What is the apparent authority of an insurance agent?

Apparent authority is a legal concept pursuant to which an agent can be found to have bound a principal (master) despite not having the actual authority to do so. If the principal gives to the agent certain indicia of authority (for example, business cards, a title, etc) that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the agent has the authority to bind the principal, and the principal did nothing to countermand it, the principal may be bound by the acts of the agent.

This theory, put into the context of an insurer/insurance agent, is what is meant by the term.