What is the difference between an insurance broker, an agent and a comparison site?
The critical question with all three is who they act for and how they are paid, because that determines whose interest the recommendation serves.
A broker acts for you. They are independent intermediaries who can access multiple insurers — including some that do not sell direct or appear on comparison sites — and they have a duty to their client. Brokers are paid by commission from the insurer, sometimes by a fee from you, or both. Their value is greatest where the risk is unusual: non-standard construction, a listed building, a modified vehicle, previous claims or convictions, high-value contents, or commercial cover. They also tend to help materially at claim time, which is invisible when comparing prices and significant when something goes wrong.
A tied agent, or appointed representative, acts for the insurer. They sell the products of one company or a small panel. They can be knowledgeable about those products, but they are not searching the market on your behalf and cannot recommend a competitor. Bank-branded and dealership-sold insurance is often this.
A comparison site is a lead generator. It collects your details, runs them against a panel of insurers, and is paid a fee for each policy sold through it. It is fast and effective for standard risks, but three limitations matter:
Not every insurer is on every panel — several large ones deliberately stay off comparison sites.
Results are ranked by price, which encourages products to be stripped back to compete. Cover levels and excesses often differ significantly between two quotes that look adjacent.
It cannot handle nuance. Anything non-standard forces you into whichever dropdown option is nearest, which risks misrepresentation.
A reasonable approach is to use comparison sites for a market baseline, then check the direct-only insurers, and use a broker for anything unusual.