Secrets To Becoming An Expert Car Insurance Broker And Make More Sales

Car insurance brokers and car insurance agents are similar in the sense that they both receive a commission for selling car insurance. The difference between the two is that a car insurance brokers can sell policies from multiple agencies while an agent only sells one agency’s policy.

If you ask a client the difference between an insurance agent and an insurance broker, they probably wouldn’t know. But as an industry professional, we think it’s important for you to know the difference, especially if you sell car insurance. Here’s what we need you to know:

Car Insurance Broker

Car insurance brokers work for car insurance agencies or companies as a middleperson between the customer and the company. They can also be self-employed professionals who promote themselves as independent agents.

Car insurance brokers are allowed to work for more than one agency at a time but need permission from the state board first before they can sell policies for other companies without any supervision by that particular agency.

According to salary.com, the average salary of an insurance broker in the state of New York is $178,420 per year in 2021. The national average, however, ranges between $75,000 to $90,000 annually.

Car Insurance Agent

Car insurance agents are licensed to sell car insurance policies and can only work for a single company or agency. Insurance agents are usually paid on commission basis, which means that the more policies you sell, the higher your pay is going to be.

There are generally two types of car insurance agents; captive agents and independent agents.

Captive agents do not have the same capability to represent other companies and they need permission from their company for them to be able to work with another car insurance agency.  One perk of being a captive agent is having a base salary. Regardless of the sales and commissions they make, they always have their base salary to fall back onto.

Independent agents, on the other hand, are free to work for as many companies or agencies as they want. Independent agents also have more flexibility with their salary and can negotiate a higher commission than what’s initially offered by the company. One perk of being an independent agent is that they can sell policies from various companies. This enables them to sell policies that have a higher commission margin.

A car insurance agent can make about $100,000 a year. However, the national average for insurance agents is between $45,000 to $60,000 a year.

Car insurance brokers usually make more than car insurance agents because a broker generally has a larger pool of clients they can cater to than an insurance agent can.