Email an Agent
Click to Call
Get Directions
You can be well read and still not know everything, so you go to the specialists. Even in a particular industry like the law, you go to someone who specializes in a particular area such as criminal versus family law. Insurance has its specialists, too, and even licenses follow lines like health versus casualty and fire. Another area of difference in insurance is a captive agent versus an independent.
Insurance has a broad spectrum of coverage including automotive, life, homeowners, renters, commercial, small business, and long-term care. Just as daunting can be the question of what kind of an agent do you want — independent or captive. The definitions of each word tell you everything you need to know as one is not requiring or relying on others, and the alternate means to be held under the control of another but having the appearance of independence.
A captive agent represents only one carrier. Whatever the parent entity offers, including pricing, structure, products are what the captive agent has to offer you. So your costs are whatever the company makes available whereas an independent agent has a vast field of carriers to find the coverage you need at the rate you can live with.
Captive is about branding because that’s what you will buy, that and the relationship with the agent. The independent agency has to have a deeper well of knowledge to go to, and be quick and clever in finding the best coverage and pricing for their client. The independent agent can evaluate and develop a risk profile designed to protect the client.
When you deal with a captive agent, your costs are set by the company, and only go up or down based on the procedures and profiles from the corporation. An independent isn’t tied to one carrier, so they represent different companies and offer more choices.
If you want the freedom to choose from your best options, then come to Colling Insurance Services, Inc. and talk to one of our independent insurance agents serving Denver.