Insurance Agents vs Brokers
American health insurance is notoriously challenging to navigate! So challenging, in fact, there are people whose whole career is helping people find insurance coverage. These people are licensed in each state to provide insurance information, and they generally fall into two categories: agents and brokers. So, what’s the difference?
Insurance Agents work for individual insurance companies. They are knowledgeable about the plans provided by their company and help recommend certain ones based on your needs. They’ll know the basics like coverage, costs, and benefits, but they may also be able to more easily answer in-depth questions about in-network providers or specific treatments you’re interested in.
That being said, it’s important to keep in mind their incentives. Agents work for a single insurance company, which means they are there to sell you a policy from the company they represent. Their role is more of a salesperson than an educational resource, and they won’t be able to talk about any other insurance plans that may be available to you.
Insurance Brokers are similar to agents in a lot of ways: they can provide you with information about the coverage, costs, and benefits of specific plans. However, they don’t work for any singular insurance company—an important difference! This means they can look at many more options when giving you recommendations.
Their incentives are also much more in line with our own! Rather than being a salesperson, brokers are there to provide support and find the plan that best fits you. They are also more versatile when it comes to your specific situation, like when dealing with Medicare or an unexpected gap in coverage.
So how do brokers earn money, you might ask?
While some may charge a brokerage fee to clients, most don’t. More often, they receive a certain percentage of the premium from the given insurance company when they sell a plan. However, because they will receive that from any insurance company, they typically aren’t incentivized to prioritize one company over another. This method allows them to prioritize YOU, the client, without any additional cost!
Navigating insurance can be a headache! If you want someone to give you a helping hand, don’t hesitate to send me a message—let’s see what I can do for you!