Insurance Agent Vs. Insurance Broker

If you’re looking into homeowners insurance for your new home, or if you want to switch your homeowners insurance to a different company, you may be wondering what the difference is between an insurance agent and an insurance broker. While these people have the same basic function, they are different in a few important ways. These differences may push you to buy insurance through one or the other.Home Insurance

Similarities

Both insurance agents and insurance brokers are licensed to sell insurance in their states. Licensing doesn’t take a college degree, but agents who are licensed to have to pass a state exam in order to legally sell insurance. Any legitimate insurance salesperson, whether that person is an agent or a broker, will have passed this test and will be qualified to sell you insurance.

Another similarity is that brokers and agents can deal in different specific areas of insurance. Some may sell only life insurance, and others may sell only homeowners insurance. Just keep in mind that as you search for your homeowners insurance, you may want to find an agent or broker who sells multiple types of insurance, as buying more than one insurance policy with the same company can be a great way to get a discount on your homeowners or car insurance.

An Agent

A typical insurance agent is known as a captive agent, which means that he can only sell policies from one company. Companies like Allstate use captive insurance agents to sell their policies. Chances are likely that this agent will have a local office where he’ll meet with clients. The agent will only be able to sell you policies from one company, but he’ll be able to help you sort through the policy offerings of that company to find one that suits you well.

A Broker

An insurance broker, who may also be known as an independent agent, doesn’t work for one specific company. Instead, a broker is allowed to sell insurance from several differerent companies. Progressive is one company who may work through an insurance broker to sell its policies. The advantage of this approach is that the broker has more options of what to sell you and may be able to find you a better policy than a captive insurance agent.Home Insurance

Commission

Working through either an insurance agent or an insurance broker means that you’ll be paying someone commission. However, an insurance agent usually charges a lower commission rate than an insurance broker, so you can take this into consideration. You may be able to find the best deal by talking to an agent and a broker and then by going online to check out direct writing companies who don’t deal with either.

For More Information Please Visit:http://homeinsuranceagents.com