So it is time to take my own advice again. With renewals for auto and home insurance pending I decided to do some shopping. I’ve definitely written about what to do when your rate goes up but this time I did things a little different.
START; Unfortunately my home is basically unmovable, two claims in less than five years. So I look at what the rate will be without a multi-policy discount. But wait, it gets a little worse. I had a stretch in 2012 and early 2013 with three tickets. Not good. But, on a plus side, my wife’s two claims are now over five years old so they fall off.
- no your record. no that all claims/tickets are not being treated equally
- time on a record will vary as well
- make sure you are not being charged inadvertently.
Now that I know my record and know my real home rate lets go shopping. So I am trying to avoid the “lead” companies so chose; State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Comparenow, The Zebra, Coverhound, Geico and Esurance. Remember; there is always a better rate available but your time is likely worth more than what savings you’ll find. Best to limit your search. So I learned a whole lot.
- The future is on-line, yes you already know that, but in insurance we are still in the early phases. Lots of room for improvement.
- Expect to give some basic personal data. Your date of birth and address as well as those from other drivers
- Don’t be uncomfortable; if your vehicle information, prior insurance information and driving history comes back automatically it is ok. Saves you time.
- Might as well disclose your tickets and accidents. Saves you time
- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read the fine print. There was lots of it.
- READ CLOSELY, there were lots of not so good things with the coverage sections. I find many to be unethical and quite shameful but then again I’m human
- Some of these sites really need to work on their writing. Lots of inaccuracies and false statements.
- Pay attention to ESTIMATES everyone had a disclosure about when a rate was accurate. Some only provide estimates then sell your data to the companies
- You would not want your family to be hit by a car with what most of these options consider great coverage
- Computers are not human and this exercise further confirmed that the programmers behind the sites could use some education
My observations are a bit different than most since I am in this business. I also have a lot more observations about how inefficient these sites actually are. But where would I start? Anything(just about) that saves me time is a good thing. Copywriting/Content writers whatever they are called are pretty important, they should really sit down with the attorneys and think things through. Could easily list 3-5 errors on each site.
Final thought; Geico and Esurance provided a pretty impressive “experience” despite their awful recommendations. Like the rest of your life, it is buyer beware. Computers can replace humans for many basic transactions but I have yet to find a site close to me or many of my counterparts.