Initially Insurance brokers were a very scarce breed of people who only wealth individuals or insurance companies could afford to hire. These individuals and companies used to hire insurance brokers to manage their select and manage their insurance portfolios to get the most out of them. Today however essentially every single insurance company employs these insurance brokers on an insured clients behalf. In fact they employ masses of insurance brokers so that they are able to cater to the individual needs of every single insured customer.
What does all this translate into for the individual or business entity that receives insurance though, what does the insurance broker mean to them, and how does he/she add value to their insurance portfolio? From a overall perspective the insurance broker manages the portfolio's of clients to take the load off of them as well as helps them understand certain procedures in everyday terms and acting as a communication catalyst to the insurance company.
In order for this general role which an insurance broker plays to actually make more sense and be better understood it actually has to be broken up into its various components. When a n individual initially seeks insurance for example, the broker plays a role. The brokers look at the needs of the individual and the nature of insurance which they are seeking, and according to that he/she can provide advice on which insurance policies would best suit the individual, the value for which the individual will have to be covered and what costs will be involved in obtaining that cover. The broker informs the potentially insured individual of the premiums they pay, the excess they may need to pay in the event of a claim and the extent to which the individual will be insured.