A life insurance broker, also called a life insurance adviser or life assurance broker, is a firm or person authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to arrange cover between you and an insurer and, in many cases, to recommend a policy. The meaning shifts with the service on offer, which is why the FCA's rules make a broker say, before you buy, exactly what kind of help it is giving.

Questions about your own cover can go to a broker authorised by the FCA, free, via the form on this page.

What does a life insurance broker or adviser actually do?

A broker sits between you and the insurers. You describe the cover you want, and it arranges the application with an insurer it works with. What it adds beyond that is set out in the FCA Handbook (ICOBS 4.1, last updated 26 June 2026), which requires a firm, in good time before you take out a policy, to tell you "whether it provides a personal recommendation about the insurance products offered". An intermediary must also say whether it gives a personal recommendation on the basis of a fair and personal analysis, whether it is tied by contract to one or more named insurers, or whether it is neither and so must name the insurers it may and does do business with.

A personal recommendation is advice aimed at you. Without one, the sale is "non-advised", and the FCA's rule for protection policies (ICOBS 4.2) says the firm must take reasonable steps to make sure you understand "that C is responsible for deciding whether a policy meets C's demands and needs", C being the customer. Either way, the same Handbook says a firm must work out your demands and needs from what you tell it before the contract is concluded, and that this applies whether or not advice is given (ICOBS 5.2).

So what an adviser is depends on status: ask whether you are being advised or only helped to buy, because that decides who is judging the fit of the policy. How the main routes to a quote compare is on the life insurance quotes page.

Broker, adviser, agent, introducer: do the words mean different things?

In everyday use the words overlap. What the Handbook sets rules for is the role a firm plays. An insurance intermediary must tell you whether it "is representing the customer or is acting for and on behalf of the insurer", along with how to verify that it is on the Financial Services Register. A firm that goes beyond effecting introductions, for example by advising you on a particular policy, takes on the full status disclosure requirements.

An insurer is a different kind of firm, because it sells its own policies. Legal & General's policy summary for its life insurance and critical illness cover (October 2026 edition) notes that whether a customer can have its optional benefits may turn on that person's circumstances and on how the policy was bought, "such as directly with L&G, or through a financial adviser". Whether an insurer's staff give a personal recommendation is one of the things that firm has to state before you buy, so you can ask for it in plain words.

How do life insurance brokers get paid?

A broker is paid in one of three ways, or a mix, and it has to tell you which before you buy. The FCA Handbook (ICOBS 4.3, last updated 1 October 2018) requires an intermediary to give the customer information on whether it works on the basis of "a fee, that is remuneration paid directly by the customer", of "a commission of any kind, that is the remuneration included in the premium", of some other type of remuneration, or of a combination.

The detail depends on which applies. Where a fee is payable, the firm must tell you the amount before you become liable to pay it or before the contract is concluded, whichever is earlier, or give the basis of its calculation if an amount cannot be given. That extends to fees charged later in the life of the policy, which the Handbook illustrates with administration and cancellation fees. For commission, the Handbook's guidance says the information about remuneration should cover bonuses linked to targets and "overriders or other enhanced commissions", not just the basic rate.

On Royal London's whole of life page, a plan it sells only through advisers, the wording is plain: "Advisers charge in different ways – some charge a set fee, others are paid from commission. Your adviser will make this clear in your first meeting with them." (read October 2026).

How much a broker earns on a given policy varies. The FCA's final report on how protection policies are sold (market study MS24/1.5, September 2026) says distributor commissions are generally negotiated between each insurer and intermediary and vary across both. How the broker is paid on your policy is a fair question to raise on the free call-back, before you commit to anything.

Is life insurance cheaper through a broker or direct?

There is no set answer either way. The same FCA study (MS24/1.5, September 2026) says "Commissions are one of many factors affecting premiums" and describes "a wide range of price points, even for the same product and insurer" across intermediaries. Using all the policies 11 insurers sold in 2024, it compared policies where the insurer raised the premium to fund extra commission (a loaded premium) with those where it did not; it did not set broker prices against direct ones. It concluded that, at current levels, loaded premiums do not on average lead to higher premiums for customers, though they can be more expensive for middle-priced products.

The study also says insurers' costs include commission, so it can influence what a premium is even where nothing is labelled as a loading. The study adds that there is "no standard premium" across distribution channels, so one quote cannot be read as the going rate. Which route comes out lower for you is something only real quotes show.

If you want to compare, ask both and set the quotes side by side on the same amount of cover, term and optional extras. Our guide to switching life insurance covers the point where commission can matter later, the FCA's concern about intermediaries encouraging unnecessary switching.

How wide a range of insurers does a broker cover?

The widest approach, in the FCA market study's glossary, is "an approach where an intermediary offers products from all insurers in the market, providing comprehensive choice for the customer". A restricted panel includes only a subset of insurers and products. The study reported premium levels broadly similar under both models, though commission rates on restricted panels were on average higher, and concluded that on average restricted panels are not currently leading to worse pricing outcomes.

The Handbook's guidance says a panel can support advice on a fair analysis basis if it is sufficient and reviewed regularly, and that selection "should be based on product features, premiums and services offered to customers, not solely on the benefit offered to the firm". Each firm must state which basis it works on before the contract is concluded, and you can put the same question about range to any adviser you speak to, including the one this site introduces you to.

Direct or broker: which suits which reader?

Going direct can suit someone who already knows the type, amount and term of cover wanted, is content to answer the insurer's questions without advice, and will repeat the exercise with each insurer. A broker or adviser may suit someone who wants an explanation, has a health condition to place, or wants several insurers' terms put side by side in one conversation. Where a medical history is the issue, life insurance with medical conditions covers what insurers do with it.

For the product itself, see what life insurance is and how it works and the hub guide how life insurance works. If you decide on a broker, how to choose a life insurance broker covers the questions worth asking before you buy.

How do you check a life insurance broker is authorised?

The FCA says that in the UK almost all firms providing financial services must be authorised or registered, and that an authorised firm has to meet the FCA's standards and hold its permission for the products and services it provides (FCA, last updated 22 September 2026). Use the FCA Firm Checker or the Financial Services Register before you buy. Dealing with a firm that is not authorised means you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you need to complain.

A broker you reach through the form on this page is FCA-authorised; you can ask for its name and check it yourself on the Register at the start of the call.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get advice from Legal & General's own life insurance advisers?

Legal & General's policy summary distinguishes buying "directly with L&G" from buying "through a financial adviser". Whether its staff give a personal recommendation or only information is something the firm has to tell you before you buy, so ask which applies at the start of the conversation.

What does a non-advised or execution-only sale mean?

It means you choose the policy yourself and the firm arranges it without a personal recommendation. For protection policies, the firm must take reasonable steps to make sure you understand that you are responsible for deciding whether the policy meets your demands and needs.

How much do life insurance brokers make from a policy?

It varies with the insurer and the broker, because commission is negotiated between them. The broker has to tell you whether it is paid by fee, commission or both, and if you pay a fee it must tell you the amount before you incur it.

Can a broker charge me extra fees after the policy starts?

Only if they have been disclosed. The disclosure rule covers fees that may be charged during the life of a policy, and the Handbook's examples include administration and cancellation fees. How a particular firm charges is best checked by asking for its fee terms in writing before you agree.

Is a financial adviser the same as an insurance broker?

The roles overlap, but what counts is what the firm is permitted to do and which service it is giving you. Ask whether it is giving a personal recommendation, which insurers it can use, and how it is paid, and check it on the FCA Register.

Rather than weigh all this alone, wait for the call-back after sending the form on this page; nothing is charged and nothing obliges you to buy.

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