They're paid by commission which is paid by the insurance co. to the broker. An independent agent should be able to provide you quotes from various insurance companies. There are a ton of independent brokers in the DC area.

We used a guy recommended on here!

http://meltzer.com/member/leonard-kopp/

He was super nice and did a great job. He does life insurance, but call him as his practice does all kinds of insurance.

I'm a NP, but all these posts on insurance have been helpful. One recommend using a broker. I'm about to get costs from a number of places that will include a newly licensed teen driver (I'm sure that will be an astronomical increase) and bundled home insurance.

A broker does sound helpful, but I don't know how to find one nor how they are compensated. Will the premiums be higher to account for the broker's work? Any recommendations?