5. Don't change brokers too often. In a soft market, it is tempting to jump from one broker to another in search of deals. But if you want to develop a solid partnership with your broker, don't switch every year. A reputation for skipping around could hike your premiums or make it tougher to find decent coverage when a hard market returns.

6. Match the brokerage to your company size. Multinational companies need global brokers, as do large national companies. A smaller company might receive more attention from a smaller broker.

7. Insist on transparency. To make sure that brokers are acting solely in your interest rather than that of the insurer, ask the broker to confirm that in writing. Pay special attention to contingent compensation (extra payments insurers pay brokers based on the performance of their clients' business).

If broker acceptance of such compensation is "warping the decision process, and [the broker] is not really looking at doing a good search of [insurers] out there, that's a problem," says Ron Fior, CFO of Callidus Software, a vendor of sales-performance tools. Not that it's a problem at Callidus: the company's broker, USI Holdings, routinely provides Fior with lists of the dozens of insurers it has contacted.

David M. Katz is New York bureau chief at CFO.

Broker Checklist

Have you…
• met with the broker three months before the policy-renewal date?
• told the broker about changes in company assets and risks?
• decided whether fees or commissions are best?
• made sure the broker discloses income from insurers?

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