No, I do all my stuff through ASCE. Very reasonable.

glass99http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=421419

I have no experience with them either. Recently we just switched from CNA to Pearl Insurance through the ASCE. My agent wanted a 60% increase in premium which forced us to look elsewhere. The proposal through the ASCE saved us 66% over the CNA proposal. I would be interested if you have solicited ASCE for a quote and how Beacon compared in cost.

Insurance companies are rated through A.M. Best Company. Check their Financial Strength Rating. If not "A" or better, pick someone else. I have not heard of One Beacon, but that means nothing. They might be very good. Ask the agent for references from others who have their insurance.

We recently switched to One Beacon from the ASCE program. Their quote for a $2/$2 policy was quite a bit less than ASCE's ($10k or so). We trusted the advice of our brocker. He did not like the ASCE program, possibly because he is biased and can't sell the policy, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

He didn't like that Lloyds was the underwriter for the ASCE program. Lloyds of London operates a bit differently than standard insurance companies. I don't know the full details but I believe they have had some problems in the past (our lawyer had similar concerns).

We haven't had a claim against our One Beacon policy so I'm can't comment on that process. His review of the One Beacon policy vs the ASCE policy mentioned some differences:

1) ASCE program had Hammer Clause while One Beacon did not. I believe this essentially means that if there is an option to settle and you opt out of it that the Hammer Clause limits the insurers liability to the amount they would have paid in the settlement.
2) 60 day extended reporting + preclaim coverage
3) Waiver of subrogation. While we have not needed to hand this out it's my understanding that for some larger projects this may be required. The ASCE program wouldn't allow it. We haven't ever been requested to provide it for our E/O policy and I know there are reasons to not want hand this out, it's at least an option on the policy.

One Beacon (at least at the time our broker reviewed) is rated A by Am Best. They are also an admitted carrier in California. See below for info sent to us by our broker.

One Beacon (Including Atlantic Specialty)

Rating:
Affiliation Code:
A (Excellent)
r (Reinsured)
Financial Size Category:
X ($500 Million to $750 Million)
Outlook:
Stable
Action:
Affirmed
Initial Rating Date:
June 30, 1989

I'm by no means an insurance expert, but based on the above and our trust in our broker we switched to them.

Guys,

Appreciate the feedback (especially jdgengineer!). I am seriously considering One Beacon. Yes they seem to have a pretty conventional package on the whole. They don't offer dollar one defense and their deductible is higher, but its a good policy on the whole, and are $10k cheaper than XL Catlin. And yes, One Beacon are A rated by AM Best.

glass99 everyone's financial situation is different, but personally if you can afford the risk in the event you were to get sued the higher deductible and avoiding first dollar defense is probably a better option. This keeps insurance reserved for what it is intended "big emergencies" and should keep your premiums lower as a result.

Dollar one defense is the thing I am trying to get my head around a little bit - apparently it is different to a deductible. If you have DOD, the carrier will start paying a lawyer for your defense right away, and the deductible only applies to the settlement and judgement. I know that insurers are a little trigger happy when it comes to calling lawyers, and they would be spending my money if I have a 10k deductible.

They would but the hope is you don't use insurance often and if you do, you should hopefully have reserve funds set aside to be able to eat the $10k deductible. First dollar defense can be good but it's essentially like a rider on the insurance policy that effects the premiums. So with it, your premiums are more expensive because your deductible is sheltered a little bit. Different levels of thought, but not all that different then ideas of gap insurance or other riders when you purchase a car.