Buying Auto Insurance

How to Find the Best Insurance Company

Choosing an insurance carrier is both a personal and a business decision. If you have a relationship with an insurance agent and prefer to have him or her underwrite your coverage, this is certainly acceptable. However, the better approach is to look solely at quality of coverage and price. To avoid any negative reaction from individual insurance carriers, we do not recommend certain carriers or identify the more difficult insurers. However, you should be aware that there are a few insurance companies that lead the way in unfair and bullying claims practices.

If an accident does occur, you certainly want to be treated with respect. All insurance companies seek to minimize claim payments. While they are legally compelled to pay fairly for vehicle damage and property loss, they never open with generous offers in personal injury cases. However, there are some companies that go beyond aggressive negotiations and continuously overreach in their efforts to underpay claims. These are the companies you want to avoid.

As you set out to buy auto insurance, you should isolate two or three carriers that are price acceptable and then take a few minutes to search the Internet for reviews and evaluations of the claims-handling procedures for each. If you cause an accident, you certainly do not want your insurance company to bully the victims and motivate them to file a public lawsuit against you. On the other hand, if you are struck by an uninsured driver and must present your injury claims against your own insurance carrier through an uninsured motorist claim, you certainly want them to treat you fairly when you seek to collect benefits. Once you locate a number of insurance companies that handle claims fairly, price should be the deciding factor.

Finding Coverage at the Best Price

Several insurance carriers lead their marketing messages with best-price claims. As long as your insurance carrier has a reputation for fair claims handling, finding the lowest premiums should be your only concern. Most insurance companies make their primary profit through investing. They typically make very little in actual underwriting profit on car insurance policies. Today, price competition has brought the profit margins very low.

To find the best price, conduct online searches and also use some of the call-in telephone agencies to compare carriers’ prices. Insurance companies have made it very simple to see their exact price for insurance coverage. As you conduct your search, make sure you are comparing the same coverage limits on all available coverages. This will confirm that the lowest price found is indeed the best price.