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TwitterI’m about to get a car, and i’m thinking about car insurance. The thing is, I don’t know whether should i go to an insurance broker, or just shop around doing all these web quotes and find the cheapest out there and call them directly. Should i just do this or should i contact an insurance broker? What are the pros and cons of dealing w/ insurance broker? thanks
Car insurance broker or direct to insurance company?
February 23rd, 2010 6 Comments
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A broker represents more than one company. He works for you, not the insurance companies, and is paid a commission from the different companies. Dealing with a broker means you have a person you have met that you can contact in the event of a claim, questions, changes, etc. Direct writers work for the company, not you, and a web sale means you have nobody to deal with except a call centre.
i dealt with the insurance brokers and it was a bad experience for me, never returned my calls so now I’m considering just doing it straight with the insurance company, so i could go straight with the company and not deal with incompetent people, not that every broker is like that just the one i dealt with.
I would avoid a broker (someone who sells multiple insurance companies policies) and go to the insurance company itself OR to an agent that only sells that brand of insurance. In my experience, brokers are not very reliable in processing payments or turning in claims and they do not know the contents of the policy they are selling, whereas if you deal direct with the insurance company you’re life is easier (especially when making/tracking payments and reporting claims) and you’re dealing with someone who is knowledgeable in what your policy will/will not cover. Your insurance premium is the same whether you go direct to the company or thru a broker. Also, brokers generally ’shop’ your insurance application to multiple insurance companies to see “who will give you the better rate,” but what they’re really doing is looking to see who pays them the most commission–sorta like how car dealerships shop your credit app around to see who is going to give THEM the better kickback off your interest rate. When you go direct to the source YOU choose who your insurance company will be and what you’re going to pay. Many companies give online quotes so just there.
U should go thru a broker as he will help u in many ways like suggest you the best policy. He will help u in fixing claims also. But if u go directly to the co. U will have to enquire everything by urself.
& yes the agent can explain u the policies of different cos. also so that u can choose the best.
Try on this site it will help u a lot
lnk.in/54fh
With all due respect to Bundysmom (who is normally dead on with claim/accident answers) I believe you are better off going through a broker.
If you deal direct with a company or one of their “captive agents” (an agent who only reps 1 insurance company) you end up with no comparison shopping at all. I can’t agree with that on any level. Auto insurance is a product like anything else and most people try to get the best value for everything they purchase and insurance should be the same way.
A broker or independent agent will be able to give you quotes from many different companies showing the difference in prices.
Sure some brokers are idiots and crooks but so are captive agents. The best advice I can give you is to go to an agent that is recommended by a relative or friend.
My agent is the daughter of the agent my father used, so I had a great recommendation about the agent and I would never consider buying direct off the internet. I get good service and advice and she does a great job of checking with me to see if I NEED additional coverages. A captive agent can do that for you also but without the ability to provide comparison prices.
Try to avoid buying direct online without an agent unless you are knowledgeable about insurance coverages. Last week there was a person on this site who bought a policy online but didn’t do it correctly and had an accident and found out the hard way that they did not purchase collision coverage so now they have car payments on what has become a giant paperweight.
Be careful and good luck.
Brokers often get to deal with several different insurance companies. Although they might try to quote you from the insurance company that they get the maximum commissions from (that is human nature !). But if you know exactly what you want, a broker has still a vested interest in finding you that exact product. So, if you are sure and experienced, a broker works best!!