People may believe they have a great auto insurer, agent or competitive premium and yet they can check the latest policy offerings to make sure they are getting a fair deal. No harm is done if they cannot find better coverage, company or price but they can save money if they can. Online vehicle insurance quotes are more suitable for this purpose because they are conveniently available 24/7, fast, easy and impartial. On the other hand, agents are disappointed if there is no policy sale and applicants feel guilty of wasting their time. This pressure is increased face to face and in smaller towns where everybody knows everybody.
Also, the number of outlets shoppers can reach in a short period of time is immense and it increases the effectiveness of auto insurance quotes comparison online substantially. For example, using a comparison site allows motorists to reach tens of carriers with a simple zip code entry. They can use several comparison sites and also reach the carriers directly on their websites. Combine that with the speed of the Internet and you can get many quotes to compare with each other with minimum time invested.
And the shopping experience can be informative, bring new opportunities and save money. Here is how motorists can benefit from car insurance quotes comparison online;
- Start with knowing what you have and want
Often people start with an objective like finding a carrier with better service, claim handling or reputation, saving money, reducing costs after adding a teenage driver to a policy and so on. So, start with looking at your current coverage and arrangements and figure out what is missing. Consider if you want to shop for the same level of vehicle insurance coverage you currently have or you want to change.
Also, consider the value of your automobile, your budget and people you need to include in your policy and set yourself realistic expectations. For example, if you have a recent at-fault accident claim and a teenage driver on your policy, you should know that a few companies will offer you very high quotes or refuse to quote. These shouldn’t deter you because the higher your current premium is the more money you can save.
- Don’t hold back when getting quotes
People are most successful with online automobile insurance quotes when they don’t hold back for any reason from getting their quotes. This isn’t the step you start picking and choosing. Once you fill the first quote form, you get the hang of it and it becomes much easier to complete the next one because usually they have similar formats and ask the same questions.
So, get as many quotes as you can. When you start seeing a few companies forming a cluster around an acceptable price you know you probably have enough quotes to move to the next step.
- Compare prices first
Another advantage of getting many car insurance quotes is that you can eliminate several of the outliers quite easily. You can eliminate expensive, far too cheap and the company you don’t like based on price. When you have several quotes for half the price there is no reason to even consider a company who is far too expensive than anybody else in your list. This makes your job easier later on and you don’t waste time dwelling over something you know you cannot afford anyway.
- Compare coverage and deductibles
It is essential that you request the same coverage and provide exactly the same details to have a fair and accurate auto insurance quotes comparison online. Even though you requested the same coverage from everybody, there may be differences in the level of coverage offered in each quote. Usually, each company sets their standards for the policies they offer.
Four key areas to look at are; different Liability coverage limits, deductibles, extra coverage and conditions. Two vehicle insurers may have offered you similar prices but one may have higher Liability coverage limits or lower deductibles. The company offering more coverage for the same price is clearly a better choice.
Often, some companies offer extra coverage or guarantees like no cancellation fee, lifetime guarantee for vehicle repairs, disappearing deductibles or switch and save discounts. This is the whole point of getting many vehicle insurance quotes to compare. Once you have a few companies forming a pack around an acceptable price, you can look at other benefits and go for the company offering more.
Finally, you need to make sure none of the companies impose conditions. For example, many companies may offer great car insurance quotes even with a fast sports car when the applicant is mature and has good driving records. But they may impose a condition prohibiting anyone under the age of 25 from driving the vehicle. It is a way of controlling risks so that the premiums can be reduced. If you see no reason why anyone under the age of 25 would drive your flashy car, you may have a great deal for yourself. If not, you may have to walk away from it even though the quote is much cheaper than others.
- Compare companies
Again, you can be picky if you have several auto insurers offering acceptable prices and eliminate a company you heard bad things about. No matter how you get your quotes, most of the companies are likely to be highly reputable names. For example, Progressive and GEICO are two companies who offered the highest number of vehicle insurance quotes online last year. Most likely your quotes will come from great carriers like them. But you can still check one last time before signing up with your chosen company if there are any negative issues and if they are paying the claims with minimum fuss.
- Compare payment options and discounts
Now, automobile insurance quote forms are designed to take all the relevant details into account and therefore quotes already include most discounts and rates adjusted according to your automobile, zip code and your own risk profile. However, there are still more discounts based on how and when you pay the premium and that can make a difference in the final selection.
For example, State Farm offers one of the largest discounts for paying the premium in full at 14%. If their quote is in the mix of companies in your final list and you can pay the full vehicle insurance premium now, this discount may swing your decision in this company’s favor.
If their quote is about 30% higher or you cannot pay the premium in full anyway it may not matter. So, you may need to look for companies accepting monthly payments and offering discounts for setting up Electronic Funds Transfer. Many companies offer around 4% discount on average for paying automatically.
If you shopped around early for car insurance, you may be able to check if any company is offering Early Purchase discount as well. Some companies offer good discounts for 7 – 14 days advance purchase of the policy.
- Buy your policy
Once you finally decide on the company, you can bind the policy online or even give the company a call and let one of their agents bind it for you. Some companies like Progressive allow you to keep the cheap quote you got for shopping online even if you buy the policy through their agents on the phone.
If you are buying online, you may get some more discounts for signing the documents digitally or ticking the email delivery of your policy documents (paperless discount). Also, many companies send your online sign up details so that you can sign-in whenever you want on your insurer’s website or app and check your details, make adjustments to your policy and show proof insurance.
Shopping around and checking carefully for the most favorable policy and provider until the last minute will make sure you get the best price, policy and provider. And vehicle insurance quotes comparison online allows you to achieve your policy goals in a fairly short time and teaches you many things you didn’t even know they existed like diminishing deductibles or advance payment discount.