Car Insurance Comparison
Last Updated on August 8, 2023
We can all agree on one thing – shopping for auto insurance can be a drag. Researching your insurance options, talking to multiple agents, making phone calls, and reading countless company reviews can really eat away at your time. If you are like most people and would rather not waste your time doing this tedious “leg work,” you’ve come to the right place. Insurance Panda will do all this heavy lifting for you with its car insurance comparison engine.
Table of Contents:
- How Do I Compare Car Insurance Plans?
- Why You Need Car Insurance
- Factors That Will Affect Your Insurance Rates
- How to Start Comparing Rates
How Do I Compare Car Insurance Plans?
The best way to approach comparing car insurance rates is to get quotes from several different companies and then compare them against each other.
The step-by-step process to do this includes the following:
- Get quotes from different companies using a quote comparison service (such as our own).
- Compare, contrast, and research each company to make sure it is reputable.
- Make sure each quote is for the same coverage or at least a comparable auto insurance plan.
- Look at the fine print of each policy.
- Think about how much insurance coverage you need.
- Sign up for coverage.
Step 1 – Compare Quotes
There are many different quote comparison engines out there, including Insurance Panda. To use our website to compare quotes, simply enter your zip code into the quote box above. After filling out some brief information about yourself and your vehicle, you will be given quotes from several different companies, allowing you to choose the provider that suits you best. Click here for more information on how to use Insurance Panda.
Step 2 – Research Each Company
As with every other type of product or service out there, auto insurance policies also vary from company to company and plan to plan. You can’t just pick the cheapest plan you are presented with and think you are adequately insured. Doing so could cause many financial and legal problems down the road.
Look at ratings from places like AM Best, Consumer Reports, and JD Power and Associates to view company ratings from objective sources. You can also read customer reviews online by doing a quick Google search for the company you are interested in (i.e., “GEICO reviews”). Finally, word of mouth is also a good indicator of how reputable a company is. If your friends and family all recommend a company, it might be one worth considering.
Step 3 – Make Sure You Are Comparing Similar Plans
Sure, everybody wants to get the best price possible. And while finding cheap auto insurance is recommended, we can’t really suggest that you sacrifice good coverage for the price. This is why you need to compare rates from a few different insurance providers side by side to see not only the price differences but the coverage differences as well. Sometimes, these coverage differences can make a huge difference.
For example, one company might give you a $50 per month quote for coverage, which sounds great, but after looking closely, you discover the deductible to be over $1000 per accident. Another company might give you a higher rate but with a lower deductible and higher policy limits.
If you are looking at companies side by side to choose the better one, make sure you are also comparing similar auto insurance policies.
Step 4 – Read the Fine Print
Even if you find two similar policies from two different auto insurance companies, you still might have to read the fine print to see if there are any add-ons or exclusions.
If you are comparing two policies that both offer the state minimum limits in your state, for example, they might look the same on the surface. If you dig deeper, however, you might see that one of the policies offers free towing and labor. The other policy does not have free towing and labor, but it does offer free new car replacement coverage.
While these add-ons might not be that important to you, they might end up being the deciding factor if you are comparing two extremely similar policies.
Step 5 – Determine How Much Coverage You Need
When comparing quotes, it’s easy to try and get the most bang for your buck. However, you have to think about how much coverage you actually need. Each state has its own coverage requirements. These limits can give you a foundation for the minimum amount of coverage you need. If you have a new car, however, you might want to get extra coverage. If you have substantial assets worth protecting, you also might want to buy more coverage.
Think about your vehicle and your personal situation before you sign up for an auto insurance policy. If you have no idea what limits you should set, this guide will help you determine how much coverage you actually need.
Step 6 – Sign Up for Coverage
Once you’ve decided on an insurance provider, it’s time to start your policy. Nowadays, activating an auto insurance policy can be done immediately. Simply call the insurance agent, submit payment for the first month of coverage, and download your insurance cards.
Why You Need Car Insurance
You might be wondering why all this is necessary. Can’t you just go without insurance?
In the United States, if you want to drive, having auto insurance is required by law. Not having the required insurance minimums for your vehicle can create a bunch of unwanted trouble. This is why everybody needs to be insured. Not only will it protect you financially, but it is also against the law not to have it.
Unfortunately, despite the legal requirement to be insured, 1 in 7 US drivers still drives without insurance. If you get into an accident with one of these uninsured drivers and you don’t have adequate coverage, you will most likely have to pay for damages to your vehicle out of pocket. This is because recouping losses from an uninsured driver is very difficult. Many of them are not even citizens, let alone have adequate assets to cover the damage.
To make sure you get adequate insurance coverage at a rate you can afford, you need to compare insurance quotes.
Factors That Will Affect Your Insurance Rates
As already stated above, different policies, limits, coverage types, etc. will all obviously have different prices. The same coverage plans will also have different prices depending on which insurance company you look at. For example:
- Insurance Company A will give you your state minimum liability coverage, collision coverage, and comprehensive coverage with a $5000 deductible for $120/month
- Insurance Company B will provide you with your state minimum liability coverage, collision coverage, and comprehensive coverage with a $5000 deductible for $105/month
There are many reasons for the price disparities. Some insurance companies might have different resources, different promotions, or calculate rates based on different data sets. This is why comparing different companies side-by-side is so essential.
Besides insurance company differences, the make and model of your car will play a huge role in determining your insurance rates. Drive a newer, safer car, and your rates will be lower. Drive an old clunker with horrible vehicle history, and you can expect to be paying through the roof.
Your personal history is also important to look at. Is your driving history less than stellar? Do you have a lot of accidents? Have you gotten a lot of speeding tickets or other traffic violations? How about your credit score? Does it need improvement? These are some questions that you need to ask yourself because these are things that insurance companies will definitely be looking at.
After you start comparing car insurance policies and getting your quotes, you need to ask about the discounts and promotions that are available to you. There are discounts out there for just about everything under the sun: student discounts, elderly discounts, non-frequent driver discounts, military discounts, police/firefighter discounts, etc.
Ask your insurance agent for discounts and do a bit of research on all of the car insurance discounts available out there before you sign your name on that policy.
Final Word – How to Start Comparing Car Insurance Rates
As a consumer, whenever you do any product comparison, you need to do it thoroughly. You need to know your product, know the competition, and understand your needs and wants. You then need to evaluate all the options to make the best choice. When it comes to auto insurance, Insurance Panda has already gathered all the information you need to look at for you already.
After you feel you are sufficiently educated on how you can save on auto insurance, you might as well start comparing quotes. As stated above, you’ve come to the right place. Insurance Panda’s goal is to make comparing insurance quotes simple and easy. Our slogan is that we make insurance “black and white.” It’s no longer a confusing topic. To get insurance quotes presented to you in a simple, easy-to-understand fashion, start by getting quotes from us.
Scroll back up to the top of this page and enter your zip code to begin. After entering your zip code and filling out our form above, you will be presented with a list of coverage options from the top car insurance providers.
