Picking an Agent: Captive vs. Broker

Ways to Purchase Insurance: Captive vs. Broker

Purchase Option Number One: Online by yourself

Pros:

  • Easy
  • Quick to complete

Cons:

  • You should never be your own agent!
  • Could miss major coverages come claim time

Purchase Option Number Two: a Captive Agent

Pros:

  • Big, name brands that you’ve heard of before
  • Name brand recognition
  • Easy to find, located on main roads and have advertisements all over the place

Cons:

  • Only able to quote and sell from one major insurance company
  • Only have one option to provide you
  • If your rates change and you need to leave the agency you’ve also lost the relationship you’ve built with that agent
  • Sometimes will sacrifice small coverages that pay off in the long run to get you a lower price up front
  • Sometimes captive agents are tougher to get ahold of, especially during claim time
  • Captive agents tend to work only 9-5 hours, aren’t available 24/7

Purchase Option Number Three: an Independent Agent

Pros:

  • Number one motivation is to protect customers
  • Can quote and sell many different insurance options from multiple companies all at once
  • Don’t have to lose that agent/client relationship if your coverage needs change over time and you need a new plan
  • Always available during the claims process
  • We want to be your one stop shop for insurance! You might need three different companies for life, auto, or home insurance, and you could just have one agent
  • Licensed to sell from companies that have been around for 100+ years

Cons:

  • We can be harder to find, don’t have as much money as the captive agents to spend on ads and marketing (so less junk mail for you!)