Car Insurance Brokers
A car insurance broker is an intermediary who specialises exclusively in selling car insurance. All brokers, agents, online intermediaries or the traditional high street shop must be authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Brokers typically have access to a range of insurance policies from a variety of insurance companies who underwrite the policies. This allows them to collect details of cover once and provide a quote from the company offering the best or cheapest cover for an insured's individual circumstances. The number of agencies a broker will hold with insurance companies varies by broker, however some of the larger brokers may be able to provide comparative quotes from thirty or more insurers.

Apart from providing car insurance quotes, a broker will collect premiums, provide telephone support and advice, issue cover notes and other policy documents, deal with claims and policy renewals.

If you require specialist or tailored insurance cover because your circumstances or car doesn't 'fit' the standard model used by many online providers, a broker will have access to markets and underwriters which will cover all drivers circumstances.

In summary, Car Insurance Brokers provide a personal service that you will not usually get from other outlets. Going to a broker should also save you time and money as they will do the legwork for you.

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Direct Insurance Companies
Many insurance companies sell car insurance direct to the public by using call centres. Until the advent of call centres in the early nineties, a high street broker was the only way a driver could obtain car insurance. Going direct to an insurance company may provide cheaper car insurance for the 'target market' of a particular company, however one size doesn't fit all and you may need to labouriously compare many different direct car insurers before you find suitable cover for your needs. This applies equally whether you phone a call centre or fill in an online quote application form. Many Car Insurance companies will offer additional discounts for purchasing your cover online as the costs of managing the policy are reduced.

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Affinity Sellers and Supermarkets
Many large high street outlets will now offer you car insurance. In particular the large supermarkets are now offering cheap cover. The insurance offered by these outlets is usually provided by one insurance company with whom the supermarket has a deal. They may be able to offer cheaper car insurance than the direct provider themselves as they are able to guarantee large volumes of business to the insurer. However the standardisation of the product for the supermarket etc. often means that the majority of drivers wil be excluded.

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