Using the Internet to Get Auto Insurance Quotes

If you’re a middle-aged American you’re old enough to remember the good old days when shopping for car insurance was a nightmare. In order to get auto insurance quotes you had to pull out the Yellow Pages, call a dozen insurance agents in your town, and answer the same questions over and over again. If you were lucky you could find an acceptable policy on your first day of shopping. Otherwise it might be several weeks’ worth of work.

For that reason alone it was typical for American drivers to find an insurance company while in their 20s and stick with it throughout their lifetime. It just wasn’t worth the work to find a better rate. But today, thanks to the Internet and the information age, you can now get auto insurance quotes much easier and quicker. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. Having broadband access helps, but you can do it with dial-up if that’s all you have.

Get Auto Insurance Quotes

In order to make the process easier, you should assemble some basic information before you begin your quotes search. This basic information includes:

• make and model of your car

• approximate annual mileage

• approximate mileage to and from work

• names and ages of any drivers who will be using the car

• dates and appropriate details of any accidents or violations within the previous few years

Getting Auto Insurance Quotes from Multiple Companies

In order to use the Internet to get auto insurance quotes you’ll be using a search site like the one you’re on right now. The process begins when you enter your zip code into the search tool they provide. Once your zip code is entered you’ll probably have to wait for 30 to 40 seconds while their database scours all the available information and spits out the results. Keep in mind that these initial results are only ballpark figures to help you understand which companies will probably offer you the best deal.

From this initial list you’ll begin to pick individual companies that you want to investigate further. In order to compare apples with apples, make sure you choose a couple of nationally known companies as well as some regional or local companies. Then make sure you compare one national company with another, one regional company with another, and one local company with another. From this initial list you should be gathering five or six possibilities.

Getting An In-Depth Quote

The next step is to click the links for the individual companies you’ve chosen and request more in-depth quotes. This is where you’re going to need all the information you assembled earlier. Each company will provide you with an online form asking you about a dozen questions. As long as you answer those questions truthfully your quote will be fairly accurate. But Keep in mind that even though you can get auto insurance quotes without having to talk to anyone, you won’t be able to hide anything. If you answer the questions dishonestly, the companies will find out and the quoted price you received is going to go up.

Finally, before making your final choice from this list of five or six, make sure you compare what each policy offers in both coverage amounts and the size of your deductible. Once you’ve made a choice you might even be able to fill out another online form and purchase your insurance right there over the Internet. Some companies won’t allow online policy purchases, but if you can get auto insurance quotes that are fairly low, a final phone call might not be so bad.