From buying homes to working with accountants and drafting wills and everything in between, adulting can be hard so we thought why not make it a little easier. This series taps into the knowledge of the professionals who help with all of these tasks to get their tips and advice on how to work with them most efficiently.

Monica Liang-Allen

Company: World Insurance Associates, LLC in New York City

Occupation: Licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Professional

What do you do for your clients?

I help protect your business, home, employees and more through advisement and placement of different insurance products and coverage.

What should clients be prepared to discuss when they meet with you?

If they have current insurance, a copy of their policies would be great as I can then advise if they are properly protected through detailed review of the coverage and exclusions in their policies. If they are a new start-up business with no insurance at all, an initial phone call to gather information would be sufficient and then a follow-up appointment, if needed.

How can a client best organize themselves before the meeting to be most efficient with your time?

It really depends on the kind of business that it is and what industry they are in. Every business is different. Copies of their insurance policies (not Certificates) would be best.

And, for new business start-ups, I generally ask some very basic questions based off an intake/questionnaire that I have (read intake here). I don’t necessarily ask all of the questions in every meeting because some may not be relevant.

In terms of paperwork, what should they prepare before the meeting?

Just copies of current insurance policies, financial statements (P&L and Balance Sheet), copies of sample contracts they have with their clients. For homeowners, copies of their homeowners/umbrella/auto and valuables policies would be great as a starting point.