Many people dread the idea of shopping for new auto insurance. There are so many questions like “Which company is best?” “How much do I need?” “What do I need?” and “How do I know I’m getting a good deal?” These questions are understandable and hopefully I can help answer some of them for you today. I think the root of the problem is that most people just aren’t educated enough about insurance and I blame their insurance agents for not taking the time to do that.
Many insurance agents are so worried about making the sale that they fail to educate their clients about the different aspects of their insurance. The last time you spoke with your agent did he answer your questions using language you could understand? Do you know why he recommended that you increase your coverages or are you still thinking it was just a sales trick to get more money out of you. If your agent didn’t take the time to go over all of these things with you than it may be time to start shopping around. There are many options out there but most fall into 3 categories: captive agents, independent agents and online companies.
Captive agents are agents that work for a specific insurance company. These are your Allstate, State Farm, Farmers, etc.. agents. They usually represent good companies and are usually located in your city. The advantage to these agents is that you have a real person who you may call whenever you have a question or you could even stop by their office if you’d like. The downside is that they work for the insurance company and they can only offer you policies from that insurance company so while the policy may be good it may not always be right for you or the least expensive.
Online companies have started showing up everywhere lately and they are very similar to the captive agencies except for the fact that you transact all of your business over the internet or on the phone through an 800 number. These companies are great if you just want to buy a policy and never worry about it again but if you like to have an expert in your corner this may not be the place for you.
Independent agents don’t work for the insurance companies, they work for you. They offer policies from multiple insurance companies and as such they are usually able to put together the best package with the best prices for you. The biggest downside to independent agencies is that they may not offer products from some of the big name companies that you see on TV (because most of those companies are for captive agents only). That is not necessarily a bad thing since there are many insurance companies out there with financial stability ratings equal to or greater than the big name companies.
Choosing the right agent is something that you must do on your own and hopefully the information I’ve provided will help. Ultimately you have to feel comfortable with your agent since he is helping your protect your families assets.
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