How to find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in your state
A good wholesale distributor agent holds a license in your state, places wholesalers and importers as regular work, and asks where your goods sit and how they move. Check the license on your state's lookup, then use the six questions below.
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- Verify the license in the state where your warehouse is before you share business details.
- A good agent asks who holds your goods and what happens to them in transit.
- Workers' comp rules differ by state, so the agent has to know yours.
What should I ask an agent before I hire one?
Ask six questions about your own business. A good agent answers in terms of your goods, your warehouse and your suppliers. A weak one answers in general insurance talk.
| Question to ask | A good answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Are you licensed in my state? | Yes, with a license number you can check on the state lookup | Vague, or "another office handles that" |
| Which wholesalers or importers do you place now? | Names the kinds of goods and the coverages those accounts carry | "All small businesses" |
| How would you cover my goods at someone else's warehouse or on a truck? | Asks who holds the goods and on what terms, and explains the carrier's limit | "Your property policy covers it," with no questions |
| If I import, what do you need to know about the maker? | Asks who makes the goods, who is the importer, and whether you hold a contract with the maker | Never asks where the goods come from |
| Which insurers will you approach, and why? | Names the kinds of insurers and what happens if the first ones say no | One insurer for everyone, or no answer |
| What numbers do you need from me? | Your fullest month of stock, and payroll split by job | Reuses last year's figures without asking |
Two terms come up in the answers. Inland marineInland Marine Coverage for business property that moves or sits away from your premises, such as tools, equipment, or goods in transit. Insurers call it inland marine. more → coverage, which our cargo and inland marine page describes, pays for goods on a truck or held away from your own premises. A carrier's liability for your goods can be limited to a declared value, so ask what the agent does about the gap. (Source: 49 U.S.C. 14706) A third-party warehouse can cap its own liability in the storage agreement, and you can ask in writing for a higher limit, for a higher charge. (Source: Uniform Commercial Code 7-204) Bring your agreement to the first call.
Surplus linesExcess and Surplus Lines (E&S) Coverage from insurers your state permits but does not license, used for risks standard insurers decline. Insurers call this the excess and surplus lines market. more → coverage is the market for risks standard insurers decline, and it is usually placed through brokers licensed for it. Our guides to why wholesalers are hard to insure and the quote checklist show what an agent will ask. Spotting upselling and questions to ask a broker cover the rest.
How do I check an agent's license?
Each state keeps a public lookup, linked in the state sections below. Search the agent's name, and confirm the license type and the lines of insurance the holder may sell, before you send business details.
A license does not make someone a specialist, which is why the scorecard above matters more. The state sections below link each lookup. An independent agency can approach several insurers; a captive agent works for one. Our explainer sets out the difference.
What kind of wholesale business does Anvo place?
Anvo Insurance, an independent agency (legal name Baos Insurance LLC), places wholesalers, distributors and importers, food and general merchandise, including newer businesses that are already operating and bringing in revenue.
The goods can sit in your warehouse, a leased one or a third-party warehouse. Anvo does not write a one-person trading desk with no inventory. It places accounts with standard insurers and, where needed, the surplus-lines market through wholesale access. Each state section below says where Anvo is licensed.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in Kansas?
Ask the agent to check your yearly payroll against Kansas's $20,000 workers' comp line, which counts payroll, not people. (Source: K.S.A. 44-505)
Check the license by searching the license lookup on the Kansas Insurance Department site.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is licensed in Kansas. Search Baos Insurance LLC on the state lookup.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in Missouri?
Ask the agent to count relatives within the third degree toward Missouri's five-employee line for workers' comp. (Source: RSMo 287.030)
The Missouri Department of Insurance links its license lookup from its producer page.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is licensed in Missouri. Search Baos Insurance LLC on the state lookup.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in New York?
New York has its own workers' comp rating board, so ask which class your warehouse and driver payroll sit in. (Source: New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board)
The Department of Financial Services licensee search shows whether a license has been issued.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is licensed in New York. Search Baos Insurance LLC on the state search.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania's rating bureau uses its own class numbers, not the national council's, so ask the agent how it classes your goods. (Source: Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau)
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department offers a search to verify an agent's license status.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is licensed in Pennsylvania. Search Baos Insurance LLC on the state's agent search.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts has its own rating bureau, and a store selling wholesale merchandise falls in class 8018 unless a specialty wholesale class fits better. (Source: Workers' Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts)
Ask which class your goods fall under. The state publishes a license verification service.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is licensed in Massachusetts. Search Baos Insurance LLC on the state's verification service.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in Louisiana?
A wholesaler that hires outside haulers can, in some cases, be treated as their employer for workers' comp, depending on its written contracts and whether the hauling is part of its own business, so ask the agent how that reaches you. (Source: La. R.S. 23:1061)
Verify any agent on the Louisiana Department of Insurance producer search.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is not licensed in Louisiana. An agency can hold a non-resident license in a state, so check any agent you are considering, including us, on the state's lookup.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in Maryland?
A paid officer or LLC member counts as a covered employee unless an opt-out applies, so ask the agent how your owners are treated. (Source: Md. Labor & Employment §9-206)
The Maryland Insurance Administration lookup is the place to verify a license.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is not licensed in Maryland. An agency can hold a non-resident license in a state, so check any agent you are considering, including us, on the state's lookup.
How do I find the best wholesale distributor insurance agent in Washington?
Washington sells workers' comp only through its state fund, so an agent cannot shop it among insurers; judge the agent on the rest of your program. (Source: RCW 51.16.060)
Use the Office of the Insurance Commissioner lookup to verify a license.
How Anvo measures against this: Anvo Insurance is not licensed in Washington. An agency can hold a non-resident license in a state, so check any agent you are considering, including us, on the state's lookup.
Frequently asked questions about choosing a wholesale distributor insurance agent
Usually a specialist, if the specialist is licensed where your warehouse is. Ask how many wholesalers or importers they place now and which coverages those accounts carry.
Generally the agent needs a license for the state where the business or the risk is located, so ask which license covers each location and verify it on that state's lookup.
You can talk to a new agent at any time. Ask each one how they would handle your goods at other warehouses and in transit, and compare the answers before you decide.
Ask these questions of any agent, including us
Bring these questions to every agent you talk to and compare the answers. For ours, send your warehouse details with a quote request.