When looking for a business insurance quote, you have a few options as to who will actually provide this for you.
The two main ones are, to go to an intermediary or go direct to the insurer. We have spent a few years reading in the press and on the internet that by going direct, you can save money.
This really only applies to a physical product. For example, Tv’s, settees etc. But, when you are looking at a service, you can still receive a comparable, if not better quote, by using an intermediary.
This may appear to be confusing logic, but every intermediary earns either commission or a fee for products or services they sell. For example, a business insurance broker that sells you a policy for £1,000, will typically earn between 15 and 20% of that amount as comission.
So, they can afford to reduce their commission to make their price better than the market norm. In addition, whilst insurers do like to deal direct, they also prefer the fact that a broker does all of the selection and question answering work for them. Theoretically, the broker sorts the wheat from the chaff for the insurers and they are sometimes happier to offer better prices for this workload.
It is similar with travel agents, certainly you can get yourself a better deal by booking the flight, and the accommodation and the transfer separately. But, what happens if something goes wrong, or you need to make changes? It is when this happens (ie an insurance claim) that you want to have one main point of contact, your broker, to deal with everything on your behalf.
So, use a broker or go direct? Our advice now and for always is, use a broker. Get yourself some professional, first class advice from someone that is independent.