Find your broker | Insurance broker gateway

There are several reasons to get an insurance policy from an insurance broker in your neighbourhood / province.

• Access to many insurers: Unlike insurance companies or its agents, insurance brokers work with several insurance providers and compare different insurance policies and rates.
• Meeting in person: If you prefer that personal touch and want to connect with your broker in person, that is another reason to find a broker nearby. Your broker can meet you in their office, your home or at a coffee shop.
• Knowledge of many products: An insurance broker knows the products of many insurers and will offer an optimal solution based on your particular situation, such as life insurance for those with diabetes, car insurance for high-risk drivers, and home insurance for flood-endangered regions.

The concept of online insurance brokers is often misunderstood. There two different types of online brokers:

• Online brokers with physical presence: These are conventional brick and mortar brokers who have kept the pace with the development of online and mobile channels and have invested into them. Typically, these brokers serve customers across entire provinces in which they are licensed. Their website offers numerous functionalities that other brokers do not have, such as sleek quoting process, some online policy administration tools (e.g. to change own address), and, sometimes, they even allow customers to buy an insurance policy online.
• Purely online insurance brokers: These brokers do not have a conventional brick and mortar location, and they serve customers online through online/mobile channels or via the phone. Typically, their website offers a number of tools to compare and quote insurance. Sometimes, they also offer tools to manage your existing policy.
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Often, but not always, online brokers with a physical presence have more extensive insurance experience because they have been out there for years or even decades. InsurEye works with a number of such brokers to serve our customers. Types of insurance brokers are often defined by the products they offer:

• Personal property and casualty brokers: These are brokers who are primarily focused on home and car insurance. They can sell other products, such as watercraft insurance, separate liability insurance (also called umbrella insurance), etc.
• Commercial insurance brokers: These brokers sell insurance to businesses, varying from commercial property (e.g. for your office or factory) and fleet insurance to general liability and marine insurance (i.e. required to transport goods and other items/ materials).
• Life and health insurance brokers: These brokers are focused on all life and health-related insurance products. The list of products offered by life and health insurance brokers is long and can include life insurance, disability insurance, critical illness insurance, funeral insurance (also called burial insurance), health insurance and more.
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Some insurance brokers work simultaneously with several insurance product lines. A benefit of these brokers (and brokerages) is that they can be a one-stop insurance shop for all your coverage needs.

Car insurance is strictly regulated in, and works differently across, Canadian provinces. There are two main things that vary from province to province:

• Choice of insurance providers: These provinces offer a wide choice of insurers from whom you can get a car insurance policy: AB, ON, NS, QC (only property damge), and the Atlantic provinces. There are three provinces where insurance is offered entirely by crown corporation companies: ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia) in BC, SGI (Saskatchewan Government Insurance) in SK, and MPI (Manitoba Public Insurance) in MB.
• Type of insurance: Auto insurance approaches vary across provinces. Some provinces use a tort system, also called the “at-fault” approach (BC, AB, NFL are examples of provinces with tort approaches) or the “no-fault” approach (QC with a pure or almost “no-fault” approach together with SK and MB) or a hybrid approach (seen in ON, PEI, and NS).

Home insurance is not as regulated as car insurance, so there are less regional aspects to take into account. Riders help you customize a policy for your region and include protection against threats that are specific to your province, but not covered under the base policy. Earthquakes: Only a few provinces in Canada face a real earthquake risk. If you live in British Columbia or Quebec, consider adding an earthquake rider.

• Flood: In general, overland flooding is not covered by home insurance in Canada. Only a few providers started including this type of coverage into their policies. Alberta and Ontario are the primary candidates for flooding coverage because they have a history of extensive floods.
• Hurricanes: These natural disasters typically impact Atlantic Provinces. Hurricanes Matthew in 2016, Arthur in 2014, and Sandy in 2012 are examples of such disasters that have hit Canada in the past.

Life and health insurance does not differ much from province to province. Its coverage and cost are dictated mostly by your personal situation, financial needs, health and pre-existing health conditions. Make sure your life and health insurance brokers are licensed in your province.