Broker

A broker sits between you and the insurers, rather than selling a single company's product. That independence is the value: a broker can place your cover with whichever insurer suits your risk, explain the differences in wording, and act as your advocate at claim time instead of leaving you to argue alone with a call centre.

Brokers are regulated under the FAIS Act and must be authorised by the FSCA. That brings duties that protect you — to give suitable advice, to disclose how they are remunerated, and to treat customers fairly. Most brokers are paid by commission built into the premium, so their service typically costs you nothing extra directly.

A comparison platform like OneCompare (FSP 55551) works on the same broker authorisation: it gathers your details once and surfaces quotes from across the market, so you see the spread between insurers without phoning each one.