A national specialty retailer cut premium 18.6% ($95,751 a year) by consolidating a 12-policy, eight-insurer program

The challenge

A national specialty retailer headquartered in Western Canada had worked with Summit on its employee benefits for a year. At its first benefits renewal, Summit negotiated the proposed increase down from 20.25% to 8.9%, restructured the repayment of plan deficits, and moved the employee assistance program to a provider offering unlimited sessions at no additional cost. The group retirement plan followed.

When a new CFO joined, he asked Summit to look at the commercial insurance program too. He had inherited it, had no relationship with the incumbent broker, and wanted someone to take the time to explain what the company was actually paying for.

The business (anonymized): stores in multiple provinces, a large distribution centre, an e-commerce channel making up about a quarter of sales, and a growing private-label product line. About 1,500 employees, rising to 1,750 over the holiday season. 29 locations with approximately $300M in total insured values, including buildings in high seismic zones and heritage structures. A significant share of products sourced from Asia. Liability exposures included product liability on private-label goods (including e-bikes), in-store activities and community events, and sales into the U.S.

The expiring program: 12 policies across eight insurers and Lloyd's syndicates, making up a program of around $1M in annual premium across property, cargo, primary and excess liability, events, cyber, D&O, crime and environmental.

• A program built by accretion, not design. The property program was split 50/50 between two insurers on a $150M loss limit. Primary liability sat with one insurer, two excess layers with two others, and a separate events policy existed only because the primary liability form excluded athletic and sports participants: an odd gap for a business built on outdoor activity. Cyber, D&O, excess D&O, crime and excess crime were each placed separately.

• Named insured mismatches across holding entities. The company's policies were split across two holding companies after an ownership change. The cyber policy was issued to the holding company rather than the operating retailer, meaning coverage in a data breach could depend on how a subsidiary clause was interpreted.

• Coverage that didn't match the business. Our technical risk assessment rated the program Attention Required, with cyber rated Critical. Contingent business interruption was capped at $100,000, far too low for a retailer dependent on overseas manufacturers. The primary liability deductible was $75,000 per occurrence and eroded the policy limit. The second excess liability layer carried a cyber and data exclusion, so the entire $25M tower would not respond to a cyber-triggered injury or damage claim. D&O entity coverage carried several carve-outs that followed through the excess layer. Social engineering fraud cover was capped at $250,000, and some cyber-crime sections had deductibles larger than their limits, making the cover effectively illusory.

• No real market test. The account had been renewed with the same group of insurers for years. Several major carriers had either never seen the submission or last saw it in 2019.

• Tight timing. The broker-of-record change was signed six weeks before renewal, with property, liability, cargo and events renewing on the same date.

What Summit did

• Assess before marketing. We reviewed every expiring policy line by line, scored each coverage against retailers of similar size, and walked the CFO and controller through the findings before going to market. The assessment set the priorities for the submission: fix the structural gaps, not just reprice the program.

• Build a submission that told the whole story. We rebuilt the underwriting file from the company's operations outward: a full schedule of values across 29 locations, business interruption values by location with 6-, 12- and 24-month options, sales by channel and country, supplier contracts, product categories, and the controls behind in-store activities and events. Every gap or uncertain fact was resolved with the client before anything went to market. The result was a submission underwriters could price with confidence.

• Approach the markets that hadn't been tested. Using Summit's placement history on comparable accounts, we went to nine markets that weren't on the expiring program: domestic carriers, specialty markets and London capacity. We answered underwriter questions on seismic upgrades, e-bike sourcing, in-store activity protocols and supplier recourse directly, keeping every market working from the same accurate picture.

• Move on timing without rushing the decision. The broker-of-record change was limited to the policies being actively negotiated, so the client wasn't disrupted on lines that were renewing on their own term. Once terms were final, we bound property and primary liability early so the events team could get certificates for post-renewal activities without waiting.

The results

• $95,751 in annual savings (18.6%). On the property, primary liability and events block: from $513,425 to $417,674.

• Consolidated with one carrier. Property (100%), stock throughput and marine cargo, equipment breakdown and $5M primary liability now sit with a single insurer, replacing a split property program and a separate events policy.

• Property premium down 34%. $334,833 → $219,856, while insuring higher total values (~$300M).

• Liability deductible down 93%. $5,000 per claim (Canada) and $10,000 (U.S.), versus $75,000 per occurrence that eroded the limit.

• Events covered in the primary policy. No athletic or sports participant exclusion, so the $27,500 standalone events policy is no longer needed, and events now carry a $5M limit instead of $2M.

• Contingent business interruption 10x higher. $1M versus $100,000, reflecting the overseas supply chain.

• More catastrophe capacity. Earthquake and flood aggregates of ~$300M versus $150M, with the same earthquake deductibles.

• Crime coverage added. Within the package, for a nominal premium.

• Next phase. Cyber, D&O and crime renew with the gaps identified in the assessment in scope: correcting the named insured, reviewing cyber deductibles and limits, raising social engineering limits, and evaluating a larger D&O limit.

Why it worked. Assessment first: the client saw exactly what was wrong with the program before we asked for anything, so the marketing process was about fixing it rather than shopping it. A complete submission: underwriters priced the business as it actually operates, controls included, rather than a thin application. The right markets: our placement history pointed to carriers with real appetite for national retail; the winning market had never seen the account before. One team across the relationship: trust built on the benefits account gave the CFO the confidence to let us test the commercial program.

Who this is for: national and multi-province retailers with stores, distribution centres and e-commerce; companies with overseas supply chains and private-label products; organizations whose programs have grown policy by policy across several insurers; and finance leaders who inherited an insurance program and want an independent view of it.