A first time car insurance buyers should note there are a few things a person should do when they are searching for their first (or fifth or twentieth) policy. Remember that auto insurance is a product that is sold by a company, just as any other type of product is sold from a store. However, unlike other products, this product, or insurance for a vehicle and the driver, is purchased to give protection to the policyholder’s assets. Buying a policy from an auto insurance company will begin a contract stating that in the event of an accident, the insurer will pay for certain damages that occur under certain circumstances. Having adequate car insurance is required by the state, and state legislation dictates the amounts and types of coverage options to be included in all driver’s policies. In order for drivers to obey these laws, they must be able to purchase the minimum requirements from a legit company and keep their policy current. Some ways to do this is by gathering quotes, researching providers, and finally purchasing the policy and maintaining it.
Gathering Quotes
Getting quotes for an auto insurance policy is very easy, but it can prove to be time consuming if it’s done the wrong way. Drivers may think they need to pull out the old phone book, go to the “I” section and start contacting all of the companies who offer auto insurance, going down the list and getting their phone numbers. In calling each insurer, the driver wants to know the same information from each company and repeatedly asks the same questions. In return, each company will probably have their own set of questions that will need to be answered by the driver. After many hours of work, the driver has their list of quotes and companies to choose from.
Another option to gather quotes and company information is to search the company’s website. This can be done during non-business hours and is a little more convenient for anyone. But, the driver is still trying to find the same information from a list of different companies, and they are still taking up their time looking through a bunch of different websites and pages within those websites trying to find their answers about how much they will end up paying for insurance. Again, more time than necessary has been spent trying to find quotes for an auto insurance policy.
Luckily for most drivers, an extensive and thorough quote gathering process doesn’t have to take much time and effort at all, not even for drivers who are high risk. Instead of contacting each company individually through their phones or their website, drivers can use our quote comparison tool to quickly gather the going rates offered by different insurers by answering a short list of questions right here at Online Auto Insurance. We’ll first need the driver’s zip code, followed by their name, age and address. To provide an accurate quote to the driver, we will also need the driver to enter in their driving history accurately, as well as give us the specifics about what types of coverage and amounts they would like to include in their policy. Data concerning the vehicle to be driven and insured will also need to be entered in the appropriate spaces. Once everything has been submitted, the driver will then be granted access to view a page listing a variety of quotes from different local insurers.
Researching Providers
When the driver has received their page of quotes, then it is appropriate to contact the insurer with different questions they may have about the policy offered or the company itself. The benefit of doing this research after quotes have been provided is because instead of spending a huge chunk of time finding out information about all of the local insurers, the time can be better spent looking into the smaller list of providers who have already provided their quotes.
One way to gather information about the insurer is to call them directly, but this may not give an unbiased opinion to work with. Instead, try using people who have been their customers before, such as family, friends, and co-workers. Also, using third party companies who rate different aspects of an insurance company is beneficial. There are Internet sites that provide their findings on customer service and financial stability. JD Power is one that evaluates things such as bill pay, customer service, and the company’s website. They show who they find to be top quality companies and who doesn’t measure up. Weiss Ratings and AM Best are two companies that look into the financial stability of an insurer and post their findings to the public. They will show who is secure in their financial strength and who is vulnerable to a big loss and possible failure of the company.
Purchasing the Policy
After the quotes have been given and the listed providers researched, the final stage to purchasing auto insurance is to actually make the purchase. This can be done online with a credit card or over the phone to one of our customer service representatives. There are options to have the policy mailed to the residential address of the driver, or if they want to “go green” like so many people are doing nowadays, they may have the option to easily download the policy right to their home computer. This way they have a copy of the policy in an electronic form instead of paper, which will turn to clutter or trash once the policy period has ended. Either way, most people have the option to print out a copy of their proof of insurance card from their home computer. This comes in handy to anyone who is in immediate need of proof of insurance to reinstate their vehicle or license.
There really isn’t that much to purchasing a car insurance policy, especially making that purchase online. With it being so easy and fast, there’s no reason to stress over the process and risk driving without insurance. Under no circumstances should anyone drive with insurance, and we make it easy to follow the law.
