Walk me through how you'd assess a new client's risk profile and insurance requirements.

This checks whether your consultation process is thorough enough to avoid gaps in cover, which is the core of the job. Walk through it as a sequence of steps: what you ask first, how you identify exposures the client hasn't mentioned, and how you translate that into a recommendation.

Tell me about a time you negotiated better terms or a better premium for a client.

Negotiation with insurers is a daily part of the role, and the panel wants a concrete example, not a general claim of being 'good at negotiating'. Use STAR: situation, task, action, result.

A client's claim has been denied but you believe it should be covered under the policy wording. What do you do?

This tests judgement under pressure and whether you'll advocate for a client while staying within compliance boundaries. Talk through the decision in stages: how you'd verify your read of the policy, who you'd escalate to, and how you'd manage the client's expectations along the way.

How do you stay current with AFCA rules and changes to insurance industry codes of conduct?

Compliance is a licensing requirement, not optional, so the panel is checking you take it seriously and have a real system for it. Answer as a straightforward account of your ongoing compliance habits, not a one-off example.

How would you explain the difference between two competing policies to a client who has no insurance background?

Brokers deal with clients who don't understand jargon, so this checks your ability to translate technical detail into something usable. Describe your communication approach, ideally with a short worked example of how you'd phrase it.

Describe a time you had to manage several client renewals at once under time pressure.

Renewal season creates genuine workload pressure, and the panel wants evidence you can prioritise without letting compliance or client care slip. Use STAR, with particular focus on how you prioritised rather than just describing the busy period.

Home Insurance Broker Interview questions

Insurance Broker interview questions

The questions people actually get asked for this role, and what each one is really testing.

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What to expect

Insurance Broker interviews mix compliance knowledge with real client scenarios, because the job sits at the intersection of regulation, sales and advocacy. Panels want to see that a candidate can read a risk correctly, explain it in plain terms and hold their ground with an insurer when a client needs it.

Process: Questions about how you'd actually run a task, such as assessing a client's needs or managing a renewal book, to check your method is sound and repeatable.
Behavioural: Past-experience questions about negotiation, client handling or time pressure, looking for evidence rather than opinion.
Scenario/judgement: Hypothetical situations, often involving a difficult claim or a client conflict, testing how you weigh client interest against compliance obligations.
Technical/compliance: Direct questions on AFCA rules, industry codes of conduct and licensing requirements, since this knowledge is non-negotiable in the role.
Client-facing: Questions on how you'd communicate technical policy detail to a client with no insurance background.

Most interviews open with background and motivation questions, move into a compliance and technical knowledge check, then spend the bulk of the time on scenario and behavioural questions about client handling and negotiation. Senior or brokerage-specific interviews may add a role-play where you explain a policy or handle an objection on the spot.

1
Walk me through how you'd assess a new client's risk profile and insurance requirements.
Why they ask: This checks whether your consultation process is thorough enough to avoid gaps in cover, which is the core of the job.
How to structure your answer: Walk through it as a sequence of steps: what you ask first, how you identify exposures the client hasn't mentioned, and how you translate that into a recommendation.
Example answer
“I start with an open conversation about the client's situation, whether that's a household, a small business or a specific asset, before going near products. I ask about existing cover, past claims and anything that's changed recently, like a new vehicle or an expanded business operation. From there I map out where the actual exposures sit, not just what the client thinks they need, and cross-check that against what their current policy actually covers. Only then do I start comparing options from different insurers, because starting with products before understanding the risk usually means missing something important.”
2
Tell me about a time you negotiated better terms or a better premium for a client.
Why they ask: Negotiation with insurers is a daily part of the role, and the panel wants a concrete example, not a general claim of being 'good at negotiating'.
How to structure your answer: Use STAR: situation, task, action, result.
Example answer
“A client's premium had jumped significantly at renewal after a minor claim the previous year. The task was to get the increase down to something reasonable without the client losing cover. I pulled together the client's full claims history and risk mitigation steps they'd taken since the incident, and took that directly to the underwriter rather than just accepting the renewal quote. I also compared it against two other insurers' terms for the same risk profile to strengthen my position. The result was a meaningful reduction on the renewal premium and the client stayed with the same insurer instead of switching, which also preserved the relationship for future placements.”
3
A client's claim has been denied but you believe it should be covered under the policy wording. What do you do?
Why they ask: This tests judgement under pressure and whether you'll advocate for a client while staying within compliance boundaries.
How to structure your answer: Talk through the decision in stages: how you'd verify your read of the policy, who you'd escalate to, and how you'd manage the client's expectations along the way.
Example answer
“First I'd go back to the actual policy wording and the insurer's decision letter to understand exactly why they've denied it, rather than assuming the insurer is wrong. If I still think the wording supports the claim, I'd raise it formally with the insurer's claims team with specific reference to the clause in question. If that doesn't resolve it, I'd escalate through the insurer's internal dispute process and keep the client informed at each stage so they're not left in the dark. Throughout this I'd be careful not to promise an outcome I can't guarantee, since managing expectations matters as much as the advocacy itself.”
4
How do you stay current with AFCA rules and changes to insurance industry codes of conduct?
Why they ask: Compliance is a licensing requirement, not optional, so the panel is checking you take it seriously and have a real system for it.
How to structure your answer: Answer as a straightforward account of your ongoing compliance habits, not a one-off example.
Example answer
“I track CPD requirements through my professional body membership and treat the points as a minimum, not a target. When AFCA updates its rules or an industry code is revised, I go through the actual bulletin rather than relying on a summary, because the detail often matters for how a specific client file should be handled. I also flag anything relevant to my broader team so it doesn't just sit with me, since consistent compliance across a brokerage depends on everyone working from the same understanding.”
5
How would you explain the difference between two competing policies to a client who has no insurance background?
Why they ask: Brokers deal with clients who don't understand jargon, so this checks your ability to translate technical detail into something usable.
How to structure your answer: Describe your communication approach, ideally with a short worked example of how you'd phrase it.
Example answer
“I avoid leading with policy terminology and instead frame the difference around what actually happens if something goes wrong. For example, rather than talking about sub-limits and exclusions in the abstract, I'll say something like, 'if your shop flooded, this policy would cover stock but not the building fit-out, while this other one covers both but costs more.' That gives the client something concrete to weigh up rather than a list of clauses they'd have to interpret themselves.”
6
Describe a time you had to manage several client renewals at once under time pressure.
Why they ask: Renewal season creates genuine workload pressure, and the panel wants evidence you can prioritise without letting compliance or client care slip.
How to structure your answer: Use STAR, with particular focus on how you prioritised rather than just describing the busy period.
Example answer
“During a renewal period I had a cluster of policies expiring within the same fortnight, several of them commercial clients with more complex cover. The task was to get accurate reassessments done for each without missing any expiry dates. I prioritised by expiry date and complexity, tackling the commercial renewals first since they needed more insurer back-and-forth, and used my CRM to flag anything approaching its deadline. The result was that every renewal was actioned before expiry with no lapse in cover, and the more complex clients still got a proper reassessment rather than a rushed rollover.”