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The Basics of Buying Auto Insurance Online

Shopping for car insurance quotes is something nobody looks forward to, but these days the process can be made much less painful by simply shopping for your auto coverage online. Below are a few basics if you’re new to the process.

1) Know what coverage you want. The easiest way to do this is to look at your current policy. If you’re happy with the coverage you’ve had in the past but think you’re paying too much, this will quickly show you if another company has better prices for you. If you think you’ve been oversold by your previous company or agent, pull back the coverages one at a time and compare again. Often a single component of the coverage can have a big impact on prices, so you don’t have to skimp across the board.

2) Look around. Although some insurance companies tout their ability to compare prices instantly, there are also many third-party websites that will do the same thing – and often with better results. There are a lot of very respectable insurance companies that you may never of thought of (or heard of), and they’re often left out of the big name auto coverage comparisons. Independent sites will include them in your searches as well, given you a better chance to get those cheaper auto insurance online.

3) Check the marquee. Believe it or not, the name listed first on a car insurance policy can make a huge difference in price. If you or your spouse has a cleaner driving record or a better credit rating, try using their name as the primary insured instead of yours. If you’re not sure whose is better, try them both. If you’ve recently gotten married and consolidated your car insurance policies, check who has top billing on the policy for a quick trick that can result in big discounts.

4) Protect your identity. As with anything on the internet, there are great tools and scams too. Before entering your personal information on any site, check that the url is secure (shows the https and the lock symbol in your browser) and do a quick check (the fine print at the bottom of the page is a good place to start) to be sure it’s legit.

If you follow these few rules, you’ll be on your way to finding big savings on your car insurance policy online.

Readers, do you have any other good tips for saving money on car insurance?

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2 COMMENTS

  1. When we first purchased our car a few years ago, I was in a hurry to insurance it and picked esurance because it was such a simple process. Their rates were also very competitive. For simplicity sake, I kept them for years (something to consider – ease of use).

    Then, I decided to do a big price overhaul of my bills and found out that the company I use for my renters insurance would beat esurance’s rates. So I switched to USAA and received a multi-policy discount along with a few other discounts saving me about $200 a year.

  2. The online shopping for auto insurance created a more competitive industry. It gives the consumer almost every product available for him on the market.

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