i am trying to find out if the person i am buying life insurance is a real authorized broker. i looked up the name of the company he works for on 411 but was given an out of service number. on the business card, no company phone numbers, just home phone and cellular

If you want to know if a particular agent is licensed to sell you can contact your state's division of insurance. In addition you can also find out if the agent is registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). They have a consumer website you can access for information at www.nasdr.org. Look for Broker Check on the home page to get the information.