Shopping for car insurance – What Have I Been Waiting For?!
A friend in the auto insurance business told me that loyalty to an insurance company or agent is as pass? as disco. Nobody picks one auto insurance company and stays with it year after year, car after car. Which makes me a car insurance Luddite. I bought my new car four years ago, went with 21st Century, the company suggested by the dealership, and have pretty much let it ride.
But with my semi-annual premium due in a couple weeks and 21st Century about to be sold off again, I decided to shop around for the best deal on car insurance. One hour and seven websites later, and I’ve learned I can save $164. Not enough to make up for what last year’s 401K losses, but a respectable amount that will pay my annual renters’ insurance premium.
Overall, the experience was good — meaning easy. Some sites, notably Esurance, are elegantly streamlined. The user interface is so clean, my 84-year-old mother could figure it out. The site promises an auto insurance quote in 6 minutes and delivered mine in under 4. Unfortunately, they were only $24 less than my current policy – chump change. GEICO has some truly ugly forms and seeing a picture of a Honda Element displayed before I said I owned one was a little scary, but as I later learned at Progressive, this info is easily obtained based on the address I entered against California DMV records. Other than the slightly creepy, hyper-smiley spokes gal, Progressive’s site is pleasant and very reassuring in the way it explains how it will and won’t use personal data, but the recommended price was $30 higher than my current auto policy, although they do have a nifty little “name your price” tool.
My visits to Liberty Mutual and Mercury were brisk, pedestrian experiences yielding annual car insurance premiums $132 and $170 higher respectively than what I have. Nationwide, which offered to let me print my car insurance coverage card immediately upon purchase, would not insurance my car because I use it primarily for business. And MetLife, who had sent me a direct mail offer (with no URL!?), let me get three clicks into its site before I learned they don’t insurance cars in California online. See ya, Snoopy!
Bottom line, I’m going with GEICO, but I’ll be reviewing rates semi-annually from now on. Trying online car insurance quotes platforms such as einsurance and looking at their auto insurance quote page is an easy way to connect with insurance companies that offer insurance in your area.
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