Transparency & Disclosure

The Baldwin Group will always treat you, our client, fairly and will put you and your interests front-and-center in our thoughts and actions.

The Baldwin Group is dedicated to full transparency and disclosure in all of its business dealings. We are committed to disclosing our roles and interests in insurance transactions, including the type of compensation we may receive

Like other brokers, The Baldwin Group is compensated in a variety of ways, including commissions and fees paid by insurance company partners — which may include wholesale brokers or other intermediaries– and fees paid by clients. The Baldwin Group may receive compensation through one, or a combination, of the payment methods listed below, in compliance with applicable State laws and regulations.

Retail Commissions: A retail commission is paid to The Baldwin Group by an insurance company partner as a percentage of the premium charged to the insured for the policy. The amount of commission may vary depending on a number of factors, including the type of insurance product sold, the insurance company partner selected by the client, and when applicable, the insurance company partner’s filed and approved rates. Retail commission rates may vary from transaction to transaction.

Client Fees: Some clients may agree to pay The Baldwin Group fees for its services in lieu of, or in addition to, the retail commissions.  When specifically negotiated and agreed to with the client, fees may be collected in whole or in part through the crediting of retail commissions.  These fees are separate from retail commissions and commissions with respect to specialized placement services, which are, in each case, paid by insurance company partners.

Insurance Company Partner Consulting Compensation: The Baldwin Group receives compensation from some insurance company partners for providing consulting, data analytics, or other services, unrelated to the placement of individual insurance policies. The services are designed to improve the product offerings available to our clients, assist our insurance company partners in identifying new opportunities, and enhance insurance company partners’ operational efficiency. The scope and nature of the services vary by insurance company partner and by geography.

Contingent Commissions: Some insurance company partners agree to pay The Baldwin Group contingent commissions if we meet certain goals for insurance policies placed with them during a given year, or other time period. The goals may include volume, profitability, retention and/or growth thresholds. The amount of contingent commission earned may vary depending on factors relating to an entire book of business over the course of the applicable period. As a result, the amount of contingent commission attributable to any given insurance policy typically will not be known at the time of placement.

Supplemental Commissions. Some insurance markets, including The Baldwin Group-owned intermediaries, have modified their commission schedule with The Baldwin Group, resulting in an increase in some commission rates. These additional commissions, commonly referred to as “supplemental commissions”, are known as of the effective date of the policy; but some insurance company partners pay this commission later and apart from when commissions are normally paid at policy issuance.  Like contingent commissions, supplemental commissions may be based on profitability, volume or retention and/or growth thresholds. 

Compensation for Insurance Company Partner Administration and Other Services: The Baldwin Group operates certain panels, facilities, quota shares and other placement arrangements with some insurance company partners. The Baldwin Group receives separate compensation for administering these arrangements in addition to any other fee or commission earned by The Baldwin Group.

Other Benefits or Compensation:  The Baldwin Group may, from time to time, participate in insurance company partner promotional events or employee training and development provided by insurance company partners. Sometimes, The Baldwin Group is reimbursed for its costs related to such engagements.

Where legally permitted, The Baldwin Group earns interest and other income on premium accounts, as paid to us by the financial institutions where insurance premiums are held prior to remittance to insurance company partners and with respect to return premiums temporarily held as fiduciary funds.

Reinsurance: Some of The Baldwin Group’s subsidiaries or affiliates are reinsurance brokers that provide reinsurance brokerage services to their insurance carrier clients; their clients compensate them for those reinsurance brokerage services. Some of their insurance carrier clients may be insurance carriers with whom The Baldwin Group places insurance coverage for its clients. The services The Baldwin Group provides to its clients and the services The Baldwin Group’s reinsurance broker affiliates provide to their clients are separate and distinct. Any compensation that The Baldwin Group’s reinsurance broker affiliates receive is separate from, and in addition to, the compensation The Baldwin Group earns for the services that it provides their clients.

Claims Services:  Some of The Baldwin Group’s subsidiaries or affiliates are compensated for the handling and adjusting of claims by insurance company partners.
 
Wholesaler and Managing General Agent Services:  Some of The Baldwin Group’s subsidiaries or affiliates are compensated in their role as wholesalers, underwriting managers, program administrators or managing general agents and may have a role in providing insurance products and ‎services to client and may also earn and retain compensation from insurance company partners for their role in providing those products and ‎services.  ‎
 
Specialized Placement Services: The Baldwin Group may sometimes receive a commission from an insurance company partner in connection with specialized placement services where the use of The Baldwin Group’s intellectual property, insurance partner relationships, and/or centers of excellence create market solutions for clients.

Referral Fees: The Baldwin Group may receive compensation in the form of a fee, payment of other rewards, or benefit from other insurance producers or ancillary service providers, including, but not limited to, premium finance companies and tax consulting companies, for referring their services to our clients. Any such referrals are in compliance with The Baldwin Group’s Privacy Policy.

For more information on The Baldwin Group’s compensation or The Baldwin Group’s contractual arrangements with insurance company partners, please contact your local Baldwin representative.

The Baldwin Group has agreements with certain insurance company partners pursuant to which The Baldwin Group provides services to them and for which The Baldwin Group is compensated. Examples include captive management services, claims administration services, claims management software and associated services, mergers and acquisitions due diligence services, managing general agent and managing general underwriter services and insurance brokerage services regarding insurance company partners’ own insurance programs. The Baldwin Group is also party to agreements with insurance company partners that facilitate insurance transactions, including agency agreements, agreements to administer facilities, and agreements to operate internet-based insurance placing facilities.

The Baldwin Group routinely enters into various types of agreements with insurance company partners that are ancillary to the insurance producing process, or other services performed on behalf of clients. Examples include confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements for the release of data relating to insurance placements, claims handling and loss control programs, non-disclosure and/or non-competition agreements relating to the development and disclosure of new insurance products and services, and licensing agreements governing access to and use of data management systems and databases.

The Baldwin Group uses your information  in accordance with The Baldwin Group’s Privacy Policy.

Fair Credit Reporting Act Disclosure Statement and Notice of Insurance Information Practices: Personal information about you may be collected from you or from sources other than you in connection with insurance applications, subsequent renewals, or other insurance services we provide to you. A credit report or score may be requested for underwriting or rating purposes. The Baldwin Group may obtain information about your credit history, your loss history and the loss history of the property proposed for coverage. Such information, as well as other personal and privileged information collected by us or our agents may, in certain circumstances, be disclosed to third parties, such as insurance company partners, actuaries, underwriting consultants and reinsurance brokers without your authorization, as permitted or required by law.

Data Analytics: The Baldwin Group may include, on an anonymous or de-identified basis, information relating to its clients’ insurance programs in benchmarking, modeling and other analytics. The Baldwin Group offers an array of analytics capabilities to clients, insurance company partners and others. For clients, these offerings include benchmarking databases, analytics and modelling tools, surveys and other compilations of information, which are designed to help clients more effectively assess their risks, make more informed decisions and construct insurance programs and other risk mitigation strategies. The Baldwin Group or its affiliates may in some instances receive compensation for its analytics offerings from clients, insurance company partners and others.