What is General agents? | HR Glossary

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What are general agents?

General agents (GAs) are individuals or organizations that act as intermediaries between insurance companies and insurance agents or brokers. They are responsible for recruiting, training, and supporting insurance agents and brokers, and they typically have exclusive rights to sell insurance policies from certain companies in a specific geographic area.

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GAs are also responsible for managing and maintaining relationships with insurance agents and brokers and providing them with support and resources. This can include providing marketing materials, training on new products and sales techniques, and assistance with processing claims and policy changes. HBR’s organizational management research highlights general agents as a critical distribution channel for insurance companies, with agent relationship quality significantly predicting carrier market share in commercial and employer benefits markets.

There are different types of GAs, depending on the type of insurance they specialize in and the companies they represent. For example, some GAs specialize in selling life insurance, property and casualty insurance, or health insurance. Some GAs represent multiple insurance companies, while others represent only one.

What are the responsibilities of a General agent?

The responsibilities of a general agent (GA) can vary depending on the type of insurance they specialize in and the companies they represent. However, some common responsibilities include the following:

Recruiting, training, and supporting insurance agents and brokers: GAs are responsible for identifying, recruiting, and training insurance agents and brokers to sell insurance policies from the companies they represent. They also provide ongoing support to agents and brokers by helping them with marketing materials and sales techniques.
Managing and maintaining relationships with insurance agents and brokers: GAs are responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the insurance agents and brokers they work with. This can include assisting with processing claims and policy changes and addressing any concerns or issues.
Providing marketing materials and training: GAs typically offer agents and brokers marketing materials and training on new products and sales techniques. This can include brochures, flyers, and other promotional materials, as well as training sessions and webinars.
Assisting with processing claims and policy changes: GAs can help insurance agents and brokers submit claims and make policy changes on their client’s behalf.

Types of General agents:

There are different types of general agents (GAs), depending on the type of insurance they specialize in and the companies they represent. Here are a few examples: SHRM’s benefits broker guidance recommends that HR professionals understand the distinction between general agents and direct-carrier relationships when evaluating benefit program structures and their associated cost and service implications.

Life insurance general agents: These GAs specialize in selling life insurance policies, which provide financial protection to individuals and their families in the event of their death.
Property and casualty general agents: These GAs specialize in selling property and casualty insurance policies, which provide financial protection for individuals and businesses against loss or damage to property and liability for third-party injuries and property damage.
Health insurance general agents: These GAs specialize in selling health insurance policies, which provide financial protection for individuals and families in the event of unexpected medical expenses.
Managing general agents (MGA): Some GAs s underwriters and assume some risk associated with their selling policies. This is known as a general managing agent (MGA).
Exclusive general agents (EGA): These GAs have exclusive rights to sell insurance policies from certain companies in a specific geographic area.

Understanding insurance intermediaries helps HR optimize benefits program design and cost management. Organizations using pre-employment assessments ensure every hire is grounded in verified skills. A data-driven hiring plan reduces mis-hire risk, while strong talent acquisition practices focused on skills-based hiring help organizations attract and retain top talent.

Frequently asked questions

A general agent (GA) is an intermediary in the insurance distribution chain who acts on behalf of an insurance carrier to recruit, train, and support independent insurance agents within a geographic region. GAs have authority delegated from the carrier to bind coverage, issue policies, and manage agent relationships. They serve as regional distribution managers for carriers who don’t have their own captive agent force.

A broker represents the buyer (employer or individual) and has a fiduciary duty to find the best coverage for their client. A general agent represents the carrier and has a contractual authority to distribute that carrier’s products. A broker may access multiple carriers; a GA distributes one carrier’s products through their agent network. In practice, many benefits consultants combine broker and GA functions depending on the client relationship.

For employer group benefits (health, dental, vision, life, disability), general agents often sit between insurance carriers and the benefits brokers who advise employers. The GA provides carrier product access, quoting tools, enrollment support, and case management services to brokers who then advise employer clients. This creates a three-tier distribution chain: carrier → general agent → benefits broker → employer.

Advantages: GAs provide broader carrier product access, specialized case support for complex accounts, competitive market intelligence across carriers, faster quote turnaround, claims advocacy support, and compliance resources. For smaller brokers and employers, GA relationships provide access to carrier capacity and expertise that would otherwise require direct carrier relationships difficult to establish independently.

GAs earn overrides : additional commission on top of the commission paid to the independent agent. When an agent places business with a carrier through the GA’s contract, the carrier pays the agent’s commission plus an override to the GA. This creates the GA’s revenue without direct cost to the employer client. Some carriers also pay GAs productivity bonuses for volume and persistency of placed business.

HR should understand: who is involved in your benefits distribution chain (carrier, GA, broker) and what each party’s incentives are; that broker conflicts of interest can arise if they receive GA overrides for recommending specific carriers; that some markets require GA involvement to access certain carrier products; and that the GA relationship affects claims service, enrollment support quality, and renewal negotiation leverage.