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Guardbrook

Licensing

Only licensed agents and insurers may sell car insurance. Guardbrook is neither. Here is what that means, and how to check the people who quote you.

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Guardbrook holds no insurance license

Guardbrook is a publisher of information about car insurance prices. It is not an insurance company, agency or broker, and it does not hold an insurance license in any state. It does not claim one.

That is why Guardbrook does not sell, solicit, negotiate, quote or bind insurance, does not recommend a company or a policy, and does not advise anyone about their coverage.

What Guardbrook does with a request

When you send a rate-shopping request, Guardbrook passes the details you entered to licensed insurance agents and insurers working with Guardbrook. They may contact you, and any quote, advice or policy comes from them, under their own licenses. They may pay Guardbrook for the request; how we make money explains this.

How to check an agent’s or insurer’s license

Before you buy, make sure whoever is quoting you is licensed in your state. It takes a few minutes.

  1. Ask for the license details. An agent should give you their full name, the agency name and their license number or National Producer Number (NPN). An insurer should give you its full legal name; companies in the same group often have similar names.
  2. Check the agent with your state insurance department. Most departments have an online license lookup for agents, often called a producer or licensee search. Find your department through the NAIC’s list of state insurance departments. Confirm the license is active and covers property and casualty insurance, the line that includes car insurance.
  3. Check the insurer. The NAIC’s Consumer Insurance Search lets you look up an insurance company by name and see reports on it. To confirm the company is licensed to sell in your state, check with your state insurance department.
  4. Get it in writing. Before you pay, ask for the quote, the declarations page or the application in writing, and check that the insurer’s name matches the one you looked up.

If someone won’t give you a license number, or the name doesn’t show up in your state’s lookup, don’t buy from them.

Where to complain

  • About an agent or insurer: your state insurance department handles complaints about licensed agents and insurers, including sales practices, rate increases and claims. Most take complaints online or by phone. Our guide on complaining about a rate increase walks through the process.
  • About unwanted calls or texts: reply STOP to a text, tell the caller to stop, and email [email protected]. We forward your opt-out to the agents and insurers that received your request.
  • About Guardbrook: write to [email protected] or use the contact form. Guardbrook, 5955 Alpha Rd, Suite 408, Dallas, TX 75240.