Why You Need an Insurance Broker

Whether you own your own business and need group health and other

insurance benefits for your employees, or you want or need health,

life, accident or other insurance for yourself and/or your family,

finding an insurance broker is a wise decision. An insurance broker

does not add to your cost of insurance, yet an insurance broker does

guide you through the maze of information that you need to know to

purchase insurance. How much insurance do you need? What is a fair

price? Do I really need this particular insurance? Should I buy term

or whole life insurance?

To start, an insurance broker is appointed with a number of different

insurance carriers, so your broker can shop each of the carriers for

benefits and pricing of each of the carriers. A broker does not work

for the insurance carriers, they work for you and your interests.

They will shop each of the carriers for the protection and benefits

you need and want as well as the price. A good broker will find you

the insurance you need at a price you are willing to pay. An

insurance broker does not cost you any more money, since they are

paid by the carrier through which you purchase your insurance.

Another benefit of purchasing insurance through a broker is that you

will get to know the person who is selling you your insurance, and

you will benefit from their knowledge and experience. You will

receive personalized service from a person that you get to know and

trust. Generally, an insurance company will guide you to their "one-

size-fits-all" policies. A broker will work with you to determine

your individual or group needs and show you several options from

different insurance carriers that best fit your needs or the needs of

your business. You also get an unbiased professional opinion from a

broker, not the corporate marketing "speak" from an insurance carrier

that point out their benefits and avoids their weaknesses.

A broker can also help you and your employees with processing claims,

often saving you valuable time trying to find the right person at the

insurance carrier that can assist you with your claim or answer your

question.

A broker is also a member of your community, they shop the same

businesses (including yours), go to the same churches and know the

same people. An insurance broker will be more in tune with your local

circumstances including local economic issues and other factors that

may have an impact on your insurance needs. Ultimately, a good

insurance broker will become a lifelong friend as well as a

consultant and broker.