Getting free car insurance quotes online is certainly the fastest and easiest way to figure out what you might need to pay for your new policy. But is it the best way?
There are many variables to consider when you are trying to get a quote for car insurance. You can't limit your decision to the numbers you receive after you hit "submit". Many times you may have issues that you need to discuss with a live representative before proceeding with any type of commitment to a new company.
Getting quotes online is still a great convenience - for everyone. Not only do you, the consumer, have access to a wealth of information at your finger tips, but the companies don't have to spend money on additional customer service reps. They prefer to have you do your business online without interacting with a human. When you buy a policy online it's discounted for this very reason - you didn't tie up one of their reps for an hour.
To save even more time you might want to consider using a site that does nothing but provide insurance quotes for cars. They do not sell the insurance! They merely act as a clearing house of sorts; an online database that has information provided to them from a variety of companies who can provide what you need.
However, not all the companies provide the exact same information. This can cause lots of confusion and even worse, it can cause some quotes to come back to you that look exceptionally attractive when in fact they are priced low because you aren't being quoted on an entire policy.
When you receive your quotes back, look at the entire document. Many will have additional notes for your to review. Don't ignore these! You may learn, for instance, that one company's quote is low because their minimum coverages are lower than the other companies. As you click through the forms on line and select "lowest coverage" it may not tell you what that is until you get your quote. There's a big pricing difference between $100, 000 worth of personal injury insurance, and half a million dollars worth.
As with anything that is "free", be aware that what you get may not be what you're looking for. Before getting too excited about some of the numbers you see, you'll need to follow up with the individual insurance companies to get more information about going forward with buying the actual policy. You may be shocked to see that your quote just doubled!
