A broker is on your side – legally and financially.
Insurance agents sell the products of one company. A non-tied broker under German law is the client's fiduciary: obliged to compare the market, to document the recommendation – and liable for it.
Broker, agent or comparison portal?
Three ways to buy insurance in Germany – with very different ways of working:
Comparison portals are usually licensed brokers themselves.
The large German comparison portals are, as a rule, registered as insurance brokers under Sec. 34d(1) GewO in the IHK intermediary register – exactly the same licence we hold. The difference is not the legal status but what is made of it: portals guide you through a self-service process and typically ask you to sign a waiver of advice under Sec. 61(2) VVG. If you waive advice, there is no advice you can rely on later. The insurer's commission is paid all the same – the same amount that goes to a broker who actually advises you, files the application properly and stands by you when you claim.
| Insurance broker (Makler) | Insurance agent (Vertreter) | Comparison portal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Insurance broker (Sec. 34d(1) GewO) | Insurance agent (Sec. 34d(1) GewO) | Usually an insurance broker too (Sec. 34d(1) GewO) |
| Represents whom? | You, the client (fiduciary by law) | The insurance company | Formally you – in practice its own sales volume |
| Market overview | 100+ insurers, across all tariffs | Only their own company | Only listed tariffs, often without condition details |
| Advice | Personal, documented, with liability | Personal, but tied | Usually waived under Sec. 61(2) VVG – you decide alone |
| Claims support | Yes, actively on your side | Yes, but in the insurer's interest | Mostly none – you deal with the insurer |
| Cost to you | None – insurer pays commission | None – insurer pays commission | None – the insurer pays the same commission |
| Ongoing optimisation | Yes, regular review | Only within one company | Only if you act yourself |
Deep dive: Insurance broker vs. comparison portal – which is better for you?
"The client's fiduciary" – case law, not marketing.
Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) consistently describes the insurance broker as a trustee-like representative of the client. That creates real, enforceable duties:
- Objective market analysis: recommendations must rest on a sufficient number of tariffs (Sec. 60 VVG).
- Documentation duty: every consultation is recorded in writing (Sec. 61, 62 VVG) – traceable for you.
- Liability: we are liable for faulty advice – backed by professional indemnity insurance with ERGO Versicherung AG.
- Licence & supervision: Sec. 34d GewO licence, supervised by the Aachen Chamber of Commerce (IHK), publicly verifiable.
How we get paid.
You pay no fee for our advice. When a contract is concluded, the insurer pays us a commission that is already built into the premium – on every sales channel. Buying through a broker therefore costs you nothing extra; you simply receive market comparison, advice and lifelong service for the same premium.
Even when we recommend changing nothing, we keep servicing the contracts you have transferred to us – for that, insurers pay an ongoing service commission. Because we don't depend on new sales, we can honestly advise against switching: we grow through referrals, not through pushed products.
Is a broker really free for me?
What does "non-tied" mean exactly?
Do I have to transfer all my policies to you?
Can I revoke the broker mandate?
When is a broker especially worth it?
Get to know us – no strings attached.
A 15-minute intro call is usually enough to know whether and where you should act.
Or directly: +49 2433 9391844