Where To Buy Auto Insurance Online
June 21, 2009 by Matt Hellstrom
Filed under Auto Insurance
The web changed the way we shop for car insurance. We used to take a walk through the Yellow Pages. Sometimes an agent or broker would actually come to our home in hopes of lining us up for the full package of insurance products: life, automobile and home. But those days are long gone when it comes to vehicle insurance. Like electricity and water, vehicle insurance has become a regular commodity. Once the first broker put an Instant Quote feature for car insurance up on its website, the game was over. Now the majority of us get quotes on the internet, even if we don’t actually buy auto insurance.
Vehicle insurance companies, in fact, viewed a customer coming over from a competitor with suspicion and as a matter of policy would double check the new applicant’s vital info on the suspicion the person had some type of outstanding matter that was behind the switch. That perspective has changed.
The relevant info for the actuarial process to occur is now common knowledge. Online auto insurance brokers had no choice but to reveal the inner workings of the process if they wanted to be able to present instant quotes for online auto insurance.
One of the nicest things about buying auto insurance online is the way it lets you compare rates for full coverage versus just getting liability. This is particularly significant for those who live in so-called ‘no fault’ insurance’ jurisdictions.
No-fault insurance, in its broad sense, describes an insurance policy that says the insurance company agrees to pay the policy holder’s losses regardless of who is at fault. Basically, a policyholder and any passengers in the policy holder’s vehicle are reimbursed for losses in a traffic accident by the policyholder’s insurer without reference to whose fault the accident was.
For good drivers, the no-fault insurance program is manifestly unfair. Nevertheless, variations on this theme prevail in 12 of the United States, Puerto Rico and four Canadian provinces. Do note that the phrase ‘no-fault’ is also used as a synonym for ‘first-party coverage.’ First Party coverage refers to any insurance contract in which the policyholder is indemnified against losses by their own insurance company, not the insurance company of the party who caused the loss (unless it was their own fault, of course).
Under the no-fault scenario, carrying collision insurance becomes a money losing proposition as the car ages. That is to say, why make a claim that is going to up your insurance rates for at least seven years? The damage would have be extensive to justify the claim. The nice thing about instant quotes online is that you can find out when your car has crossed that threshold age-wise. Using this feature, you can make a determination as to the best rates when you buy auto insurance online.
