There are basically two types of insurance businesses – brokers and underwriters – although many now act in both capacities. Insurance brokers A broker is a commercial entity that works as an agent selling insurance policies from other companies. The broker may be the representative of just one company, or may sell policies on behalf of several insurers. Brokers are responsible for commercial activities, such as promotion and winning new clients, as well as servicing the needs of policyholders – dealing with queries and claims. Traditionally brokers worked on behalf of the client but regulation means the term has much broader definition now. At the highest end are Chartered Insurance Brokers. Insurance underwriters Underwriters are more usually companies, but can be a single person or consortium, whose responsibility it is to assess the risk factors behind insuring someone’s property or liabilities. Based on these risk factors, they then work out the cost of the policy – the premium. In the context of car insurance many underwriters now have their own brokers, so in essence the brokerage and underwriting business is all under one roof. And in the modern era of insurance, most car insurance underwriting decisions are now made instantly as all the risk factors are run through a computer algorithm that sets the premium. When you search for car insurance quotes on Uswitch you will see a range from both insurers and brokers and you may see different premiums from what appears to be the same company.