Independent agents or captive agents – Which is better?

When buying car insurance from an agent, there are different types of agents you can choose from. Agents who write with companies like State Farm and Farm Bureau Insurance are captive agents, which means they only write for one company. They do not have access to car insurance rates of any other companies, so they cannot comparison shop your coverage for you.

Independent agents, on the other hand, write for many different insurance companies. They may have contracts with companies such as Travelers, Nationwide, Allstate and many other smaller regional companies. When shopping for car insurance, independent agents can quote your coverage with several companies and get you the lowest rate possible with their companies. The do not have access to the captive company rates, so in order to get the most comprehensive rate comparison, it’s a good idea to get quotes from both captive and independent agents.

Other agents are kind of a hybrid between the captive and independent agencies. The may operate under a national name such as Farmers Insurance, but can still write with other companies if their flagship company does not provide that line of coverage. Companies can also provide captive and independent agency contracts, so you may have both types of agents that can write insurance for the same company. An example of this is Allstate Insurance, which has both captive agents which only write for Allstate, and also independent agents who can write coverage with many other carriers.

Which is better, an independent agent or a captive agent? That’s entirely your decision. If you like having more options, then an independent agent is probably a better fit for you. If you like have all your coverages with the same company, regardless of cost, then the captive agents may be your cup of tea. When comparing car insurance rates, you can get the widest comparison of top national companies by entering your zip code in the blank below and completing the short quote form. You’ll receive both captive and independent agent quotes from the top companies in your state.