Never buy on a single broker's quote.

How brokers actually get paid

Most UK insurance brokers do not charge you a fee. Instead, the insurer pays the broker a commission out of your premium — typically a percentage of what you pay, every year the policy runs. This is called a commission sacrifice built into the price: part of every pound you pay goes to whoever introduced you.

That arrangement is normal and legitimate, but it has a consequence most buyers never think about: the quote you receive is shaped by which insurers that broker works with and what each insurer pays. Commission rates vary by insurer and by product, and no broker's panel covers the whole market.

One broker, one panel

A broker can only quote from the insurers it has agencies with. A small local broker might work with a handful of insurers; a national might work with dozens — but never all of them. So when any single broker says "this is the best quote I can find", it means exactly that: the best it can find, from its panel, at its commission terms.

A second broker with a different panel can legitimately produce a different price for near-identical cover — sometimes cheaper, sometimes with better terms at the same price. You cannot know which until you ask.

Why the second quote is free

Because brokers are paid by insurers rather than by you, asking another broker to quote costs nothing and creates no obligation. The arithmetic is one-sided:

• If the second quote beats the first — on price or on cover — you win immediately.
• If it doesn't — you have something almost as valuable: independent confirmation that your first quote was genuinely competitive.

Either way you buy with evidence instead of hope. The only losing move is buying on one quote and never finding out.

What a good comparison looks like

Price matters, but two policies at the same price can treat you very differently. When you compare quotes, ask each broker the same questions:

• Which insurers did you check, and which major ones are not on your panel?
• How are you paid — commission, fee, or both — and does that change at renewal?
• Are these quotes like-for-like on excess, benefit limits, exclusions and underwriting?
• What could stop a claim being paid under this wording?

A broker that answers these clearly is worth more than one that simply undercuts by a few pounds.

What this site does about it

Get A Better Quote publishes independent pages on named UK health and life insurance brokers — the firms people search for after receiving a quote. Each page makes the same case: before you buy from that broker (or any broker), get a competing quote. If you use our form, we introduce you to one selected FCA-authorised specialist broker who can search suitable policies available through its service. We may be paid for that introduction, and we say so plainly.

We are not affiliated with any broker named on this site, and our pages are not criticism of them — they are a reminder that no single quote, however good it looks, is the whole market.

Important: This page is general information, not personal financial advice. Commission arrangements vary by broker, insurer and product. Check a firm's permissions on the Financial Services Register.