(Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at lindastern@aol.com).

By Linda Stern

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - News flash! "Independent" insurance agents are compensated by the companies whose products they sell, and they sometimes receive incentive payments to push certain policies on certain customers.

Those were the findings just released by the Consumer Federation of America, which found a pattern of commissions similar to those being investigated at corporate levels by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

The only people who may have expressed surprise at these findings were the insurance agents themselves, whose professional organization was shocked -- shocked! -- by what it said were "irresponsible ... unsupported ... misleading and baseless claims" by the consumer group.

In truth, most consumers know their agents are being paid to sell products, but the consumer group says it found special payments that went beyond an ordinary commission.

For instance, it said it found "steering" commissions paid to agents who direct clients toward specific high-priced policies, and "profit-based" commissions paid to agents who sold policies that resulted in low levels of claims.

"Most insurance agents are honest, but if the compensation system provides an incentive for bad behavior, it is likely to occur," said J. Robert Hunter, the federation's insurance director.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America -- which calls itself "the Big I" -- denounced the study and said the commission system produces win-win-win for the insurance company, the broker, and the consumer.

Maybe so. But there are still those who think consumers might "win" a little more if they were sitting on the same side of the table as the person offering them insurance advice.

It's hard to avoid insurance agents altogether, and it's true that most want to do the right thing, but consumers who do at least a little bit of homework -- what the industry calls "due diligence" -- are certainly in a better position to "win" a little bit more.

Here are some insurance buying tips.

-- If your needs are simple and straightforward, and you're looking for a basic homeowners or auto policy, check out the no-load insurance companies. They sell direct to the public, no commissions, and their rates tend to be cheaper. The big two are Geico (http://Geico.com) and USAA (https://www.usaa.com), which markets to folks with military connections. In some markets and for some types of insurance, you can also buy direct from Farmers Insurance Group (http://www.farmers.com) and Progressive (http://www.progressive.com).

-- If your needs are complex; say you own a family business or are supporting a disabled child requiring lifelong care, pay a professional to give you insurance advice. You can start with a fee-only insurance consultant, such as Low Load Insurance Services (http://www.llis.com), in Tampa, Florida; Glenn Daily, a New York fee-only insurance consultant (http://www.glenndaily.com); and Peter Katt's Katt & Company, in Mattawan, Michigan (http://www.peterkatt.com). Or, you can hire a financial planner -- check the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, http://www.napfa.org -- for advice on how much and what kind of insurance you need, before you head to an independent agent to buy the policies.

-- If you prefer to work with an agent, check out their record with your state's insurance regulator, which you can find through their national organization NAIC (http://www.naic.org). Ask the agent to provide references: Have they had a client like yourself who had to file a claim? Was the agent there to help with the paperwork and make sure they got their money?

-- When the agent recommends a policy, ask those tough questions. How much (and how) will you, the agent, be compensated when I buy this? Will you lose money if I file a claim? Is there a comparable product that would be cheaper for me? Why didn't you recommend that one? Please provide a couple of comparable quotes for other policies I would qualify for.

Of course it's possible that by asking all of these questions, you could make your insurance agent feel like you don't trust him. But remember, this is a business arrangement. Think about how far your agent would "trust" you if you stopped paying your premiums.

-- Comparison shop. Some agents work for just one company, like State Farm or Allstate. There's no law that says you have to buy a policy from the first person who offers you a quote. Gather a few and see how they measure up against each other.

Remember that the point of insurance is to manage your risk. So make sure the policy you are buying is from a company that has a strong rating from an independent rating service, like Weiss Ratings (http://www.weissratings.com) or A.M. Best (http://www.ambest.com).

Even more importantly, talk to homeowners or drivers who have had good experiences with their insurers, and follow their leads. If you end up paying a little extra to get a policy from a company that you know will pay up if and when you need it to, that's okay. It's way better than paying a little extra to help your insurance agent "win."