An agent can be licensed to sell life insurance, disability and health insurance or fire and casualty insurance. The title broker/agent does not automatically convey both types of licenses upon the holder, unless he or she qualified for and was issued both types of licenses.

Broker

A broker acting in an agent capacity is generally a person who is appointed (authorized) by one or more specific insurance companies to sell their products. The agent by virtue of the appointment(s) is considered to be working on behalf of that insurance company when he or she sells you their policy. For this sale, the agent will receive a sales commission from that insurance company. The agent with this license can only transact insurance with those insurance companies for which he or she has an appointment. A broker/agent acting in a broker capacity is generally selling insurance with companies that have not appointed him/her. In essence, he or she is shopping for or brokering the insurance among many insurance companies for which he or she will receive a sales commission. In this capacity, the broker represents you, the insured, not the insurance company. This license allows the broker to charge you a brokers fee for their services, in addition to any commission they might receive from the insurance company.

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