Is it best to look for a cheap auto insurance quote for your car online, or are there better methods?
Here is some good advice from my Linkedin contacts who have tried it.

Barry Katcher:

When you search online through one of the match services, you end up getting a lot of calls from agents. If you don’t mind the phone ringing, you might find a quote less than what you may pay now. I did.

Kevin Pestinger:

I used to work for Answer Financial which has the best online comparison shopping service for auto or home insurance because they include hundreds of major carriers (like Progressive, Safeco, Allstate, Esurance, etc.) in their system. They will provide you with immediate online quotes from multiple companies. Then you can often buy your policy online or you can always have licensed agents (employees of Answer Financial) help you immediately. Another comparison shopping site for all lines of personal insurance is Insurance.com. I would not recommend using sites like NetQuotes or InsWeb (known as lead aggregators) because they will not provide you with an actual quote, but rather they will just take your personal information and sell it to 3-5 companies who will all start calling you (and not necessarily with the best rates). The best comparison shopping site for health insurance is eHealthInsurance.

Sheilah Ethridge:

I have found that once you check on line you are bombarded with phone calls and junk mail. Not only that but a phone to those same insurance companies provide you with a different quote than you got online.

Sheilah

Brian Morgan:

I have shopped online for car insurance and motorcycle insurance online, and it seems to work very well.

My financial advisor has had me get enough auto insurance to cover the financial investments that I have (stocks) so that if I have an accident – my insurance will (hopefully) prevent anyone from being able to tap into my investments (resources) to pay for an auto accident. So (FYI) I buy enough to equal the amounts of stock investments that I have. Not sure of everyone does this- but I think it is good advice, talk to your lawyer or CPA to be sure.

I have Progressive Auto Insurance, which is online and also through a local insurance agent, and have been satisfied when I have had to file any claims due to vandalism and accidents.

Note to Chris: Hey, I miss seeing you on TechTV. Was a great show. Consider adding me to your LI network….. Thanks Chris.

Brian Morgan
Advertising & Marketing for Professional Services

Links:

• Car Insurance.com News
• iii.org (individual auto)
• ambest.com

Andrew Ramsey:

I don’t know about Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner, but Arizona’s Department of Insurance performs an annual premium survey for both auto and home insurers.

Armed with that report, I select the lowest-cost 5-10 insurers for the scenario closest to mine and obtain quotes from either their websites or agents (some companies work only through agents, local or otherwise). I’ve encountered only one company that offered an online discount (Progressive, IIRC), and that was only a one-time discount for new policies — it would not apply to subsequent renewals. Hence, I do not believe their is a cost advantage to shopping online.

Before you shop, I recommend obtaining a free copy of the
C.L.U.E. Auto Report for all drivers on your policy. The report shows claim history and is used by insurers in their risk calculations. I use this to accurately answer any questions about claims, their dates and payout amounts.

It is very difficult to compare apples to apples with regard to insurance, especially in different states, but over the past few years of shopping for auto insurance every six months, I’ve obtained decent quotes from Unitrin Direct, AIG, Esurance, Austin Mutual, Progressive, GEICO and 21st Century. I’ve purchased policies from the majority of those companies.

The last piece of advice I have is to never get complacent with insurance. Your personal situation will change, and the rates offered by insurers will change. You owe it to yourself to shop at every renewal.

Stephen Dyer:

I bought my auto insurance online and have been extremely pleased. Every now and then I search again for better pricing, but I haven’t seen any deal so wonderful that I have decided to switch companies.

For those e-mails and phone calls that I might get from agents due to my search, well….that is why the “delete” button exists.