Understanding the difference between a captive insurance agent versus an independent agent is important because it will help you make a more informed decision when it comes to choosing insurance for your family and your business. It may also help you save money on insurance premium.
A captive insurance agent works for only one insurance company, so a captive agent is limited to selling the insurance products offered by the one parent company they represent. Examples of captive agents include Allstate, Farmers, Geico or State Farm.
In contrast, an independent insurance agent sells insurance products from multiple insurance companies, so they will shop your insurance across multiple carriers. In addition, while a captive agent can only bundle your home and auto insurance with their one parent company, the independent agent has the freedom to bundle if it saves you money or to write your homeowner’s insurance and auto insurance with different companies if that offers you better pricing and coverages.
Customers benefit when we can shop for your insurance with different companies. We have access to large insurance companies that are household names, and we also partner with regional insurers who have been less affected by claims from adverse events in other regions of the country like California or Florida. With a smaller risk pool, some of these regional insurers have been able to beat the rates of larger carriers.