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Insurance glossary
What is a producer in insurance?
A plain-English definition for wholesale insurance producers, and for the retail producers they work with.
An insurance producer is a person who sells, solicits or negotiates insurance, and the term includes both insurance agents and insurance brokers. Producers must be licensed by the state insurance regulator in each state where they do business. In agencies, "producer" usually means the person responsible for bringing in and keeping clients.
How it works.
State insurance regulators license producers by line of authority and set continuing education rules. A producer licensed in one state typically obtains nonresident licenses to work in others. The NAIC reports more than 2 million individual producers licensed in the U.S.
Inside a retail agency, producers typically own client relationships and new business, supported by account managers who handle day-to-day service. Inside a wholesale brokerage, producers or brokers work with retail producers, place their submissions and grow those relationships.
Why it matters to wholesale producers.
Wholesale producers sell to retail producers. The retail producer who writes your line, in your territory, is the person who decides where a submission goes, so finding and meeting those producers is the job.
For retail producers: your book and your relationships are what wholesalers compete for, and the wholesalers you know shape how quickly you can place difficult risks.
Related terms.
On ProducerSpark.
Sources (opened October 23, 2026): NAIC: Producer licensing; NAIC: Glossary of insurance terms. General information, not legal or tax advice. Requirements vary by state.
Questions.
Is a producer the same as an agent?
Producer is the broader term. It includes both agents and brokers.
Do producers need a license?
Yes. State insurance regulators license producers for the lines they sell in that state.