If you need insurance as a business or an individual, then it’s a good idea to use an insurance broker.

An insurance broker will take the time to understand you and your business. They have a deep understanding of the insurance sector, which means that by talking to you they’ll understand the risks you face and recommend the right cover for you.

You only really learn the true value of insurance when you need to make a claim. If this happens, an insurance broker can work on your behalf liaising with the insurer to ensure the process goes smoothly and that you get the settlement you deserve.

What is an Insurance Broker?

You need insurance, and insurers are there to provide it. However, insurance is complicated. There are many different products and different types of cover to choose from. If you are unprepared, you might end up with the wrong cover or paying too much for cover that doesn’t quite meet your needs. Also, if you ever need to make a claim, an insurance broker’s experience can help to get a faster and potentially better settlement.

Think of an insurance broker as an expert go-between. To begin with, they’ll liaise with multiple insurers on your behalf to find the most appropriate policy for you. Once you have your cover in place, your insurance broker will provide ongoing personal service to ensure your insurance continues to meet your needs as they change over time.

What’s the Difference Between an Insurance Broker and Insurance Agent?

Insurance brokers provide a slightly different service than insurance agents. Insurance agents are usually tied to a single insurance company. Insurance brokers, on the other hand, are independent. They are not tied to a single company, but are free to seek out cover that truly meets your needs from a broad range of insurers.

Why Use an Insurance Broker?

Let’s explore four benefits of using an insurance broker.

Insurance Brokers Understand Insurance

You probably know what insurance is, and why you need it, but do you know how insurance works and what protection different products provide? Do you know your public liability insurance from your professional indemnity insurance, for example?

Insurance brokers understand the complex world of insurance. They’ve read the small print, know what all the terminology means, and understand risk. Work with an insurance broker and they’ll demystify the world of insurance for you. They’ll make everything as simple and accessible as possible.

Insurance Brokers Understand You

The first thing an insurance broker will do is take the time to understand your business, and your needs. This way, they’ll know exactly what to look for when sourcing insurance for you.

There’s no need to worry about paying for cover that’s not fit for purpose. There is no need to worry about being underinsured, either. You can rest assured that you’ll getthe cover you need.

Insurance brokers are focused on delivering good customer service. This means they will usually assign a named individual on the team to be your personal contact. Forget about automated services, endless waits on-hold, and the frustration of being passed from person to person until you reach someone who can actually help you. You should always be able to pick up the phone and talk to the same person. Someone who knows your name, knows your business and who’ll know exactly what to do to help you.

Insurance Brokers Take Care of Claims

If we had to choose a single most important benefit of using an insurance broker, this would be it. As part of their ongoing personal service, insurance brokers can also help you with the claims process.

Making an insurance claim is an immensely time-consuming and stressful process. If you’ve never done it before, it can be overwhelming. But if you need to make a claim on your insurance, your insurance broker can take care of everything. They’ll liaise with both the insurer and the loss adjuster on your behalf, leaving you free to focus on your business.

When it comes to making a claim, insurance brokers know exactly what to do. An insurance broker assists the process to go more smoothly and it’s likely the claim will be settled faster. You’ll get back to business-as-usual quicker, with less loss to your trading income.

Insurance Brokers Can Get You a Better Deal

Arranging your policy via an insurance broker might end up costing you less than it would have, had you approached an insurer directly.

Your insurance broker works for you. Their mission is to match the right policy to the right person. They’ll help you avoid common pitfalls, such as underinsurance. As far as insurers are concerned, this means that there’s less chance of unnecessary claims. In fact, insurers often give lower rates to brokers, as they consider doing business through brokers to be lower risk than working directly with customers.

As a result, if you work with a broker it’s likely that you’ll get a better deal on your insurance than you would if you’d approached the insurer directly.

So why use an insurance broker? Because they can get you a better deal on precisely the cover you need. The ongoing support you receive means that if anything ever goes wrong, they will work on your behalf to get your claim settled.

At Hazelton Mountford, we have a team of experts in place to get you the right insurance for your business. We also have our own dedicated claims team who offer total peace of mind throughout the entire claims process. Meanwhile, you can use our dedicated claims app to report an accident on the scene, quickly and easily so that your claim is logged faster.

Get in touch and we’ll help you get the cover you need, with total confidence that we’ll be on your side no matter what happens.