Are insurance agents and brokers the same thing?

For some reason in practice I have not noticed any differences in the work of agents and brokers. But many people tell me that they have different obligations. What do you know about that?

Agents are official representatives of insurance companies. Insurers control the work of their agents, make sure that they correctly calculate the prices of policies and execute documents. There is no unified register of insurance agents. The work of insurance brokers is supervised not only by the insurers they work with, but also by the bank. The main thing you need to know is How To Avoid Churning When Buying Insurance Insurance and what is churning in insurance in principle. On this site you will find the advice you need.

Agents don't charge people for their brokerage: the insurance company pays them a fee.
Brokers are free to decide from whom to charge for their services: the buyer or the insurer whose policy they sold.