Insurance brokers play a similar, yet different, role to those of an insurance agent. Brokers typically have experience in a variety of insurance and risk management protocols, allowing them to serve a variety of individuals. Brokers represent their clients directly and are not hired by insurance companies, nor do they actually bind coverage. The policy is initiated only after the insurer’s underwriters sign the binder.
What do insurance brokers do?
The primary focus of insurance brokers is to collect insurance quotes for policies from insurance companies by completing and filling out applications on behalf of their clients.
The coverage they request will be determined by some type of consultation with a broker to determine your specific insurance needs.
They help consumers explore all of their options and the potential risks of each policy before committing to protection policies for families, individuals, property owners, and business owners.
The benefits of using insurance brokers
Some of these licensed individuals may specialize in specific areas such as life insurance, and home insurance or may act as business insurance brokers.
They will have extensive knowledge of specific coverage, exclusions, and loopholes that exist in their area of expertise. Brokers also have a solid understanding of the potential risks that individuals may face during their life or business venture.
Their job is to help each applicant understand how to better manage those risks with insurance to ensure that customers are prepared with proper protection and insurance coverage.
Since most brokers do not work directly on client commissions, they want to help the client get as much coverage as possible within their specified budget.
Take the time to talk to a personal or business insurance broker
Even if your insurance needs are for your family or small business, there is no need to skip the step of talking to a home or business insurance broker. Instead of saving money, you may end up spending too much or too little on insurance outside of your financial resources.