Reader question:
What are the characteristics of a quality auto insurance company?
Neal
I’m glad you asked that question, Neal.
A lot of the questions I get are asking me how to get cheap car insurance rates, how to lower a premium, how to get out of paying high fees for car insurance, but very few people actually realize that there is more to an insurance company than just the price tag. Cheap quotes can very well mean bad service, and if something is as important as car insurance, that’s not something you want to risk having. When I got my cell phone, I went for the company that asked me for the lowest deposit, and guess what? I hardly ever have a good signal and my calls are constantly getting dropped. Other factors need to be considered.
Just because you shouldn’t jump on the lowest price doesn’t mean that you have to pay a high one to get quality auto insurance. One of the main characteristics of a great auto insurance company is that they have affordable premiums. Some companies may charge outrageous prices, but they don’t have anything to back that up. A place where you can get quality auto insurance offers good rates without being ridiculous.
Make sure your company is fluid. They should offer all kinds of insurance and changes and additions to your policy should be easy and worry-free. Some companies offer only minimum coverage, and it’s not so great an idea to go with these even if that’s all the coverage you intend to get, because you don’t know what might happen in the future. A good insurance company gives you room to move around.
Discounts! There are a plethora of auto insurance discounts out there, but not all companies offer them. So, when you’re looking around for quality auto insurance, make sure to find out what kind of discounts they offer and how many of those discounts could apply to you. One more important factor to consider is the convenience of the company. If it’s near you, that’s great, but if it has a user-friendly website where you can change your policy, update your information, and find answers to your questions, even better.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.