Every two to three years if your business is stable, and every year if something changed. Something changed means the price moved 15 percent or more, you had a claim, or your operations changed. Shopping more often than that rarely finds savings, and insurers quote less eagerly for a business they expect to lose again next year. Shopping less often lets the price drift up without anyone noticing. Who this is for: owners who renew on autopilot and wonder whether they are leaving money on the table.
The short version
- Stable business, steady price: shop every two to three years. Review the renewal every year even when you do not shop it.
- Shop every year when the price jumped 15 percent or more, after a claim, when you add a trade or a crew, or when you start signing bigger contracts.
- Shopping does not mean switching. Half the value is making your current insurer sharpen its renewal.
- Start 60 to 90 days before renewal. Late shopping gets rushed quotes or none.
- Insurers that see you switch every single year may quote less eagerly. But staying too long lets small increases pile up until you are well over the market.
Why not shop it every year?
You can, and some owners do. But a full shopping round takes work: a fresh application, your claims history report, and two to four weeks of back and forth. If your price and your business have not changed, the answers will look a lot like last year. Insurers also notice an account that changes hands every year and may quote it less eagerly.
The better habit is to review every year and shop when one of the reasons below applies to you. Reviewing means reading the renewal against last year's policy: payroll and sales estimates, job categories, limits, discounts, and the total. That takes an hour and catches most problems.
What should make me shop this year?
| Trigger | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Price up 15% or more | Something changed: a rate increase, a lost discount, a payroll estimate, or the insurer cooling on your trade | Get the reason in writing, then shop |
| A claim in the last year | Your current insurer will price it. Others may price it differently | Shop with a short note on what changed |
| Operations changed | New trade, new state, first employees, bigger jobs, more subcontracting | Shop, because the insurer that fit the old business may not fit the new one |
| New contract requirements | A general contractor wants a higher umbrella, pollution coverage, or wording your insurer will not add | Shop the whole program, not just the missing piece |
| Three years with no shopping | Drift. Small increases compound and credits fall off quietly | Shop even if nothing feels wrong |
| Your broker never shows you options | You may be paying for a broker who does not shop | Ask for the list of insurers approached, or change brokers |
What does shopping actually involve?
- 60 to 90 days out: request your claims history and update your application. Payroll by category, sales, subcontractor costs, vehicles, and a paragraph on what you do.
- 45 to 60 days out: your broker sends one application to every insurer that wants your trade this year. Use one broker for the round. Insurers work an account through whichever broker reaches them first and will turn a second one away for a set period, commonly 30 to 90 days, so sending the same renewal to two or three brokers gets you fewer quotes, not more. If you want a second broker involved, give each one a separate list of insurers so they do not overlap.
- 30 days out: quotes come back. Compare limits, exclusions, and contract wording, not just price. See how to compare two quotes that look different.
- 14 days out: sign with the winner, or use the best quote to get your current insurer to match. Either way you won.
A full checklist is in the renewal prep checklist.
How much does shopping usually save?
Illustrative examples for small contractors with a clean claims history. Your result depends on trade, state, payroll, and how long it has been since the account was shopped.
| Situation | Current premium | Typical result of a shopping round |
|---|---|---|
| Stable account, shopped 2 years ago | $12,000 | Saves $0 to $1,000, or confirms the price is fair |
| Not shopped in 5 years | $12,000 | Saves $1,200 to $3,000 |
| Price jumped 20% with no claims | $14,400 | Saves $1,500 to $3,500, or explains the jump |
| Added a new trade last year | $12,000 | Often finds an insurer that likes the new mix better |
The first row matters. Sometimes shopping tells you that you are already in the right place. That is worth knowing.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: A painting contractor in Florida with five employees has renewed with the same insurer for six years. Every year the general liability went up a little: $4,100, then $4,400, $4,700, $5,100, $5,500, $6,000.
What went wrong: The owner never shopped because nothing felt wrong. Meanwhile a paid in full discount fell off, and the insurer raised its rates for painters in Florida twice. The price was up 46 percent in six years with no claims.
What it cost: A broker shopped the account to five insurers. Two quoted under $4,800 with the same limits and contract wording. Illustrative figures. The owner had paid roughly $2,500 more over the last two years than the market required.
The fix: Small increases are how a price drifts up unnoticed. Put a shopping round on the calendar every third year, and every year the price jumps.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How often should I shop around for business insurance?
Every two to three years if your business and price are stable. Every year if the price rose 15 percent or more, you had a claim, or your operations changed. Review the renewal every year either way.
Q: Is it bad to switch insurance companies every year?
It can be. Insurers often lose money in the first year of a policy and quote less eagerly for accounts that move every year, so switch when there is a real reason, not for tiny savings. Some insurers offer loyalty discounts after a few years, but those come from a plan the insurer files with the state, so they are capped and they vary. On workers comp there is nothing like them in the states that set the rate, or in the four states where a state fund is the only insurer; ask about dividend plans instead. If you do move, moving at renewal is almost always cleaner than moving mid term. See whether you can switch before renewal.
Q: When should I start shopping before my renewal date?
Sixty to ninety days out. That leaves time for your claims history, a clean application, quotes from several insurers, and a decision without a rush.
Q: Can I shop without leaving my current insurer?
Yes. Many owners shop to check the market and then stay, sometimes with a sharper renewal. Shopping is a comparison, not a commitment.
Q: Does shopping my insurance cost anything?
No. Brokers are paid by the insurer when a policy is placed. Getting quotes costs you your claims history and an hour on the application.
Q: What if my broker says nobody else will quote my trade?
Ask which insurers they tried. If the list is short, a broker with more market access may find options. Some trades really are hard to place, but "nobody" usually means "nobody I work with."
Q: Should I shop each policy separately or all at once?
All at once, on the same renewal date if you can. Insurers often price a package better than a single policy, and one application is less work.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Reviewing a contractor's renewal every year, and shopping it the moment there is a real reason to, is how we keep accounts priced fairly.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.