WHEN it comes to buying insurance, we're not exactly lacking in choice. Direct insurers, broker services even the supermarkets are at it, offering insurance for everything from your car to your life.

So where should you shop for one of the most important purchases you'll make? Here are just a few reasons why the smart money's on independent brokers

1. Lower expenses mean lower premiums

Sometimes it feels like it's impossible to switch on TV without seeing an advert for a direct insurance company: you can probably name a few right off the top of your head. Those adverts cost money, though often a lot of money and those costs have to be recouped somehow. If you buy from a direct insurer, then, you may end up paying for more than just insurance: you could be paying for that expensive marketing campaign, too.

2. Instant access to competitive quotes

Buying your insurance through an independent broker such as www.computerquoteinsurance.com means that you're not just relying on one person for your quote. Your broker will be able to search through a number of different insurance databases to find you the most competitive price. You find the best deal without having to spend hours calling around for quotes.

3. The human touch

As larger insurers struggle to bring down their expenses, they typically use cost-cutting measures such as replacing staff with automated response units (the recorded message that answers your calls and invites you to key numbers into your phone to get the information you're looking for), or by outsourcing customer service to foreign call centres where the staff may not even be fluent in your language. An independent broker, on the other hand, places far more emphasis on the human touch: real people to talk to; named contacts, no passing of your call from department to department as each person struggles to deal with your enquiry.

4. Optional extras

Sometimes it's the hidden costs of insurance that really sting, for example the expensive add-on legal cover which you find out you have paid extra for only when you look at your documents or the breakdown cover that seemed too costly from your big insurance company. An independent broker, on the other hand, will often be able to negotiate low-cost deals for these added extras, which you can then add to your policy for a fraction of the price charged by larger companies. As an example, Computer Quote Insurance offer fully featured breakdown cover online at just 60 (a saving of up to 90 on some bigger national insurers) and up to 50,000 of legal protection for only 12 online.

So where will you go for your insurance? The advice most often offered is to shop around to find the best deal possible. While this is sound advice in theory, however, in practice it can mean spending hours on the phone or searching the Internet, and comparing offers. By using an independent broker, you get someone else to shop around on your behalf. You still benefit from the most cost-effective insurance you can find, but you're not the one who has to spend time actually finding it.