January 26, 2016

Marin Green Business

Marindependent Insurance Services LLC is proud to announce that we have qualified for the Marin Green Business Program through the Bay Area Green Business Program and California Green Business Program.  I have always believed that a business should be based on serving the community, the environment, and yet be profitable.   The Marin Green Business program helps consumers in ascertaining which businesses are stepping up in regards to the environment.

 

The Bay Area Green Business Program:

The Bay Area Green Business Program  “distinguishes small businesses that protect, preserve and sustain our environment.”  They “verif(y) that participating businesses conserve energy and water, minimize waste, prevent pollution, and shrink their carbon footprints.”   Marindependent qualified for the program by completing thorough documentation that involved our processes for both finding new customers and retaining existing clients.  As an independent brokerage agency the task was made more complicated because of the increased specific processes that we must follow with all of the various carriers.   The California Green Business Program has an interesting video that can be watched on Youtube.

In my opinion we qualified for the program because we have discovered how to save countless reams of paper via our electronic signature program which we now use in almost all new sales.  This allows us to not have to print out 50 to sometimes 100 pages of documentation for clients to sign.  It allows us to log into a secure site, upload documents, and zap them off into the cloud.   Clients as well, no longer need to print out emails that contain those same 50 to 100 pages just to sign them and scan them back.  What used to make the process all the more absurd is that since the paperwork often contained confidential information, the paperwork was not able to be reused.

The California system also involved questions and concerns about toxic chemicals, recycling, and reuse of materials.  As with any financial oriented company we strive to strike a safe balance with reusing paper and or computers that do not contain any sensitive material on them.  Obviously if anything contains a private piece of client information that document can not be reused and must be shredded.   You can lookup our business and other ‘green’ businesses in marin on the following two websites: California Green Business Program and the Bay Area Green Business Program.

Marin Green Business:

Fellow Marin Business that wish to read about the process may do so on the Marin county website.  A list of requirements is available and the program is of course voluntary.   There is no sign up or recurring cost to be considered for the program.   Documents are fillable electronically and typically require an onsite visit from a member of their staff.  I personally found the entire process rather straight forward and simple.

What Does it Mean to Be Green:

The concept of being a green business is hard to pinpoint exactly.  Certainly it means caring for the environment.  I also believe it means making daily decisions with not just an eye for the customer and profit, but also the environment.

About Marindependent Insurance Services:

Marindependent is a true independent brokerage / agency based in Marin County California.  We write home, auto, term life, umbrella, small business, and hard to place risks throughout the San Francisco Bay Area counties.  We have a number of specialties one of which is writing home insurance for properties that are harder to place.  Examples of these homes include: Large plots of land, Extreme fire risk, or properties that just do not fit the standard insurance requirements.  We strive to make every relationship a solid one and take the hassle out of shopping for insurance.  Please contact us for a policy review. Please read our disclosure.

Marindependent Insurance Services LLC – Independent and Green Insurance in and around Marin County – California.  California Department of Insurance License Number 0K10734.