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Tips For Buying Car
Insurance
Is it better to buy car
insurance through a local agency or to buy it directly from the company?
In many cases it costs less to buy direct because there is no "middleman".
But this is not always true. Tip Number One: Get quotes from both
local agencies and insurance companies that sell
direct.
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Is good service important to
you? The advantage of getting your insurance through a local agency
instead of buying direct is that you can get personalized service. You
won't have to work your way through a series of phone menus to speak to
someone. Plus, you won't get a different person every time you call. On
the other hand, companies that sell direct have longer hours than most
insurance agencies and they have 24/7 automated systems for getting policy
information. Tip Number Two: When two quotes are close to the same
price, ask yourself which of the two would give you the best
service. |
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There is more to choosing an
auto policy than price. Reputation and stability are the most important
considerations. You can check the reliability of an insurance company at
www.ambest.com. Tip Number Three: Make
sure you sign up with an insurance company that is willing and able to pay
your claims.
Some companies and agencies quote the
state minimum liability limits and do not include other coverage you may need.
Tip Number Four: Make sure the coverage amounts are the same in all your
quotes and that they include all the coverage you
need.
The companies and agencies quoting you might not run
reports on you until your policy gets to underwriting. Tip Number Five:
Before you sign up, make sure all of the reports have been run to avoid a rate
increase. For more info on insurance reports, click here.
There are two types of insurance
agencies. Certain companies will not appoint an agent without an agreement
to sell only for them. These agents are called captive and they sell for
companies such as State Farm and Nationwide. Other companies will appoint
agents who write for their competitors. These are independent agents and
they write for companies such as Travelers, Hartford, and AIG. Companies
that sell direct usually don't have agents writing for them (except
Progressive), so they offer policies you can't get through an agency.
Tip Number Six: Get quotes from all three sources to increase your
chance of getting the best rate and
service.
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