what the candidate asks about each.
- Ask how the firm would handle a water leak over a customer's pallet of pre-printed stock. Look for a pointer to wording, not a reassurance.
- Ask what is in place for a misprint on a large run, and what the contract should say.
- Ask how it will report the ownership change for workers' comp and handle the first audit.
- Ask in what capacity it acts for you, how it is paid on this account and whether that varies by carrier, and whether it or an affiliate has an ownership interest in an insurer it will quote. Then ask what you will receive in week one and over the first 30, 60 and 90 days, who issues certificates when customers or your landlord ask, and what happens when you report a claim. See what onboarding should look like.
A hypothetical example. A buyer of a digital and wide-format shop sends three candidates the same equipment list. One asks how the values were set and whether any equipment is leased. Another says the seller's schedule looks fine. The third asks for the lender's loss payable wording first. The answers do not rank the firms, but they show who has looked at this shop.
New York has a producer compensation disclosure rule (Part 30 of its insurance regulations), and California presumes a license holder is a broker only if the person is bonded and signs a written agreement that discloses the broker fees (Insurance Code sections 33 and 1623). Rules differ by state, so ask any firm what it must disclose in your state, and treat any commission figure presented as "typical" with caution. See questions to ask an insurance broker.
What should make you slow down on a broker's answer?
- The candidate says general liability covers customers' stock in your care without showing the wording.
- Only a declarations page or certificate is offered, with no full forms or endorsements.
- No questions about your presses, lease, loan or customer contracts, and vague answers about compensation, authority or license.
- Pressure to bind before you have read the terms, or a promise of price, savings or outcome.
- A quote that ignores services you perform, such as mailing, wide-format work or delivery.
- Private workers' comp quotes for a shop in North Dakota, Ohio, Washington or Wyoming, where it must be bought from the state fund.
Each of these is a reason to ask a follow-up question before you sign, not a verdict on the firm. See red flags in an insurance broker.
Is my broker licensed in my state?
Insurance producers are licensed by states, not by a federal agency. Use your state insurance department's lookup to confirm the license is active, covers property and casualty and matches the firm and the individual, and ask for the National Producer Number (NPN) as an identifier. A lookup does not confirm good standing, and what it shows varies by state.
What should a broker bring to your lender and landlord?
For a shop with financed presses, ask whether the broker will check the loss payable wording on the policy itself, and the additional insured, waiver and primary wording the lease asks for, against your loan and lease. The clause detail is in contracts, licenses and bonds for a print shop.
Can your lender tell you which agent to use?
A lender can set insurance standards for collateral. The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Standard Operating Procedure 50 10 8.1 bars requiring fees for insurance paid to the lender, its associates or a designated party as a condition of an SBA loan. Some states, including Florida and California, also limit lenders from requiring a particular agent. If you are told to use one, ask which law or loan document says so, in writing. See lender-recommended agent versus your own broker.
Where does Morrow fit?
Morrow, the brand of Afthonea Inc., is an independent insurance agency based in Boston that focuses on business insurance. For a print shop buyer, Morrow can review the inherited forms against your equipment list, lease and loan documents, check the workers' comp class wording, and flag customers' property, misprint and pollution questions before requesting quotes. Carriers decide terms. Morrow is licensed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, and it is one option among several.
In North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming, workers' comp is bought from the state fund, so ask any broker, including us, exactly what it can do for comp there. Morrow is not licensed in North Dakota, Washington or Wyoming. Look elsewhere if your shop is in another state, if you need life, disability or benefits advice (ask a specialist), or if your program needs a specialty intermediary. Confirm any broker's license on your state lookup, including ours. See workers' comp and payroll and the core stack.
Keep reading
- Just Bought a Print Shop? What Insurance Do You Need?
- Coverage Gaps New Print Shop Owners Find (and How to Spot Them)
- Specialist vs Generalist Broker for Your Industry
- Questions to Ask an Insurance Broker After Buying a Business
- Red Flags in an Insurance Broker After You Buy a Business
- All guides for new business owners
Frequently asked questions
Should I keep the seller's broker for my print shop?
It can work well. The seller's broker knows the account, and may have done good work. The question is fit for you as the new owner, so ask for the full forms, loss runs and a fresh look at customers' property, workers' comp class wording and your lender's terms.
Do I need a printing-industry specialist broker?
Not necessarily. Test any candidate with the scorecard. A generalist who handles customers' property, misprints, press values, class wording and postage well can be a fit. A specialist who cannot is not.
Can my lender make me use a specific insurance agent?
Lenders can set insurance standards for collateral, but SBA rules and some state laws limit what they can require about who you buy from. See the lender section above and ask which law or document says so.
What do I send a broker before the first call?
Send the equipment list with ages and any leases, a recent loss run, your lease and loan documents, your top customer contracts and the seller's declarations pages and endorsements. The more the candidate sees, the more specific the answers can be.
References
- IRMI: Agent, Broker and Independent agency system definitions
- NAIC: Insurance Producer Licensing
- New York 11 NYCRR Part 30, Compensation disclosure
- Florida Statutes 626.9551, Favored agent or insurer; coercion of debtors
- California Insurance Code section 33
- California Insurance Code section 1623
- California Insurance Code section 770
- U.S. Small Business Administration: SOP 50 10 8.1, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs
- IRMI: Care, Custody, or Control Exclusion in the CGL (Stanovich, 2008)
Just bought a business? Get your insurance reviewed.
Send Morrow the declarations pages, loss runs and key contracts you inherited. Morrow can review them against the business you bought, flag gaps and request quotes where it makes sense. Any new terms depend on carrier underwriting.
Morrow · 25 New Chardon Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02114
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a coverage determination. Coverage depends on the actual policy wording, carrier underwriting, your purchase agreement and your contracts. Ask your attorney and accountant about deal and legal questions.