Compare Canadian insurance broker quotes

Q: How does a brokerage work?

A brokerage partners with insurance providers to understand what’s available in the market. An insurance brokerage hires insurance brokers to handle each client's needs, be it for a new car insurance quote or help with the processing of a claim. An insurance brokerage receives commissions from sales of each insurer’s product. Those commissions are passed down to each insurance broker.

Q: Who licenses insurance brokers in Canada?

In Canada, Insurance regulation is handled at both the federal and provincial levels. At the national level, the government focuses on ensuring the financial stability of insurance companies. Provincially, governments handle the licensing of individuals. Visit the Insurance Institute of Canada to learn more about federal regulation.

Q: Who licenses insurance brokers in Ontario?

The Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) is in charge of education, resources, exams, and licensing in the province of Ontario. To learn more visit RIBO.com

Everything you need to know about how insurance brokers and brokerages operate in Canada.

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Insurance broker basics

Matt Hands, VP, Insurance

December 10, 2025

What is an insurance broker?

An insurance broker works at selling and negotiating life, home, car and various other insurance coverages on behalf of different insurance companies to the end consumer. They might work as an individual or part of a larger team of brokers at an insurance brokerage.

What is an insurance brokerage?

An insurance brokerage is a licensed team of insurance brokers providing independent, unbiased advice about life, home, and auto insurance from different insurance providers. Each insurance broker sells insurance from various providers on behalf of the brokerage.

What does an insurance broker do?

An insurance broker will sell different types of policies. They're responsible for promoting new products to new or current customers, finding the best insurance policy for their clients, and filling out all the necessary paperwork. They take the time to explain, in detail, each portion of the policy, they calculate payment plans and help you handle any insurance claims.

An insurance broker can also help you navigate risks for your unique situation. In life insurance, they'll explore your medical background to decide which company serves you best.

A home & car insurance broker will work with you to understand how you plan on using the car to ensure you have proper coverage. Also, they'll review your home insurance options and what extra endorsements might be valuable to protect your home from potential risks. Finally, they'll explore options such as bundling discounts, alumni discounts and recommended add-ons for better protection.

An insurance broker ensures your assets are protected based on your unique risk profile. They help you decide what you need and don't need, as they customize a plan that suits you. Whether that means paying extra to protect your classic car or not insuring your home for its full value to pay a lower premium. Below are some examples unique to what you might find with individual brokers.

How does an insurance broker make money?

An insurance broker earns a commission from the policies they sell that is paid out by the insurance company. An auto insurance broker commission will range from 10-12.5%. In contrast, a home insurance commission could be as high as 20-23%, according to the Globe & Mail. An insurance broker also makes a base salary, which, according to Indeed, average salary is $53,788.

Types of insurance brokers in Canada

Car insurance broker

Home insurance broker

Life insurance broker

High-risk insurance broker

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The difference between an insurance broker and an insurance agent

Both insurance brokers and insurance agents work with customers and insurers to sell products on behalf of the companies they represent. However, a broker works with multiple providers, while an agent represents one insurance company. An agent will be unable to help you compare the market, but will have in-depth knowledge and expertise about the products they sell. An insurance broker can provide independent advice and help you shop the market for the insurance policy that best suits your needs.

Insurance Broker	Insurance Agent
Sells products from multiple insurance companies.	Sells products from one insurance company (or a limited set of companies).
Can shop the market and move your policy to another provider to better suit your needs.	Limited to the products and pricing of the insurance company they represent.
Works on behalf of the client, helping match you with the best provider and coverage.	Represents the insurance company and provides guidance on the products they offer.

Questions to ask a car insurance broker

What kind of coverage do I need?

In private insurance provinces (Ontario, Alberta, Atlantic Canada) there are four mandatory coverages you need to carry: Liability if you injure someone or damage their car, accident benefits if you're injured, uninsured auto for when an insured driver hits you, and DCPD which means you only ever deal with your insurance company. Unless you add collision and comprehensive, your policy doesn't protect your car

Should I increase the basic personal amounts?

Third party liability minimum is $200,000, but that's not enough anymore for most claims. Accident benefits also pays for loss of income if you can't work, but the default is $400 per week. Want more? Ask how it affects your costs.

What coverage do you recommend adding?

Collision insurance protects your car if you're in an accident where it's your fault. Comprehensive insurance protects your car from flood, fire, theft. There are also endorsements you can add that gives you a rental car if yours is in the shop, another that covers you if you drive a car you don't own (rental car), and one that gives you full replacement value of your car if it's a write off.

How can I save on car insurance?

You can save on car insurance by asking about available discounts, such as group rates or alumni discounts. Driving less will also reduce your costs, so will opting out of optional coverages. Installing winter tires can help you, save too. The right car can yield better insurance rates. And, increasing your deductible certainly helps.

Also read: 15 ways to get cheap car insurance in Canada

Should I increase my deductible?

The deductible is what you pay of the claim, before your insurer pays the rest. Increasing your deductible means you won't make small claims and you're taking some of the responsibility on yourself.

What happens if I need to make a claim?

Do you call your broker? Or the insurance company? How soon should you call? What details do you need from the scene? How is fault determined?

Who else can drive my car?

Insurance follows the car (in most cases) so if your friend borrows it and gets into an accident, it's on you. But, if your friend borrows it a lot, should they be added as a secondary driver?

What happens if I miss a payment?

What happens if a cheque bounces or credit card payment doesn't go through? Does that impact my insurance record and my rates?

Should I consider usage-based insurance?

Usage-based insurance (UBI) is pay-as-you-drive or pay-how-you-drive car insurance that measures your habits on your smartphone and can yield cheaper ratetes.

Frequently asked questions

How does a brokerage work?

Should you use an insurance broker?

Any insurance product a broker recommends is supposed to be the one they deem best suited to meet your needs, without regard to a provider's compensation. The reality is a little more complicated. Staying up to date on all the policies from multiple suppliers makes it difficult, to say the least. The easy path is to stick with a select few insurance underwriters where they know the reward is excellent, and most of their clients are happy. Instead, shop for any home, life, and car insurance quotes online to find the company that will give you the best deal based on your unique criteria and then work with a select broker to finalize the deal. That's how our system at Ratehub.ca works.

Do I need an insurance broker?

The majority of insurance policy owners have purchased through a broker. Direct to consumer is a growing market in Canada, but to date it still only represents a small percentage of total active policies. One of the reasons why Canadians prefer brokerages is that most insurance companies only offer their rates through the broker network. For example, you can only buy insurance from Gore Mutual or Wawanesa, to name a few, who only sell insurance through a broker and not direct to consumers. Furthermore, most insurance brokers work with several insurance providers that allow them the ability to help their customers compare auto or home insurance quotes. Working with a broker allows you to get a clearer picture of what’s available in the market.

Where a company like Ratehub comes in to play, is that we allow you to cast a wider net and compare a larger number of quotes from multiple brokers and direct insurers. This is why we recommend starting your insurance shopping experience with websites like ours. Our insurance quoting engines ingest various pieces of information to compute an array of personalized quotes from a number of insurers backed by both brokers and direct to consumers. Once you select the quote that best suits your needs we will connect you with our partner to review your policy needs and finalize your premium.

Do you have to pay an insurance broker?

An insurance broker is paid on a variable commission depending on the insurance company. In addition to the commission, some brokers may earn service fees, which could be a percentage of the insurance premiums or a transaction fee. The extra charges are for broker provided services on behalf of the provider, such as underwriting, data input, and administration of your policy. So all in all, you don’t explicitly pay the broker - you pay the insurance company that pays the broker for your services.

Is Ratehub.ca an insurance broker?

No, we are not. Ratehub.ca is a personal finance website that acts as an insurance aggregator. This means that we help our customers compare travel, life, home, or car insurance quotes from multiple providers via our growing partner network and online quoting experiences. Once you have selected the type of insurance you’re looking for, we will connect you with an insurance broker or agent who can help you finalize the details of your policy. They will be able to walk you through all your options and potential discounts you might be eligible for, as they help to further personalize your policy.

However, as of May 2021, Ratehub.ca launched its own insurance brokerage, RH Insurance to handle the needs of clients and provide an excellent experience.