Meet Your Insurance Professionals

Buying insurance requires a certain amount of research before you even begin comparing insurance quotes and part of that research is learning the terminology associated with different types of insurance, including auto, home, life, health and renters. You hear about insurance adjusters, and you might wonder the difference between an insurance agent and a broker. Just who are these insurance professionals and how do they work for you and your insurance policies? It’s time to meet some of your insurance professionals.

Insurance Agent

The most common insurance professional you most likely hear about is the insurance agent. Agents sell and service insurance policies and are defined by two classifications: independent agent and direct, or career, agent. An independent insurance agent represents two or more insurance providers and typically works for you in finding the best rates and policies to meet your insurance needs. The direct, or career, agent works solely for one insurance company. Both types of agent receive commissions on each policy sold with an included fee for servicing the policy.

Insurance Broker

An insurance broker is similar to an independent agent in that the broker is a license insurance producer who works for the insurance seeker by searching the marketplace in the best interests of their clients, and not insurance providers. Brokers and independent agents are so similar there is a subset of insurance professional known as a broker-agent who at times acts as a broker for their clients, and other times as an agent by representing certain insurance providers as well as their clients.

Insurance Adjuster

The insurance adjuster represents the insurance provider by determining the insurer’s liability after a claim. For example, after a car accident the adjuster will examine the damaged auto and let the insurance provider know the dollar amount of damages covered under the auto insurance policy. Adjusters often work for more than one insurance provider

Did you know? Most independent agents are also insurance brokers.

Takeaways:

1. Insurance agents sell and service insurance policies.
2. Agents have two classifications: independent insurance agent and direct, or career, insurance agent.
3. Insurance brokers work for the interests of the insurance seeker and not the insurance provider.

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