Car Insurance Comparison

When making a car insurance comparison, there are a few factors everyone needs to consider to make sure you are comparing apples to apples.

First, how reputable is the company?  Are they known for timely, reliable payments, or do they have a reputation of denying coverage when their customers need it?  It is often wise to do a thorough checking of your prospective insurance company by browsing JD Power and Associates, or your state's Department of Insurance website.  Take a look at what consumer reports and forums have to say.  Talk to body shop workers.  If you find out that a company that you were going to do business with doesn't play fairly, then it's probably a good idea to cross them off your list altogether.

Secondly, are the quotes genuine?  Oftentimes a salesperson will give you a quote after asking only a few of the most obvious driver-related questions, without factoring in some other proxies which the policy weights against.  (If you are wondering how you got a quote after having not been asked whether you've recently been in an accident that was your fault, the answer is, you didn't.)  This is a foot-in-the-door technique that a lot of insurance salespeople like to pitch to hook you in.  Make sure the quote you are getting is accurate when doing your car insurance comparison.

Finally, are the coverage amounts the same?  Is company A giving you the same degree of liability coverage as company B for the premium they are asking?  How about personal injury and property damage?  How much are the deductibles, and does one company offer special perks like free roadside assistance that the other company does not?  If the answer to any of these questions is no, then what value do you place on the different variables in order to make the best decision in your car insurance comparison?

These steps should help you narrow down your search in finding the policy that is right for you.