Confusing and non-transparent information and even misleading advertising is a fairly common practice in some insurance companies. For this reason, the services of insurance brokers are highly recommended, as they provide objectivity when hiring insurance, always looking out for the client’s interests.
There are different types of insurance brokers: retail insurance brokers or commercial insurance brokers, among others.
What is an insurance broker and what are its functions?
An insurance broker acts as an intermediary between the client and the insurance company, advising and recommending the company, type of insurance and clauses of the policy that are most convenient for them to hire.
The broker is a qualified professional with extensive experience and high knowledge of the insurance sector. In addition, he normally works for several companies without being linked to just one, which gives him independence and freedom in his actions and decisions. All this makes insurance brokers fully trained professionals to ensure the interests and rights of their clients when taking out insurance, choosing a company, negotiating clauses, reporting claims or claiming compensation.
Functions of insurance brokers
The main functions of insurance brokers are the following:
- Advise their clients on everything related to the insurance or insurance they need to contract: insurers, prices, what guarantees are covered and which ones are not, amounts of possible compensation, advantages and disadvantages of each type of insurance, convenience or not of including certain additional clauses or personalized etc.
- Act on behalf of the client against the insurance company in all phases of management: contracting, choosing clauses, personalizing the policy, negotiating the price of the policy and possible compensation, communication and processing of the claim, etc.
- Ensure the interests of clients, caring for and ensuring their assets at all times.
- Analyze the real needs of the client and, based on these, offer the most suitable product within the wide range of options that it manages.
- Compare market prices at all times (since they are constantly changing and being updated) and offer the client the insurance at the most competitive price, as long as it covers the necessary coverage.
- Warn the client of unclear conditions and misleading advertising, expressly warning of the non-covered exclusions that appear in the fine print of the policy conditions.
- Accompany the client at all times, including the renewal of the policy, advising them whether or not it is convenient for them to continue with the same company.
- Help the client in gathering the necessary information to take out insurance and, above all, declare a claim.
- Another of the most important functions, and often delicate and complicated, of a broker is to ensure that the client is receiving the correct compensation and agreed in the conditions of the policies, making the corresponding claim if necessary.
Insurance broker: a highly qualified professional profile with very specific skills
Currently, insurance brokers are highly specialized and qualified professionals and need to have extensive experience and various skills to be able to carry out their work correctly.
First of all, a broker must be a specialist not only in insurance, but also in risk management. You must know very well the possible risks that each of your clients may face, in order to be able to advise you correctly.
An insurance broker must also have great communication skills and negotiation power to be able to mediate effectively between clients and insurers, resolving any conflicts that may arise.
The responsibility of the broker is very broad, since their functions are not limited to advising on the best insurance but, at all times, they have to ensure the care of their clients’ assets and assets in general.
On the other hand, Spanish regulations require a series of approved certificates to be able to legally act as an insurance broker.
The main value of insurance brokers and why it is recommended to hire them is that they have access to a wide variety of products and contact with several insurance companies, so they have very valuable information and, at the same time, sufficient independence. to offer customers the most competitive insurance that best meets their interests.
