Let’s say you’re in the market for new car/house/non-medical insurance…how would you go about finding the best deal? Insurance broker? Google? Something else?
I’d start by asking others who they use. Then make some appointments. For example, meet with someone from American Family Insurance. Sit down with them for a while and really understand what’s going on with all the ins and outs of the particular insurance. Make sure to ask what discounts are available (for example, with a car, do you have a clean record, are you over 25, are you getting good grades in school, is your credit report being factored into it, what’s the discount for uping your deductible from 500 to 1000; a house, is there a discount for a roof less then 10 years old, closeness to hydrants/fire station etc etc etc etc). Then go to Farmers Insurance, State Farm, Progressive and talk to them. The trick is going to be to get quotes from each of them on comprable policies. State Farm covers you up to 100,000 on [xxx] with a $1000 deductible and American Family quotes you up to $50,000 with a $2000 deductible, the numbers can’t be compared. You have to get them all as close as possible. Then you can go with whomever has the best combonation of rates and customer service.
If you really wanted to, you could then take the best quote and go to the others and see if they can beat it, but at that point it’ll start turning into a bigger job. Your best bet at that point would be to make a decision based on those numbers and in a year or so, go back and re-evaluate.
Disclaimer: I am an insurance broker, but our office does virtually no Personal Lines business.
The one piece of advice I’d give to anyone is to get yourself an insurance broker. I can’t tell you how many of my commercial clients call me in a panic because they’ve had a claim and have no idea what to do, and no one is helping them since they got their insurance through a direct writer.
A broker works for you, not the insurance company. They handle putting together the applications and making sure there aren’t any gaps in coverage. They can also answer any questions you might have. I’d suggest talking to friends and neighbours, and seeing who’s happy with their broker, and then giving them a call.
It’s probably partially a product of having been in the insurance business for a dozen years, but I would never use a broker. I prefer to handle all of it myself.
If you qualify, look into USAA. They have awesome rates, excellent customer service and are overall great to work with.
You’re going to get as many suggestions as you will responses, I’m afraid. there is a reason independent brokers exist who sell for multiple firms, and a reason for agents who sell only one company, and a reason you can get what you need online or on the phone without sitting down with a single professional. Broker/Agent/Internet/Phone, pick the format you prefer–most companies have some combination of all of these features but will specialize in one. Insurance is a big deal to some people and just a thing for others and the distribution infrastructure reflects that.
Joey’s got pretty good advise with regard to taking the time to talk to multiple providers, but I would add that your best buy will be going with whomever is willing to sit down with you and educate you to some degree. And then stick with that person even when the rates cycle up, as they will from time to time.
It has been my experience that good agents/brokers will not even entertain a “bidding war” however. If they’ve taken the time to understand your needs and have provided a solution, then you can trust them to have been honest with you or you can take a hike. There’s not usually much/any wiggle room on quotes unless you count “field discounts” which are essentially mis-quotes (aka “lies” from the agent to his underwriter).
Me? I’ll pay a little extra for an agent/broker who keeps one eye on me and my situation, and another eye on the industry products and trends. Insurance can be tricky like law, plumbing, construction, auto mechanics and government. It is responsible to have a basic understanding of all of these things, but it is foolish (IMHO) to think you can master all of them.
The first thing you should do is figure out your needs. I am an insurance agent and every single day I talk to people who own a home that costs 2 million to replace but are only insured up to 500k. You need to know exactly what your needs and wants are before you start making phone calls.
Second you need to figure out what companies are available to you. There are big companies and small companies, some of which are owned by stockholders and some of which are owned by the insureds themselves. Take the time to find out what is available to you before you make a decision.
Then you need to start making calls. Tell them what you need, listen to what they recommend, get a quote for 2 or 3 different policy options (e.g., if you have 100/300/50 it will cost you X but you could do 250/500/100 for Y and your deductables can be A, B, or C) from each company. Then take all the quotes you have gotten from all the companies you called and see which one best suits your needs for coverage and cost.