Reader question:
What kind of factors should I consider when comparing car insurance rates to get the cheapes quote?
Molly
Glad you asked.
It can be a little overwhelming when you go online or into your phone book and start comparing the quotes offered to you by all the different companies. Do you go with the cheapest, or will that be getting yourself into trouble? At the same time, you don’t want to go with the most expensive. There’s this huge pile of companies offering you prices and you don’t know much at all about them, and they’re just flooding you and making it difficult for you to think. Well, calm down. It’s not that hard.
First of all, before you even research further into your list, take off the companies that may be financially unstable. It’s often the case that if you get with a financially unstable company, when it comes time to file a claim, they’ll deny you, even if you have every right to get a settlement. Make sure you get with a company that’s on its feet to avoid getting into this kind of pickle.
Usually, the best idea is to stick with bigger companies. Not only are they more stable, but they have better service and tend to be more competent and more willing to give you your money should you have to file your claim. You might be a little reluctant to do this at first, because larger companies also charge higher premium rates and higher deductibles, but in the long run it will pan out for you.
You would think comparing car insurance rates was all about just picking the lowest price, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Once you’ve come down to a list of companies, find out what kind of discounts they offer, whether they offer things like accident forgiveness, and how good their customer service is.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.