Is it customary to make a check out to an insurance broker (instead of the insurance company)?
I am applying for personal liabiility insurance for private educational consulting and the application says to make the check out to the broker…that seems weird to me…does anyone know?
Here’s the scoop: If the policy is going through a regular, national carrier such as State Farm, Zurich, Nationwide, etc, you can make the check out to either the broker or the company.
If your policy is being issued through a non-admitted carrier, however, OR if your policy is being financed through a premium finance company, then the company won’t accept the insured’s check – they want the "guaranteed funds" of the broker’s account, so the broker will have to swap checks with you. Then they remit THEIR check, which is actually the money you paid them.
February 7th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
I’d not do it. If they don’t want you to make it out to the insurance company itself, find another company.
I’ve had many different policies with many different companies and none has ever requested the check be made out to the broker.
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February 7th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Never make it out to the broker…ONLY to the insurance company. I would also call your state insurance department and let them know about the request. If they validate it I would be surprised. It is more likely they will investigate it for fraud….
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February 7th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Offer the broker two cheques one for their costs and one for the insurance company. Brokers make their money by a combination of commision and/or mark up. If you tell them you understand they need to make a living and they still insist on one cheque. Go elswhere
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February 7th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
There are different billing methods. A direct bill policy would have a check made out to the insurance company, and they send commisions to the broker once a month. A broker bill policy has the check made out to the brokerage, and he pays the insurance company once a month. Most brokerages operate with a mix of the policies, depending on the insurance companies and policy types. No, it is not weird, it is perfectly normal. Ignore the people who tell you different. They are totally confusing the terms broker (one who sells for more than one company), and agent (one who works for one company) I am an insurance broker, and I do know what I am talking about. Phone a half dozen insurance companies picked at random out of the phone book if you like.
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February 7th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Make it out to the insurance company. Sometimes, the broker will ask you to pay him and in turn he will pay the insurance company, but many insurance companies won’t take payments from brokers due to anti-money laundering acts. The company that I work for returns all checks received from agents and/or brokers and requires payment or a money order from the insured.
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February 7th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
it’s safer to make it to the insurance company
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February 8th, 2010 at 12:27 am
Here’s the scoop: If the policy is going through a regular, national carrier such as State Farm, Zurich, Nationwide, etc, you can make the check out to either the broker or the company.
If your policy is being issued through a non-admitted carrier, however, OR if your policy is being financed through a premium finance company, then the company won’t accept the insured’s check – they want the "guaranteed funds" of the broker’s account, so the broker will have to swap checks with you. Then they remit THEIR check, which is actually the money you paid them.
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agent, 20+ years
February 8th, 2010 at 1:16 am
Should always be made to the insurance company. Let the company pay the broker, not you!
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February 8th, 2010 at 1:54 am
I work at an agency, we usually have people make the checks out to us, because it’s a lot easier, because we’re the ones that cash the checks to pay the companies. That’s the broker’s job, is to work for the customer to make sure they’re doing everything right. If it asks you to make the check out to the broker, you should, they’re most likely going to in turn pay the company with the money.
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February 8th, 2010 at 2:05 am
No, never! It should always be made payable to the insurance carrier…and you should get some policy paperwork, too.
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licensed agent in TX