What an independent insurance agent does, and what changes if you buy direct
A plain explanation from MC Insurance Group, a veteran family-owned independent agency in Chardon, Ohio.
An independent agent is licensed to sell for multiple insurance companies instead of one. We take your information once, quote it with the companies that fit, and show you the options side by side. After you buy, we stay your contact for that policy for as long as you keep it.
People sometimes take our quote, thank us, and then call the insurance company to buy the same policy themselves. We understand why. It feels like cutting out the middleman should save money. This page explains why it usually does not, and what you give up when you do it.
How we get paid
You do not pay us. The insurance company pays us a commission out of the premium, and that commission is already built into the price they file with the state. Instead of the company paying their own employees to sell and service the policy, they pay us so there’s no difference in price.
We tell people this up front because it answers the next question before it is asked.
Is it cheaper to call the company yourself?
So the choice is not agent price versus direct price. It is the same price with an agent attached, or the same price without one.
A quote is more than the number at the bottom
When we quote you, we ask about the age of your roof, who drives which car, what your current limits are, and what you would want covered if the worst day happened. Then we set the coverage and quote that.
If you call a company with just our price, the person on the phone builds a new quote from scratch. It may come back lower because it covers less: a higher deductible, a lower liability limit, no water backup, a roof paid at depreciated value. The numbers match only if the coverage matches, and most people never check. We want to make sure you have an apples-to-apples comparison.
If someone gives you a lower number than ours, send it to us. We will tell you honestly whether it is the same coverage. Sometimes it is, and we will say so.
What is different after you buy
| Situation | Through me | Direct from the company |
|---|---|---|
| Who you talk to | Michael or Sarah every time. | Whoever answers the call center line, probably AI or an overseas rep. |
| When your rate goes up at renewal | We re-quote you with our other companies. | You shop it yourself, from the beginning. |
| When you have a claim | We tell you whether it is worth filing, help you report it, and push if it stalls. The company's adjuster still decides the claim. | You report it and follow up yourself. |
| When life changes (new car, teen driver, new roof, new business) | One text to us. | Getting lost in the different options to select from when you call or app. |
| Evenings and weekends | Call, text or email before and we can accommodate. | Depends on the company. |
When going direct makes sense
If you want to manage everything in an app, never want to talk to a person, and are comfortable choosing your own limits and deductibles, a direct company will do that well. Plenty of people are happy that way.
An agent is worth having if you would rather have someone who knows your situation, checks your coverages, and does the shopping for you when prices move. That costs you nothing extra, so the only real question is whether you want it.
Already have a quote from us?
Call or text us with any question about it, including "why is this one cheaper somewhere else." We would rather lose a sale on a fair comparison than win one on a misunderstanding.