We asked someone who was reviewing her home and contents policy and car insurance, to phone a few brokers. She reported that the brokers were happy to discuss her needs over the phone and the risks she wanted to cover. A few days later she received quotes and policy documents in the post.
Little meaningful comment
When she asked the brokers how the policies they suggested differed from the ones she already had, only one broker offered any meaningful comment: in his view, the policies he recommended would be more expensive than what she already had.
Another broker said they used Vero because it had a good record in paying claims – but no evidence was given to substantiate this.
Lack of information
Where a broker represented more than one insurer, no comparison of the policies was given to support the one the broker was suggesting.
None of the brokers explained to her how they were being paid by the insurance companies or how this might affect which policies they recommended.
No cost savings
There also didn’t seem to be any cost savings from using the brokers. The quotes she obtained from the brokers for car insurance policies from Vero and Lumley (largely broker-only companies) were in the range of the direct-to-the-public policies we surveyed in our car insurance article.
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