Insurance brokerage in the UK
The term Insurance Broker became a regulated term under the Insurance Brokers (Registration) Act 1977[1] which was designed to thwart the bogus practices of firms holding themselves as brokers but in fact acting as representative of one or more favoured insurance companies.
Insurance brokerage is largely associated with general insurance (car, house etc.) rather than life insurance, although some brokers continued to provide investment and life insurance brokerage until the onset of more onerous Financial Services Authority regulation in 2001.
Insurance broking is carried out today by many types of organisations including traditional brokerages, Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) and telephone or web-based firms.