Finance Blog
Insurance Quotes: Insurance Brokers vs. Online Quotes
Back in 1999, when I returned to the family business with my dad and sister, our business was not incorporated. The Internet was a budding phenomenon at the time, so I offered to take responsibility for using it to find out how to incorporate our business.
I found a site that provided the steps to incorporation, and I followed the instructions. I remember feeling uneasy that there wasn’t a live person readily available. Incorporation seemed like a complicated task, but I was determined to make it work.
I thought, “It’s the Internet; anything is possible.” I also thought, “What happens if something goes wrong?” Well, it did. The state didn’t waste any time in letting me know I didn’t submit all the required forms. I still don’t know exactly what I missed or how it went wrong. That was the last time I used the Internet for something that would have been better handled by a live professional.
Call it a bias, but this story illustrates how I feel about shopping for insurance on the Internet.
The Internet isn’t the answer to everything
I’ve been confronted countless times by clients who think they can get a better deal or product online. The Internet is great for research and due diligence, without question, but I will always maintain that professional services require personal service. Why would you want a digital template that is only going to fit you into a box?
When I see people shopping online for insurance, I often see two negative results:
- They get a quote, like it, and book it. However, due to the review process and underwriting, the quote may not be what the company ends up charging. A multitude of variables can change that quote. For example, someone’s motor vehicle record (MVR) or health history may not be reported accurately, leading to a higher charge than was expected.
- Nothing bad happens, an insurance plan is chosen, and all appears to be right in the universe—until the person tries to file a claim and finds out that the situation isn’t covered by that plan.
Whatever the outcome for you, do yourself a favor and call on a professional to assist you in getting the best plan for your specific needs. You’ll be able to avoid these pitfalls, and you’ll have someone there for you who can answer your questions along the way.
One last tip: Ask a few friends or family members for insurance agent recommendations. I’ve found people are very willing to share both horror stories and praise for professional service providers. A personal recommendation is a hundred times more valuable than any online review.
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Thank you for your comment on Insurance Quotes and shopping via the Internet!
I did it by mistake one time and they hounded me daily. All making big promises. The worst was an agent showed up at the house without calling. I had just got over having Triple Bypass Surgery and I had at the time a problem with the neighbors water flooding my yard, driveway and garage. This agent offered to come back in the afternoon and put some caulking in the area I was trying to stop the main leak until the City could take a look at it. He did not make it back but called me everyday for 4 weeks with a promise to insure my cars for $1200 a year and my two houses for $600 a piece with a liability of 100,000, 500,000. Well each time he called or dropped by without my permission the price went up. I had told him do not come by, call me, Fax me, email me. I do not want your Insurance. What ever YOU DO… DO not make the mistake I did. Robert.
Thank you robert, for your comment. That sounds terrible especially given trying to recover from a serious operation.
Hope you are well!
Robert, OH MY! I’m so sorry to hear about your operation. Hope you are recovering nicely. And sorry to hear about experience. Thank you for posting. We appreciate it!
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Interesting piece of information. I find it to be honest, useful and fresh so thanks for posting.
While traditionally, insurance quotes and premiums were given in person taking into consideration all the variables, insurance companies have gone high-tech and are now offering online auto insurance quotes for the convenience of the customers. Many variables are at work when a company decides what premium rates to charge or what exclusions it will set in or what specific make model will be excluded. The kind of variations and dynamics at work in auto-insurance quotes calculation makes it a tedious job if such a thing has to be incorporated into online auto insurance quote calculators.
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