Insurance Check Up Step 5

You’ve learned how to choose & save money on home & auto insurance coverage by reading my Web site. You’ve learned the importance of an annual insurance policy review with your agent or insurance company — what to expect from the review, what to do to make sure you have the right coverage for you, and how to make sure your agent or insurance company are working for you, to get you the best rate they can offer.

You’ve learned the importance of telling your agent or insurance company you are checking with other insurance companies, to see if you can find a better price, so your agent or insurance company do not take having you as a customer for granted.

You’ve used my list of leading home & auto insurance company reviews to get comparison price quotes for the same coverage as you have now. You have requested & received quotes in writing for the lower-priced insurance quotes you received, so you can double-check the price quoted, and the coverage quoted is comparable to the coverage you have now.

Now, you are ready for the final step of your annual insurance check up.

Step Five: Decide to stay with the insurance company you have now, or switch to a better insurance company, or the insurance company with the best price.

If you shopped with all the leading insurance companies, and determined the insurance company you are insured with now has the best price, acceptable customer service, a good complaint record, and the right insurance coverage for you, all you need to do is contact your agent, ask if they were able to discover any other ways for you to get a better price, thank your agent for their help, and tell your agent you are happy to continue to insure with them for another year.

However, unless you have made it a habit of checking the rates of all the leading insurance companies each year, it is very likely you will find another insurance company (maybe more than one) saving you a TON of money.

Before you switch to the insurance company with the lowest price for you, you want to consider a few things.

First, some people may think (and your agent or insurance company insuring you now may tell you this, in hopes to keep your business) you get what you pay for. With auto & home insurance, this is NOT true. When I last shopped my insurance, some of the best prices I received were from insurance companies with very low complaint ratios & high rankings by JD Power. Some of the highest prices I received were from well-known insurance companies with mediocre customer satisfaction ratings, and higher than average complaint ratios.

A recent TV ad for an auto insurance company warns the consumer to beware “cut-rate” insurance, which may not cover certain claims. This is only a danger when choosing your level of insurance coverage, not by choosing the insurance company with the best price for the coverage you need.

This is why, when you shop for auto insurance & homeowners insurance, you want all the insurance companies quoting you the same coverage, often referred to by the slang term of an “apples to apples” comparison.

As long as you have adequate coverage, depending on your needs, paying a lower price does not mean you will “get what you pay for.” Also, paying a lot more for your insurance, does not mean “you get what you pay for.” Insuring with the most expensive auto insurance company is not the same as owning an insurance policy the equivalent of a Mercedes. It is more often like having an auto insurance policy the same as an extremely over-priced Ford Focus. The price you pay for insurance has no connection to the level of customer service, or how happy you will be with how your claim is processed.

Although the price you pay has nothing to do with it, there are a few better-than-average insurance companies, some worse-than average insurance companies, and the majority, in my opinion, being mediocre insurance companies.

Use the link above to my Web site, to evaluate the insurance companies providing you with the best-priced quotes, and to check their customer service rating & complaint record, so you can choose an insurance company with a good price & good customer service.

Also consider coverage. If you owe more on your car loan than the value of your car, you may want to choose an auto insurance company offering gap coverage, to pay off the difference between the loan or lease, and the market value of your car, if it is a total loss due to a covered claim.

Particularly with homeowners insurance, coverage offered by insurance companies will vary.

Lastly, consider how important having a local agent is to you. It is a myth buying auto & home insurance without an agent costs less because there are no commissions paid by the insurance companies. Companies selling directly to the public have other expenses, which insurance companies using agents may not have to pay.

However, insurance companies selling direct to the public cannot use the benefit of having local agents as a selling point, so they often try to compete by having the best price.

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Having a good local agent can turn a mediocre insurance company into a great customer experience. Unfortunately, most agents are mediocre, too. But having someone to fix the problems which sometimes arise, or help you if you have a problem or delay with a claim, is better for most people than trying to work directly with the insurance company.

Before you switch to another insurance company, contact your agent or insurance company, and tell them you have found a lower rate.

Allow your agent to explain any reasons why you should keep your insurance with them. Consider the reasons, to see if they have merit.

If your agent explains a benefit of your insurance policy not offered by the new company, or if your agent explains a time the agent was able to help a customer with a problem, think about the quality of service and features of your current policy, before you change insurance companies.

In my experience, most agents are not providing a level of service beyond other agents, making it worthwhile to pay much more for insurance. Sometimes, policy features, like a guarantee renewal for claims, or accident forgiveness on auto insurance, should be considered.

If your agent makes unsupported claims of personal service, or tries to manipulate you out of friendship or loyalty, this should have little value to you.

Insuring with the same insurance for many years needs to translate into tangible benefits to you, as the customer, otherwise the only thing you lose by switching insurance companies is a Christmas or birthday card from your agent.

Do NOT cancel your old insurance until your new insurance policy is effective.  

Once you have chosen your new insurance company, call them to verify the insurance company or agent has everything they need to confirm the rate they quoted you.

Tell your new insurance company or agent the effective date you wish to start coverage, and have them confirm the price. Ask if you need to provide any documents to get the rate, and if there are any reasons why the rate might go up.

These days, most insurance companies will check your driving record, claims history, credit history, and insurance history, without you having to provide any documentation, and the price can be confirmed before you pay for it.

However, some insurance companies may quote you based on what you tell them about yourself, and then ask you to provide proof of continuous insurance, and check your motor vehicle report & claims history after you have paid for and started your insurance. If you forgot a ticket on your driving record, or the former owner of your home filed a claim, or if you had a claim inquiry which was not paid or covered, this could increase your rate, or cause your insurance application to be rejected. You may run into this situation with some of the smaller insurance companies, but most companies check everything now before you pay, making changing insurance companies easier than ever.

Congratulations! You have learned everything you need to know to have a successful insurance check up, to make sure you have the proper coverage, and save $100s on insurance. What’s stopping you from saving money now?

The Other Steps:

Insurance Check Up Step 1

Insurance Check Up Step 2

Insurance Check Up Step 3

Insurance Check Up Step 4

Many car & home insurance companies charge a lot more than other companies for the same coverage, but no company has low rates for everyone. You have to shop with all the leading companies, to find the company with the best coverage and best price for you.

Do you have any questions about my 5 steps for your yearly insurance check up? What do you think about the importance of an insurance check up each year? Tell me about your opinions. Please leave a comment on my facebook page. Follow me on Twitter for important insurance consumer news and new blog entries at CarInsWatch.