Best Insurance Broker for a Solar Installation Company: How to Choose

Pick the broker who can show, using your own policies, that they understand solar work. That means finished roof and mount work, how crews and electricians are classed for workers' comp, what customers and financiers demand on certificates, and which carriers will write your work in your states. They must also be licensed where you operate. This guide gives you eight tests, a question script and red flags, not a ranking of firms, and it names none. It is for the Small Business Administration (SBA) borrower or search fund CEO who inherited the seller's broker and has to decide whether to keep the incumbent, get a second opinion or switch.

What should a solar installation company owner look for in a broker?

Solar insurance problems cluster in a few places: endorsements that trim finished work, crews at height near live wiring, stored batteries, tools and stock on trucks, and the insurance clauses buried in customer and financing contracts. The table turns each into a test you can run in a first meeting.

See specialist vs generalist broker for your industry for the trade-offs. Exposures that solar shares with other trades are covered on the electricians and roofers pages.

Which kinds of broker or program might suit a solar installer?

Titles are slippery. In common usage an agent acts for an insurer and a broker acts for the buyer, yet states draw the lines differently and one firm can play either part depending on the deal. A license tells you what someone may sell, not whom they work for. So ask each firm to state its role in your purchase. Each option below is legitimate, and each has trade-offs.

• Independent agency or broker. Can approach several insurers and is paid by commission, fees or both. Solar know-how varies by firm, and some captive groups have deep contractor knowledge too.
• Captive or exclusive agent. Sells for one insurer or one group. Product knowledge can be deep, though options narrow if that insurer's appetite for solar contractors changes.
• Direct carrier or online platform. Can suit simple needs. Ask what help is included with class codes and contract endorsements, because it varies by platform.
• Wholesaler or managing general agent (MGA). Works behind your retail broker and often does not deal with you directly. It can open specialty and surplus lines routes.
• Surety agency. Focused on bonds, so ask whether it also handles your other policies. The SBA also backs a surety bond program for smaller contractors, so ask a surety agent whether it applies.
• Trade association program. Ask whether a solar association program exists, who runs it and what it covers; do not assume one does.

Surplus lines coverage comes from insurers not licensed in your state and must be placed through a licensed surplus lines broker, which most states treat as a separate credential. State guaranty funds generally do not protect surplus lines policyholders. Ask each candidate which of these routes it has used for solar roof work in your state. More in retail broker vs wholesaler vs MGA, admitted vs excess and surplus lines for an inherited account and independent agent vs captive agent.

What should I ask each candidate?

Use one script for everyone so the answers can be compared.

1. Who they are: Do you act for an insurer or for me in this deal, and can you bind coverage for any carrier you would approach?
2. Who they are: How will you be paid, and does that change by carrier or volume?
3. Who they are: Which of my states are you licensed in for property and casualty, and for surplus lines if you place it?
4. What they would check: How would you inspect my liability policy for finished-work exclusions, professional services exclusions and narrowed contract wording?
5. What they would check: How would you test my class codes, payroll records and claims history, and what would you file about the ownership change?
6. What they would check: Which markets have you used for solar work in my state?
7. What happens next: What do you need from me for a solar application?
8. What happens next: Who handles bonds, and what is the plan if my qualifier leaves?
9. What happens next: What will I hold after 90 days, and how will you report to my lender or board?

Disclosure rules differ by state. New York has a producer compensation disclosure rule (section 30.3 of Title 11 of its Codes, Rules and Regulations) with exceptions, and California (Insurance Code 1623) presumes broker status in much admitted-market business only where a signed written agreement discloses the broker's fees and any insurer compensation. Other states may differ.

The longer script is in questions to ask an insurance broker after buying a business, and how insurance brokers get paid covers pay. The SBA advises comparing offers from several agents and notes that agents earn commissions from insurers. Commission rates vary by insurer and policy, so ask for compensation in writing and treat any "typical" percentage you hear as unsourced. Gather the facts underwriters ask for before the first meeting. The full list is in what drives insurance cost for a solar installation company.

A hypothetical example. A buyer gives three candidates one inherited policy and one commercial customer contract. The first recites the limits. The second spots that the policy lacks a completed operations additional insured endorsement and asks if any roof work is scheduled in an exclusion. The third asks how much of the business is battery storage, whether roof repair is in-house and whether crews come from a staffing company. The buyer takes the third and second candidates to a second round, because their questions showed how they think about the business.

What are the red flags when choosing a broker for solar work?

Treat these as prompts to probe. They describe behavior, not a judgment about any firm.

• Certificates are issued before anyone confirms the policy carries the endorsement the contract names.
• Vague answers about completed operations, or no interest in what happens to roof and mount work after the crew leaves.
• No clear account of how solar crews, electricians and roof repair are classified in your state.
• A promise of lower cost before the forms have been read, or urgency to buy before you understand the terms.
• A solar program described only by name, with no detail on which carriers write it, in which states and on what forms.
• A quote or review request spoken of as if it were a policy.
• A lender or seller insisting on a specific agent with nothing in writing behind it. Ask them to put the requirement in a document.

See red flags in an insurance broker, lender-recommended agent vs your own broker and the seller's broker vs your own broker.

How do I check a broker's license?

States, not a federal agency, license insurance producers, and each state department of insurance keeps its own lookup. The National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) assigns each producer a National Producer Number, which is a handy identifier to ask for. On any lookup, confirm the license is active, that its line of authority includes property and casualty rather than life alone, and that both the individual and the firm are licensed. For surplus lines, look for the separate credential. If you work in several states, for example a rooftop crew that crosses a state line, repeat the check for each state where you hold contracts.

If you switch later, a broker of record letter is the usual tool. See broker of record letters and when to change brokers after an acquisition.

Where does Morrow fit, and who should look elsewhere?

Morrow is the brand of Afthonea Inc., an independent insurance agency in Boston that focuses on business insurance. It can review the policies you inherited, flag gaps and request quotes from carriers. It does not issue policies, decide coverage or set terms: carriers underwrite and the policy wording controls. Morrow holds licenses 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 in no other state.

Look elsewhere if your solar company operates in a state outside that list, if you want life, disability or health benefits advice, if your program is unusually large or complex, or if your main need is surety bonding, in which case ask each firm, Morrow included, what bond help it offers and through which surety relationships. Check any broker's license on your state insurance department lookup before sharing documents. A review request is not coverage, and any new terms depend on carrier underwriting.

When you are ready to compare firms side by side, use how to run a broker request for proposals for an acquired company. For context, read what drives insurance cost for a solar installation company and what insurance you need after you buy.

Keep reading

• Just Bought a Solar Installation Company? What Insurance Do You Need?
• What Drives Insurance Cost for a Solar Installation Company?
• 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

Do I need a solar specialist broker?

Not necessarily, though contractor experience helps. Put the same questions to every candidate about finished roof work, workers' comp classes, batteries, tools on trucks and contract endorsements, and ask for examples from jobs like yours.

Should I keep the seller's broker after buying a solar company?

Possibly. If the incumbent knows the account and will review it against your ownership, lender and contracts, staying can work. The program was built around the seller, so test it. A broker of record letter lets you change later, with timing that varies by carrier.

How do insurance brokers get paid?

Commonly by commission from the insurer, sometimes by fees from the client, and sometimes both, plus possible insurer profit-sharing. Commission rates vary by insurer and policy, and disclosure rules vary by state. Ask the broker to explain its pay in writing.

Can my lender make me use its insurance agent?

Lenders can set insurance terms. SBA rules for 7(a) loans bar a lender or its associates from requiring the borrower to pay the lender, an associate or any party the lender designates fees or charges for goods or services, including insurance, as a condition of the loan. The rule text does not say which agent you must use. Some states, including California (Insurance Code 770) and Florida (Statute 626.9551), restrict a lender from requiring a particular agent for insurance on financed property. If a lender says you must use someone, ask which law or document says so, and ask your attorney.

Will a broker find me a lower price?

It may help, but no one can promise a price. Premium depends on carrier underwriting, your payroll, your claims and the work you do. Judge a broker on how well it explains forms, classes and contract fit, and treat any quote as an offer, not coverage.

References

• NAIC: Surplus Lines
• NAIC: Insurance Producer Licensing
• National Insurance Producer Registry: Look Up a License
• New York Department of Financial Services: 11 NYCRR 30.3, compensation disclosure (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
• California Public Law: Insurance Code section 1623
• California Public Law: Insurance Code section 770
• Florida Statutes section 626.9551, favored agent or insurer; coercion of debtors
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Get business insurance
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Surety Bonds

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.