Lockton vs Simply Business

You work with Lockton as a broker for risk, benefits and retirement programs; it arranges and services policies but is not the risk-bearing insurer. ^1,13,20Company-reported. Company-reported US brand and Terms of Business. The contracting Lockton company can differ by client. Private-ownership and independence claims are marketing statements, not a regulatory finding.

Confirm the legal producer on your California broker agreement: Lockton’s terms name Lockton Companies, LLC and affiliates, its site operator is Lockton, Inc., and certificates use Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC as a California DBA. ^13,14,21Company-reported. Company legal disclosures and company-issued certificates. Missouri charter number 00498854 appears in website terms as a company statement. Current secretary-of-state and producer-license status were not independently verified.

Verify Lockton’s current California producer authority before appointing it: certificates list license 0F15767 for Lockton Companies, LLC dba Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC, but status, classes and expiration were not independently checked. ^21,22Not found in reviewed sources. Company-issued certificate header versus CDI lookup homepage only. Not a finding that the license is inactive or that California product placement is unavailable.

Simply Business describes its U.S. service as an online commercial-insurance marketplace and licensed producer connecting business customers with insurers. Its June 30, 2026 Terms identify Simply Business, LLC and Harborway Insurance Agency, LLC d/b/a Harborway Insurance as licensed producers, with Harborway a Simply Business subsidiary; the Terms say Harborway policies are underwritten by Spinnaker Insurance Company. Other site policies are underwritten by third-party providers, so the selected issuer depends on the offer and policy. These roles and license statements are company-reported. The contact-page footer says Simply Business, LLC is licensed in all U.S. states and D.C.; for California it says the company operates under the name Simply Business Insurance Agency, LLC and displays License #0M20593. The footer also lists Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas operating names; it gives no other license identifiers. No regulator lookup was performed or required for this candidate. ^23,24,36,25Company-reported. U.S. commercial insurance distribution described by the company. Simply Business, LLC, Simply Business, Inc., Harborway Insurance Agency, LLC, the stated parent and each policy issuer are distinct. The Inc./LLC relationship remains unresolved.

You can start with a Lockton team inquiry or email its cyber and technology group; reviewed pages do not offer a self-service bind flow or guaranteed quote turnaround. ^12,1,15,3,14Company-reported. US contact, privacy, technology and cyber-technology pages. Form submission was not completed. Website terms state site content is general information, not broking advice.

The company advertises online quotes and weekday phone access to licensed agents. Its Terms say a quote is not guaranteed and Simply Business cannot bind a risk without panel-member approval; a quote or online purchase path does not establish that every applicant can bind online. ^25,24Company-reported. Published U.S. quote and service channels. Binding depends on panel-member approval and the individual offer.

Lockton describes dedicated account teams, risk control and renewal service, including a round-the-clock technology service model; confirm actual service commitments and portal features because public pages provide no standard service agreement. ^5,2,13,6,1Company-reported. Company service descriptions and default Terms of Business; a signed services agreement can differ. Portal capabilities remain undocumented in this review.

Simply Business lists licensed-agent phone support Monday through Friday: sales 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Eastern Time and service 9 a.m.–6 p.m. These listed hours do not establish a response-time guarantee. ²⁵Company-reported. Hours displayed on the current U.S. contact page; no actual wait-time observation is implied.

The company describes account access for policy documents, certificates, account updates and adding coverage; help material routes some changes to an agent or insurer. Not every policy change is described as self-service. ^25,26,24Company-reported. Company-described post-purchase service paths; available tasks may depend on policy and insurer.

The Help Center FAQ says most customers opt into automatic renewal and gives 60-day notice and 30-day processing timing only for those who opt in. The same Help Center summary and June 30, 2026 Terms use broader automatic-renewal wording without the FAQ’s opt-in qualification. The public descriptions conflict; they do not establish which wording applies to every policy. ^26,24Conflicting sources. Company-published descriptions reviewed 2026-09-29. FAQ detail, Help Center summary and Terms are inconsistent; no buyer-specific policy notice was reviewed.

Lockton says its integrated claims team helps investigate, map facts to coverage and negotiate with insurers, but Lockton does not pay claims; service descriptions do not establish claim outcomes or quality. ^{2,4,9,11,7,13}Company-reported. Company-reported advocacy and consulting. Lockton is not identified as the claims-paying insurer.

The Terms say third-party insurers underwrite site policies and each provider handles claims on its own policies; the Help Center directs policyholders to identify and contact the insurer. This establishes a published route, not agency assistance after notice or claim outcomes. ^24,26Company-reported. General site-policy claim responsibility. Harborway/Spinnaker applies only to the named Harborway placement relationship.

Technology, hardware, software, internet, medical-device, semiconductor and telecom organizations can ask Lockton about brokerage; public pages give no company-size, funding or revenue minimum. ^1,2,10Company-reported. US technology, homepage and private-equity service pages. Presence of a technology practice is not an eligibility guarantee for a bootstrapped or early-stage startup.

Simply Business says it serves small businesses and solopreneurs and lists examples such as contractors, cleaning businesses, LLCs and sole proprietors. These examples describe its stated audience, not guaranteed insurer eligibility or availability. ^23,28,24Company-reported. Company-described U.S. audience; eligibility varies by insurer, state and business details.

Request all commissions and fees for your account: Lockton’s terms allow insurer commissions, client fees, contingent/supplemental compensation, insurer service fees, affiliate reinsurance income and finance interest, but publish no standard rates. ¹³Company-reported. Compensation Disclosure section of US Terms of Business. Amounts for a given account are not disclosed on the public site.

The Terms say Simply Business receives commission or other compensation from or through panel members and that customers may also incur separate processing, administrative, service, installment or cancellation fees. They give no amount or placement-specific applicability; the Terms say charges are disclosed before purchase. ²⁴Company-reported. General disclosure dated 2026-06-30; no specific commission, fee schedule, premium or customer charge was reviewed.