Captive Insurance Agent vs. Broker Insurance
You may not know the difference between captive insurance agents and insurance brokers, many members of the public do not, but it is important to learn so that you can make sure to do the best thing for you and your family. When looking for insurance for your family you will want to choose a professional that has your best interests in mind and is able to offer you the best the market and insurance companies have to offer at the best price.
You will want a broker who has access to many insurance company products so you aren’t limited to the offerings of just one company. Life Insurance policies are vast and having someone knowledgeable about all the options available by the insurance provider is important.
There are many insurance professionals working in the insurance industry and choosing someone to work for you can make a big difference to your insurance coverage as well as your overall plan. You will want someone who assesses your needs and works to get you a good price on any insurance policy you decide to purchase. This is why it’s good to learn about the difference between an insurance broker and captive agents.
What is an Insurance Broker and What do They do?
An Insurance Broker is provincially licensed and works directly for the client and seeks to find insurance products in the best interest of the customer. An Experior Financial Group has a choice of over 30 different carriers and a broker will review your situation and make a full financial assessment of your situation.
They then make recommendations for you on debt reduction strategies, insurance policy, investments and provide you with an exceptional degree of customer service. They look at the coverage options of over 30 insurance companies to come up with their unique recommendation that is right for you.
An insurance broker can explain the types of policies they recommend and answer any questions you may have related to the insurance options they are recommending. Since they don’t work for the life insurance companies they will always put the needs of the client ahead of the insurance company when it comes to insurance and your policy should you need it to pay out at any point.
What is a Captive Insurance Agent and What do They do?
A captive insurance agent is someone who is provincially licensed and works directly for one insurance company. They have a job to sell their company’s products to the consumer. As an agent they are limited in looking out for the best interests of the client and don’t have access to products from other insurance companies.
Differences between Captive Insurance Agents vs Insurance Brokers
- An insurance broker can search the market for the best product for their clients needs.
- A captive insurance agent can only sell products from the company they work for.
- An insurance broker is knowledgeable about a range of products on the market.
- A captive insurance agent knows about their company’s products, and only limited knowledge on other carriers products.
- An insurance broker is looking out for your best interest.
- A captive insurance agent believes they are looking out for you, unfortunately are limited in the recommendations they make.
- An insurance broker will meet with you throughout the years to review your situation and make needed adjustments to the products you have as the market changes as well as any life change that will happen, good or unfortunate.
- A captive insurance agent will contact you regularly but may not have much to offer as the market changes as they do not have the access to as big of a variety of products.
- A captive insurance agent may be able to give you a bundle discount when you combine auto insurance, home insurance and life insurance.
- A captive agent may be conflicted between your needs and they can tend to be partial to their employer.
Similarities between Captive Insurance Agents and Brokers
There are some similarities between an Insurance Broker and Insurance Agents. Both Brokers and Agents must be licensed to sell insurance provincially. The Captive Agent is limited in what products they offer. On the other hand they both the Broker and Agent offer insurance policies and have knowledge about the policies they sell. A Broker however has more markets at his/her fingertips and has all your best interests at heart.
How do Insurance Brokers and Captive Agents who work for an Insurance Company make Money?
Insurance brokers are paid a commission from their MGA or through the insurance company whose products they have sold. Experior Financial Group clients do not pay the insurance broker any fees for their work.That is all taken care of by us.
Captive agents are paid directly by one insurance company, their employer. They may make a base salary with commissions on top but may also have an earnings cap. This means it may limit their potential income, where an insurance broker has no limit on their sales potential. Why is this important to you? We believe the broker or agent if they are not limited will make the decision based solely on the right product for the client.
As an insurance buyer it is important to understand the differences between a broker and captive agents so you can make the best decision. Your insurance needs are unique and there is a large insurance marketplace out there that can be extremely difficult to navigate. You will want someone with your best interest at heart when searching for an insurance product.
A broker will be on your side during the claims process, should you ever need to use it. Every customer is different and the insurer recognizes this and that is why they offer so many different kinds of insurance policies. There are coverage options available to you from both the broker and the captive agent. We hope you now feel comfortable deciding which is the best decision for you and understanding the differences will help you when you make your purchase.
At Experior Financial Group we offer top notch customer service and our Insurance Associates put the clients needs first. Our brokers are extremely well trained in all aspects of financial services in order to assist you with debt elimination strategies, retirement planning, investments, employee benefits options, and insurance policies.
Our Insurance Brokers will meet all of your insurance needs at the best prices possible as they search the market to give you the best policy for your situation. They don’t use just one insurance company because we know that insurance is not a one size fits all coverage and there are many policies on the market.