In a previous blog post, I wrote about how important it is, when shopping for insurance, to speak with more than a few companies with familiar brand names, if you really want to save money and choose the best coverage. There are many fine companies you may not know, some sold through independent insurance agents, that could have the best price and coverage for you. Some auto insurance companies charge some drivers twice as much as other companies with the same coverage. You have to shop to find the companies with low rates for you. But the insurance companies with low rates for you will change over time. Insurance company rules & rates are always changing, and your risk profile (length of your insurance history, driving record, age, etc.) changes over time, too. This blog post will tell you what you can do, to make sure you never overpay for your auto insurance.

I recommend shopping with all the major auto insurance companies each year, because you never know when your insurance company may go from having low, competitive rates for you, to charging you too much. Most customers want a good price, but they also want to make sure they have good coverage and service, too.

By shopping your insurance each year, you are getting additional opinions on your coverage, and finding out what coverage options are available from other companies, that the insurance company you have now may not offer. I think it’s best to comparison shop based on coverage and price, then use the information on my website and other sources, to decide which companies have the best combination of coverage, price, and customer/claims service for you.

There is no substitute for shopping with all the major insurance companies each year, to make sure you don’t overpay for your coverage. As someone who has sold auto & home insurance for many years, you would think I would know the companies having the best rates for my auto insurance without shopping. When I started checking the rates of as many auto insurance companies as I could find, I was surprised which companies had low rates for me, and which companies did not have good rates for me. And it seemed, each year I shopped, different companies had the best rates for me.

However, most states have over one hundred different insurance companies selling auto insurance in their state. Who has time to check with over 100 companies? I checked with about 20-25 major companies, but the average person would consider that too much work. It’s definitely worth your time to check with as many companies as you can, when shopping for lower rates. Here are my tips on how to use my strategy, of shopping with many of the major insurance companies, without having to spend an entire day contacting 20 different insurance companies. Many people shopping for insurance make a costly mistake by not checking with enough companies. Even if you don’t want to check with a lot of companies, the tips in this blog post will help you know how to shop with more companies, and not miss some companies many shoppers overlook.

1. Auto insurance is sold five ways: 1. Companies selling direct only; 2. Companies selling through their own agents; 3. Companies selling through independent insurance agents; 4. Companies using multiple distribution channels, such as direct sales and their own agents, but the price is the same; 5. Companies using multiple distribution channels, but the price is different, depending on how you buy, like Progressive, Hartford, & Hartford’s AARP program.

In order to shop among the major auto insurance companies thoroughly, consumers need to check the companies selling direct from the company, companies selling through their own agents, and one or two independent insurance agents.

If you speak with independent insurance agents, they are likely to tell you they work with 50 insurance companies, and they can shop the auto insurance market for you. Although independent insurance agents often represent multiple insurance companies, they can only quote you companies they represent. Many of the major auto insurance companies do not sell through independent insurance agents, and if they do, it is most likely at a higher price. For example, most independent insurance agents represent Progressive, but many auto insurance buyers can get a better price buying from the Progressive subsidiary companies sold direct from the company. Buying direct from Progressive is not always the lowest price, but it’s almost always a different price & product you will get from buying Progressive through an independent agent.

State Farm cannot be purchased through an independent insurance agent. Many of the major national auto insurance companies, Allstate, Farmers, American Family, GEICO, & Amica sell through their own agents or direct from the company (Sometimes they can be purchased from independent agents in areas where their own agents are not available) and independent insurance agents rarely represent them. Independent agents cannot shop the market for you. Don’t give any importance to the 50 or more companies they say they represent, ask to know the name & price for all the companies they quote you, and you’ll be lucky if the number of companies quoting you is five or more, unless you are a high risk driver needing nonstandard auto insurance.

How do you know which major auto insurance companies sell direct, through their own agents, or through independent agents? The insurance company reviews on my website will give you this information, and show you the major companies across the USA, and if they are likely to be available in your state. My reviews also give you tips for companies selling through multiple channels, such as through a combination of their own agents, independent agents, and direct from the company, to let you know if how you buy might save you money. For example, Hartford has a discount for buying direct from their company, instead of through an agent.

2. There are probably over one hundred companies selling auto insurance in your state, but there is no reason for anyone to contact each one.

Many of the companies are subsidiary companies of the same insurance group, designed to insure different drivers. For example, depending on your driving record, you may qualify for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company or Nationwide Property & Casualty Company. If you are a government employee and you call GEICO for an auto insurance quote, you may qualify for Government Employees Insurance Company, instead of one of the other GEICO companies. All an insurance shopper needs to do is call GEICO or a Nationwide Insurance agency, and they will decide which GEICO or Nationwide subsidiary they can offer you.

You don’t need to contact auto insurance companies selling through independent insurance agents. Instead, check their websites to find local agents, or call the independent insurance agents in your area, and find out the names of the auto insurance companies they represent. Not all independent agents represent the same companies. For example, here in Oregon, most established independent agents represent Safeco. Just about all independent agents selling auto insurance seem to represent Progressive. But there is a good regional insurance company called Oregon Mutual offering auto insurance, and not that many independent agents in Oregon represent them. This is why it’s good to contact a few independent agents for quotes, representing different companies, in addition to the companies they have in common, to make sure all the major auto insurance companies selling through independent agents are included.

3. Knowing whether you are considered a preferred, standard, or non-standard auto insurance customer means some car insurance companies are not for you.

Generally speaking, in many states, if you currently have & have had continuous auto insurance for the last year, a clean driving & claims record, and you have been continuously licensed to drive for at least the last 3-5 years, you should qualify as either standard or preferred auto insurance, and be eligible for most auto insurance companies. If you have enough driving experience, even if you have a ticket, a comprehensive claim, or a not at fault accident, you are likely to qualify for standard auto insurance with many companies.

When you are considered a preferred or standard risk driver, there are some companies, specializing in the nonstandard auto insurance market (Drivers considered “high risk”), you can ignore. I usually qualify for preferred auto insurance rates, and I contacted the nonstandard auto insurance company, The General, for an auto insurance quote. Not only was The General unable to quote me as much liability coverage as I have, it was more than twice as expensive as what I was currently paying. So, it you qualify for standard or preferred insurance rates, you don’t need to contact the many nonstandard auto insurance companies, such as The General, Infinity, Victoria, Titan, etc.

What if you don’t qualify for standard or preferred auto insurance rates?

In many states, something as simple as having a recent lapse in your auto insurance coverage, can create problems with qualifying for auto insurance with some companies. When getting auto insurance quotes, it’s not unusual for people to not qualify for some companies. I remember NJ Manufacturers turning me down over one minor traffic violation. When you get insurance quotes, don’t get upset if some companies decline to quote you because you don’t qualify. Different companies have different rules, so if a few companies won’t insure you because of a ticket or other factors, others will.

However, if you have multiple tickets, accidents, or claims, no prior insurance (in some states), a license suspension in the last 5 years, or a major violation, like a DUI or reckless driving, you will find fewer companies willing to help you, and you may qualify only for nonstandard auto insurance.

Don’t let being told you do not qualify with some companies, stop you from thoroughly shopping your auto insurance. Car insurance is even more expensive when you don’t qualify for preferred or standard rates, so it makes sense to shop for the best rates you can find. Many of the major auto insurance companies, such as Progressive, Allstate, & GEICO, have a subsidiary company offering nonstandard auto insurance. There are many small companies specializing in nonstandard auto insurance available from independent insurance agents. If you have a hard time qualifying for auto insurance, be sure to contact several independent insurance agents selling nonstandard auto insurance. You can recognize these agents by their ads, catering to drivers with no insurance, tickets & accidents, or needing an SR-22.

You can use the insurance company reviews on my website to see if a company sells preferred, standard, or nonstandard auto insurance.

4. Use my website to find the auto insurance companies you want to contact for price quotes, then go to the company website to get a quote, or find a local agent to quote you. Do not request quotes from websites that are not insurance company or agency websites.

There are many websites offering to provide people insurance quotes from multiple companies. The majority of these web sites are lead generation companies, or their affiliate marketers, selling your information to insurance agents & companies to quote you. You may be tempted to use these sites to save time. It’s my opinion this is a poor way to get accurate quotes, and can lead to aggressive marketing by agents, or the lead generation companies, as your information is sold & re-sold, and you are bombarded with calls & spam every 3 months. This link to my blog post about harassment from yourinsurancerequests.com can tell you what can happen. Don’t bother to put in a fake address, fake phone number, or throw-away email address, because these sites tend to not get enough information from you to quote you accurately, without speaking to the companies or agents quoting you.

4. If you don’t have time to shop with all the major auto insurance companies once each year, split them up and check a few every three or six months, but make sure, over one or two years, you have checked with them all.

Getting auto insurance quotes is easier and quicker than ever, but it still takes time. It takes even more time if you are a homeowner, shopping your home insurance, too. To be conservative, let’s say it takes 30 minutes to get an auto or home insurance quote. If you want to check the rates of 20 companies, that’s 10 hours of your time for auto insurance (and renters insurance, if desired), and 20 hours for home & auto insurance. If you can’t spread that 10 or 20 hours over several days at once, spend 2,3,4 hours at a time every 3 months or 6 months to contact all the companies. Ideally, you should check them all within 12 months, but it’s acceptable over 24 months, if you must.

You may ask yourself, “Is it really worth that investment of time?” My answer is an emphatic, “Yes!” Many auto insurance companies advertise saving customers switching to them something like $400 or more a year. This isn’t a lie & is backed by real numbers, which you can verify by reading the fine print in the ad. But this doesn’t mean everyone they quote saves hundreds. The people who do save, switch to them. The takeaway is there are big price differences among companies for all types of drivers, and most companies save some customers a lot of money, but to find the company saving you money, you have to shop the market to find it. If you have not recently shopped for better auto insurance rates, or only checked with a few companies, you have a very good chance of saving a lot of money. If you spend 20 hours of your time and save $400, that’s the same as earning $20 an hour tax free. Isn’t that worth your time?

If you use my strategy, you are likely to save a lot of money. It’s important to check the rates and coverage offered by other companies again periodically, because things change, and you may be surprised how much you can save the following year. But it’s not unusual to see little change from year to year with some companies. If you could save $400 by shopping your insurance every year, eventually, over several years, your premium would be zero. You won’t have big savings every year. But by checking rates every year, you are getting your coverage reviewed as well, and even if there is little price change, you have verified you are still getting a good deal. However, over time, that company with the low rates, often turns into the company with the highest rates for you. Or, your risk profile changes, and all of a sudden, you can see big savings with another company. I went without a car for a few years, and I saw a big change once I had a car and three years of continuous auto insurance coverage again. You may know you will probably get much lower rates in two years when an accident on your record is over three years, but if you don’t have the habit of regularly shopping your insurance, it’s easy to forget about it. By setting up a schedule to regularly check the rates of all the major companies, you can make sure you continue to have the auto insurance coverage you need at a competitive price.

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