[1] As of 2019, the largest insurance brokers in the world by revenue are Marsh & McLennan, Aon plc, Willis Towers Watson, Arthur J. Gallagher and Hub International.
[2] In Australia, all insurance brokers are required under the Financial Services Reform Act 2001[3] to be licensed by the federal government's Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
[7] In some provinces, such as Ontario, insurance brokers have self-governing bodies responsible for licensing and regulation.
This drove a more transparent regime, based predominantly on upfront negotiation of a fee for the provision of advice and/or services.
In order to obtain a broker's license, a person typically must take pre-licensing courses and pass an examination.
For example, the state of California requires license renewals every 2 years, which is accomplished by completing continuing education courses.
Because of industry regulation, smaller brokerage firms can easily compete with larger ones, and in most states, all insurance brokers generally are forbidden by law from providing their customers with rebates or inducements.
For example, research shows that brokers play a significant role in helping small employers find health insurance, particularly in more competitive markets.
[11] However, some states consider the provision of services that are unrelated to the insurance procured through the broker to be an impermissible rebate or inducement.
[12][13] In 2004, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer found apparent cases of bid-rigging by the major brokers, where the brokers arranged with insurers to provide "fake" quotes in exchange for providing favorable risks amidst contingent commission arrangements.
[20] Publicly traded companies Amazon,[21] Walmart,[22] and Google[23] continue to disrupt how consumers purchase insurance with varying success.