Risk & Business Magazine Miller Insurance Fall 2017 | Page 27

BLOWING UP THE INSURANCE WORLD
Blowing Up the
Insurance
World
F
inding insurance for a business
that manufactures explosives is
no easy proposition. That’s what
Steve Barber of Miller Insurance
learned the hard way when he
tried to insure Rock Removal Solutions
a few years ago. “I could literally see the
insurance reps pulling away from the table
as I explained the business,” Steve recalls.
“They definitely were trying to get as far
away from me as possible,” he jokes. “Every
time I talked to an underwriter during that
time, I had to prepare myself to hear ‘No
way. Absolutely not.’”
Rock Removal Solution’s owner, Kevin
Craven, had known Barber for years, so
he immediately thought of him when
“ONE AREA OF
ROCK REMOVAL
SOLUTIONS THAT
HAS GROWN
DRAMATICALLY
IS CRAVEN’S
TRAINING
PROGRAM TO
CERTIFY ALL
CONTRACTORS
USING HIS
PRODUCT.”
he started his first business selling drills
and supplies to Canadian quarries and
mines. Once Craven expanded into the
explosives end of the business, Barber
knew immediately he’d have his work cut
out for him.
Not one to shy away from a challenge,
Barber learned as much as he could
about the business in order to present
it as effectively as possible to insurance
carriers. He also did his own insurance
industry research, evaluating ten possible
providers before finally settling on a select
few to talk to in more detail. “We had
many, many conversations before finding
the right fit,” he said.
Once he got to understand the company