How to Compare Different Car Insurance Policies

Is it your first time getting car insurance for yourself or your child? It’s natural for you to have a million questions, including how to find out which car insurance policy is best for you. The easiest way to determine that is to compare different car insurance policies. Feel free to shop around for different policies and take into account what they offer. Then, look at them side to side using our easy checklist!

1.    Auto Insurance Quotes- this is perhaps the first thing you should look at closely. How much is each company charging you for your car insurance? Are you getting cheap auto insurance or do you have to pay a lot? Check which insurance company is able to give you the lowest rate from the get-go, and then see what they offer in exchange for this low rate. When you compare auto insurance quotations side by side, it will be easy to see which one is offering you a better deal.

2.    Financial Stability- the next thing you want to look at is the financial stability of each company you are considering getting insurance from. Think about this: how can they give you great insurance if they don’t have the money to pay for your possible car repairs? To do this, you can visit websites that specialize in rating different insurance agencies. This is the usual rating system:

• A+ or A++ (Superior Rating) - 1 in over 1600 companies in this bracket are expected to go out of business.

• A or A- (Excellent Rating) - 1 in about 500 classified under here are expected to go out of business
• B++ or B+ (Good Rating) - 1 in 133 in this group of companies is expected to go out of business

• B or B- (Fair) - 1 in 48 can be expected to go out of business
• C++ and beyond - companies classified here as seen as marginal, week and poor.
• Other - If you see a rating beginning in NR it may mean that the company has not been classified; you may always look up on the legend to see the reason why.

Ideally, you will want to pick an insurance company that has a grade ranging from B+ to A++

3.    Level and Quality of Service- The final thing you should look at is the quality of service of the insurance companies you are considering getting car insurance from. A great way to do this is to actually try calling them, and getting a feel of their customer service. Are they nice? Are they rude? Were they helpful in assisting you, answering questions and explaining things you may not be clear on? How long was the hold time?

Again, the actual experience you have with these companies’ customer service representatives is a true reflection of the kind of service you will receive from them, should you pick their policy and their company.

By looking at these 3 factors, you should be able to determine which car insurance policy best suits you and your needs. Choose wisely, and keep tabs on these factors, so you get a car insurance policy that you are absolutely happy with.

Sam Briones writes for SafeAuto, covering an array of topics from finding cheap auto insurance to safety tips.