An independent insurance agent that transacts business with many insurance companies is an agent of the insured, not any of the insurance companies, more akin to an insurance broker than a true insurance agent. The insurer owes no duty of care to supervise such an agent and is not liable for the agent’s torts. In determining whether an applicant meets Ins. Code 10509.914(c)’s suitability requirements for an annuity, an insurer may rely on the answers the applicant gives to a suitability questionnaire without verifying their accuracy. An insured may not enforce a settlement agreement that the insurer entered into with the Department of Insurance by using the settlement agreement as the source of a duty of care to insureds. The insurer did not commit elder abuse by not investigating the independent agent’s conduct or by accepting the annuity application and then charging a surrender charge when the insured surrendered it early.