Methodology
How we rank and verify agents
This page exists because the rest of this industry does not have one. If you find any listing on this site that contradicts what is written here, tell us and we will fix it or remove it.
1. Ordering
Search results are ordered by distance from the ZIP code you entered, after applying whatever filters you chose. That is the whole rule.
We do not have a proprietary score. We do not have a "top rated" list. There is no ordering on this site that money can move, and no numbered ranking anywhere.
2. What a sponsored listing buys
Agents can pay to be featured. We think that is a legitimate way to fund a free directory, as long as you can always tell. Here is exactly what payment does and does not do.
| Sponsorship | Can it? |
|---|---|
| Place a listing in a marked panel above results | Yes — labeled Sponsored |
| Add photo, biography, video and carrier list | Yes |
| Show a phone number and website link | Yes |
| Change the order of unpaid results | No |
| Get a rank number, such as "#1 in Miami" | No |
| Be described as "top rated" or "best" | No |
| Remove or demote a competitor | No |
| Change or remove a verification result | No |
A numbered "Top 8" list of agents who each paid for the position is an advertisement wearing the clothes of a recommendation. We will not run one.
3. License verification
Every agent profile carries a license number, the state that issued it, the status we found, and the date we last checked. We check against the public register published by that state's insurance department — the same record a consumer can look up themselves, and we link to it so you can.
- Active — found on the state register, in good standing on the date shown.
- Unverified — we have not completed a check. The profile says so plainly and is never featured.
- Lapsed or revoked — the listing comes down. We do not keep it with a warning.
Verification confirms one narrow thing: that a license exists and is in good standing on a given date. It is not a character reference, and it is not a promise of good advice.
4. Unclaimed profiles
Some profiles are built from public license records before the agent has ever heard of us. Those profiles contain license-record facts only — name, license number, status, lines of authority, the city on the register, and how long the license has been held.
We do not publish a phone number, email address or photograph on an unclaimed profile. Any agent may claim their profile at no cost, correct it, or ask us to remove it entirely, and we will action a removal request without argument.
5. What we do with what you type
Your ZIP code and filters are used to produce your results. We do not sell consumer details to lead buyers, and we do not pass your information to an agent unless you choose that agent and ask us to.
This is a deliberate constraint on our own business model, and it is the reason we are not funded by lead sales.
6. Telling us we are wrong
Corrections are welcome from anyone — agents, consumers, regulators. If a verification is out of date or a listing is wrong, write to us and we will correct the record and re-date the check.