FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS

A commercial insurance consultant helps organizations evaluate how their insurance programs perform and whether they align with the financial, operational, and contractual realities of the business.

Unlike firms focused primarily on insurance placement, a consultant provides independent analysis and guidance designed to help leadership make informed decisions about risk, coverage, and long-term insurance strategy.

A fee-only commercial insurance consultant is compensated directly by the client rather than through insurance company commissions.

This model allows The MB Davis Group to provide objective guidance focused on the client’s interests, risk profile, and long-term business goals.

The MB Davis Group provides independent commercial insurance consulting.

While brokers focus on procuring and placing insurance coverage, The MB Davis Group helps organizations evaluate how insurance programs perform, identify potential vulnerabilities, and improve how risk is transferred, retained, and managed across the business.

No. The MB Davis Group does not sell insurance policies or accept commissions from insurance carriers.

This independence allows the firm to provide objective analysis and recommendations without conflicts related to policy sales.

Strategic Insurance Design is the process of evaluating how insurance coverage, contractual risk transfer, and retained financial exposure work together across a business.

Rather than reviewing policies individually, Strategic Insurance Design evaluates whether the entire insurance program supports the operational realities and risk profile of the organization.

As businesses grow, insurance programs often become more complex through renewals, acquisitions, contractual obligations, and operational expansion.

Strategic Insurance Design helps organizations understand how all elements of the insurance program interact and whether the program will perform as expected during a significant loss event.

Retained financial exposure is the portion of risk a company chooses—or unknowingly ends up retaining—through deductibles, self-insured costs, contractual obligations, exclusions, and uninsured exposures.

Understanding retained exposure is a critical part of evaluating overall business risk.

Contractual risk transfer refers to how financial responsibility and liability are allocated through contracts, indemnification provisions, and insurance requirements.

Contracts can significantly affect an organization’s exposure and should be evaluated alongside the insurance program.

Total Cost of Risk includes more than annual insurance premiums.

It also considers deductibles, retained losses, uninsured exposures, claims costs, administrative expenses, and the broader financial impact of risk decisions.

Insurance programs rarely become complex all at once.

Complexity typically develops through renewals, acquisitions, new contracts, operational growth, changing regulations, and evolving risk exposures.

Over time, leadership may lose visibility into how the program functions as a whole.

A coverage gap analysis is a detailed review of an insurance program designed to identify uninsured exposures, restrictive policy language, overlapping coverage, or areas where protection may not align with actual business risk.

Organizations often benefit from an independent review when:

• Insurance costs increase without clear explanation
• Contracts create uncertainty regarding liability exposure
• Operations become more complex
• Major projects or acquisitions are planned
• Leadership wants greater clarity into financial risk
• The company carries significant deductibles or retained exposure

The process generally includes:

• Discovery and operational review
• Insurance program evaluation
• Identification of coverage and contractual issues
• Strategic Insurance Design recommendations
• Collaboration with brokers and advisors during implementation

The MB Davis Group primarily works with organizations operating in complex, risk-driven industries, including:

• Commercial real estate
• Construction and infrastructure
• Manufacturing and distribution
• Oil and gas / energy
• Digital infrastructure and data centers
• Chemicals
• Financial services
• Retail

Organizations often engage independent consulting when:

• Insurance programs become increasingly complex
• Leadership wants an objective second opinion
• Significant growth or acquisitions are occurring
• Contractual obligations are expanding
• The company wants greater confidence in how its insurance program performs

No.
While The MB Davis Group is headquartered in Austin, Texas, the firm works with organizations operating throughout the United States and internationally.