What is an insurance agent and an insurance broker?

Agency relationships pertaining to the transaction of insurance are governed by the Insurance Code. (See Krumme v. Mercury Ins. Co. (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 924, 928 [the "evolution of the concepts of broker and agent in the insurance context" parallel an "extensive statutory history"].) The Insurance Code defines an "Insurance agent" as "a person authorized, by and on behalf of an insurer, to transact all classes of insurance other than life, disability, or health insurance, on behalf of an admitted insurance company." (Ins. Code, 31, italics added.) An "Insurance broker" is defined as "a person who, for compensation and on behalf of another person, transacts insurance other than life, disability, or health with, but not on behalf of, an insurer." (Ins. Code, 33, italics added.) By their express terms, these definitions do not apply outside the insurance industry.