Choosing how to buy insurance · Updated September 2026

Do I need an insurance broker?

You need a broker when your insurance is complex, high-value, non-standard or professional, or when you want someone to search the market, give you a personal recommendation and handle claims on your behalf; for a simple, standard risk you understand, buying direct online is perfectly fine, and both routes are FCA-regulated.

Part of: Professional indemnity insurance at Apex

In short

You need an insurance broker when your cover is complex, high-value, non-standard or professional, when you have been refused elsewhere, or when you want a personal recommendation, a market search and someone to handle claims for you. For a simple, standard, low-value risk you understand, buying direct online is perfectly fine, and both routes are FCA-regulated. The genuine difference is that a broker gives advice — a personal recommendation it must stand behind — while a direct purchase leaves you to decide. Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent, director-owned broker, established 2009 in Bristol, with access to over 30 markets including Lloyd’s, that usually returns three or four competing quotes and gives every client a named broker.

What an insurance broker actually does

An insurance broker sits between you and the insurers. BIBA, the brokers’ trade body, draws the line simply: a broker will “search the market for you and provide advice”, whereas an insurer “sells a single brand of insurance” (BIBA, how brokers help). MoneyHelper describes a broker as “a regulated financial adviser who specialises in general insurance” who helps you decide the type and level of cover you need (MoneyHelper).

In practice a broker does three things a direct purchase does not:

Searches the market. Rather than selling one insurer’s product, a broker approaches several, including specialist insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates that do not sell direct.
Advises and recommends. A broker gives a personal recommendation tailored to your risk, and explains why a policy meets your demands and needs.
Places non-standard risk and helps at claim time. BIBA positions brokers as “regulated, experienced, and able to handle non-standard risks” (BIBA), and a broker can also help you present and pursue a claim.

The advised sale versus the non-advised sale

The defensible difference between the two routes is not regulation — both are regulated — but whether you receive a personal recommendation. The FCA splits insurance sales into advised and non-advised.

An advised sale is characterised, in the FCA’s words, by the firm “explaining why the particular product or provider would meet the customer’s demands and needs” (FCA, advised and non-advised sales) — a personal recommendation the firm must stand behind.
A non-advised sale is one where the firm does “not make any personal recommendation and leave the customer to decide how they wish to proceed” (FCA). Buying online or via a compare-and-buy platform is usually non-advised.

Both still run a demands-and-needs check — the FCA Handbook says a sale “must always be accompanied by a demands and needs test” (ICOBS 5.2) — and both are bound by the Consumer Duty (in force since 31 July 2023), under which firms “must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers” (FCA). So a direct buyer is not unprotected; what they lack is a recommendation to rely on if the cover proves unsuitable.

How brokers are paid

How brokers are paid is often misread. Most are paid commission by the insurer rather than a fee from you — MoneyHelper notes brokers “get paid commission by the insurance provider… you don’t pay them a fee for shopping around” (MoneyHelper) — though BIBA says brokers can also charge a fee, commission funding the service given “during the life of their policy” (BIBA, brokers’ commissions). So using a broker often costs you nothing directly, and you are always entitled to ask any broker how it is paid.

When you need a broker most

A broker earns its place when the risk is more than a standard, off-the-shelf policy. The clearest triggers:

The risk is complex or unusual. MoneyHelper points to a broker when “your circumstances are complex, out of the ordinary or you’re insuring something unusual” (MoneyHelper).
You have been refused elsewhere. BIBA directs customers with “non-standard insurance requirements” and those “refused elsewhere” towards brokers (BIBA).
It is a professional or regulated risk. Professional indemnity for a regulated profession, a higher limit set by a client contract, or a wording a regulator dictates is better handled by a broker.
Claims matter, or you want someone to act for you. Where a claim could be serious or disputed, a broker advocates for you and helps you notify correctly.

When buying direct is perfectly fine

It would be dishonest to pretend a broker is always necessary. For a great many businesses, buying direct online is the right call. A non-advised purchase is fully FCA-regulated, runs a demands-and-needs check and is covered by the Consumer Duty; the trade-off is that you make the final choice yourself.

The risk is simple, standard and low-value. A single, well-understood cover for a common trade rarely needs a conversation.
You know exactly what you need. If you can specify the cover, the limit and the excess with confidence, an online purchase is quick and efficient.
Price and speed are the priority. MoneyHelper notes that comparison websites are “a good place to scan the market quickly” for straightforward needs (MoneyHelper).

Even then, the ABI advises you to “seek professional advice if you are unsure about the kind of cover you need”, and warns that a policy chosen on price alone “may not cover all of your needs” (ABI, how to buy insurance) — so buy direct with your eyes open, checking the limit, the occupation and the exclusions yourself.

When an independent broker is worth it

Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker established in 2009 and based in Bristol, owned entirely by its directors and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, placing professional indemnity insurance for UK professional and commercial firms across the UK. It is one of the longest-established independently owned professional indemnity specialists in the UK, and it is not for sale: we have declined approaches to buy the firm. We are not tied to any single insurer or professional-body scheme, we do not run our own policy or underwriting, and we have no placement quotas. We have access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, and we usually return three or four competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like. Every client has a named broker — the same person from first quote to renewal — and every claim notification gets director-level attention rather than a call-centre queue.

What that means in practice:

Owned by its directors, not for sale. No consolidator, no private-equity owner, no external shareholders — and we have declined approaches to buy the firm. Read the Apex Independence Charter.
Independent, not tied. No single-insurer scheme, no in-house policy, no placement quotas — the recommendation is the one that fits, not the one we are paid to push.
Over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s. Specialist UK PI insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, so a risk that one underwriter dislikes can still be placed properly with another.
Usually three or four competing quotes, laid out side by side — limit, excess, retroactive date, exclusions and premium — with a plain-language note on the trade-offs.
The stay-put letter. If your existing cover is right, we say so in writing, free and without obligation. How the stay-put letter works.
A named broker all year. The person who places your cover is the person who picks up the phone at renewal, on a mid-term change, or when a letter of claim lands.
Director-level attention on claims. We help you notify circumstances early and in the right form, stay involved once the insurer’s panel solicitors are appointed, and tell you plainly where you stand.
Directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, not an appointed representative trading under someone else’s permissions.

If your existing cover is already right, we say so in a stay-put letter, free and without obligation.

Sources checked 7 September 2026

Frequently asked

Do I legally need an insurance broker?

No. You can buy most business insurance direct, online or by phone, and a direct sale is FCA-regulated just as a broker sale is. Using a broker is a choice, not a legal requirement. Some contracts, lenders or regulators require a particular level or type of cover — not a particular way of buying it; a broker helps you meet that, it is not itself one.

What is the difference between an advised and a non-advised sale?

In an advised sale the firm gives a personal recommendation and explains why a product meets your demands and needs. In a non-advised sale it gives you information and leaves you to decide. Both must run a demands-and-needs check, but only an advised sale carries a recommendation the firm must stand behind.

Is it more expensive to use a broker?

Not necessarily. Brokers are usually paid commission by the insurer rather than a fee from you, so shopping around often costs you nothing directly — though some also charge a fee, so ask how any broker is paid. A broker can also reach insurers that do not sell online, so the direct price is not always the lowest once cover is compared like for like.

When should I just buy direct?

When your risk is simple, standard and low-value, you know exactly what cover and limit you need, and price and speed matter most. MoneyHelper notes comparison sites are a good way to scan the market quickly. If your circumstances are complex, or a contract or regulator sets specific terms, advice is worth having first.

Are insurance brokers regulated?

Yes. Insurance brokers are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, as are direct insurers and comparison sites. Both routes are bound by the Consumer Duty, which since July 2023 requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes, and by the demands-and-needs rules in ICOBS. Regulation is not the difference between them; a personal recommendation is.

Can a broker help if I have been refused cover?

Often, yes. BIBA specifically points to brokers for customers with non-standard requirements or who have been refused elsewhere. A broker can present the risk properly to insurers that consider unusual cases and set out your options. Apex runs a non-standard desk for claims, notified circumstances, CCJs and declines.

Do I still get consumer protection if I buy direct?

Yes. A direct, non-advised purchase is FCA-regulated, must be accompanied by a demands-and-needs check, and is covered by the Consumer Duty. What you do not get is a personal recommendation to rely on, or a broker to act for you if the cover proves unsuitable. The protection is real; the advice is what differs.

Not sure whether you need a broker? Ask us

Send us what you do and your current cover, if any. A named Apex broker tells you plainly whether a broker adds anything in your case, and either returns competing quotes or points you to a sensible direct route. Or call 0117 325 0027.

Get a comparison quote Start a commercial quote

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how to buy insurance, not advice on your circumstances, and does not guarantee cover will be available or on what terms. Statements about other providers were taken from their own websites, Companies House or dated public sources on 7 September 2026 and may have changed; provider names are their owners’ trade marks, used only to identify them, and no provider named has endorsed this page. Apex publishes no premium figures of its own here.