Why getting an Anonymous Online Auto Insurance Quote is a waste of time

We have all seen those commercials on TV about getting an anonymous online auto insurance quote. It sounds like a great idea. But in reality, it is really a complete waste of time!

Getting an auto insurance quote online anonymously has major flaws as far as how such a quote is calculated. This article will explain why this is a bad idea….




There are two major shortcomings to getting an anonymous online auto insurance quote:


1. The quote will be very inaccurate.


         By filling out an anonymous auto insurance quote, you’re getting a wide range “guesstimate” at best. And of course, your quoted price will only show the lowest possible price in that guesstimate range….. Without entering personal information about your actual identity, there’s no way for an auto insurance quote to be accurate. This is primary because of two major factors:


A. Credit rating.


     Whether it’s fair or not, 92% of all auto insurance companies use credit as a rating factor to calculate your auto insurance premium. The degree to how much weight credit rating matters varies greatly from one auto insurance company to the next…. With some auto insurance companies, your credit rating is a big deal, to where the company may decline offering coverage to a driver that doesn’t meet their credit standards…. But on the other hand, there are also auto insurance companies that don’t care much about your credit score, if at all. The majority of auto insurance companies fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, as far as how they weigh credit.


Bottom line: Credit matters! There’s no way an auto insurance quote can be accurate if the company doesn’t know someone’s identity.


B. CLUE score.


A CLUE report is your insurance history report. It tabulates your insurance history much like a FICO score tabulates your credit history (or a Motor Vehicle Report reflects your driving history). Like credit history, most auto insurance companies use CLUE reports as a factor to calculate your premium…. Without knowing your identity, an anonymous quote can’t factor this in. So once again, any anonymous quote will likely be inaccurate regarding the CLUE report.


2. The quote will be very inefficient.


     There’s nothing wrong with getting a quote with one auto insurance company at a time. However, it is very inefficient as far as your time is concerned. And because time is a factor, you are also limiting your chances of getting an affordable rate…. You have much faster options as far as shopping around….




Where is the best place to look online for auto insurance?


   
   As mentioned before, quoting with just one company at a time can be very time consuming. Your best bet is to look for independent agents online. That way, you only need to give your quote information once and an agent will do the shopping around for you. This allows you to get quotes from multiple auto insurance companies at a time.




Where not to look: Beware of Lead Generation Sites!


    While looking online for an auto insurance agent/agency, you need to be aware of lead generation sites. Stay away from them! Lead generation sites mimic and look just like that of a real agency website. Only they’re not insurance agents at all! They simply collect your quote information and sell your info to other agents (sometimes dozens of agents). This will cause your phone to ring off the hook!




How to spot a lead generation site


   Any legitimate agent or agency will have their name, address and phone number prominently displayed on their website. A lead generation site may look just like a real agent’s site, except that the agent appears to be anonymous. Having no name, address or phone number is a dead giveaway. So look out for that!


Summary:


  What good is getting an auto insurance quote if it is not accurate? An anonymous quote can be nowhere close to being accurate for reasons I’ve mentioned. Therefore, anonymous quotes are just a big waste of your time.




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