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07-04-2008, 09:02 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hampton Cove, Huntsville, AL
11,518 posts, read 10,631,576 times
Reputation: 2929
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Online Insurance shopping questions
Any recommendations for searching for a combined home/auto quote online without being contacted by agents? Ideally, plug in basic info: zip, street name (if known), size, building type, age, automobile information, and other typical insurance questionnaire data to receive ballpark figures instantly online? I tried several and the first thing I am asked for is my email; I don't want that.
I don't know of any combined search tools and that would be good because when you bundle auto and home you often get a discount. Just because Company A is cheaper for home and Company B is cheaper for auto doesn't mean Company C wouldn't be cheaper with a bundled policy.
Even if this isn't possible and I have to search separately, is there a search tool which provides general rate information online instantly (at least ballpark figures for comparison purposes) without me having to provide contact information? If so, then I could get a list of maybe the five cheapest home and also the five cheapest auto and see if there are any in common and then consider that common company for a bundled package.
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07-09-2008, 09:21 AM
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Junior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2008
6 posts, read 4,968 times
Reputation: 12
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Online Insurance Quote
Insurance works differently than the average public thinks. In most states now, insurance premium is based largely on your credit score so there is no way to "Ball Park" the premium since credit scores are individualized. If you choose not to provide a social security # and allow them to retrieve an insurance score which includes your credit score than you will be quoted using a flat score that limits credits. If you have good credit than you are paying more, if you have bad credit than this may be the cheaper way to go.
I do not recommend online insurance unless you have insurance experience, that being said, try someone like esurance, Progressive Direct or AIG direct for quotes. Otherwise I would contact a local independent agent for multiple quotes.
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07-09-2008, 06:55 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hampton Cove, Huntsville, AL
11,518 posts, read 10,631,576 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Croft11161974
If you choose not to provide a social security # and allow them to retrieve an insurance score which includes your credit score than you will be quoted using a flat score that limits credits.
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I don't understand this sentence. If I chose not to provide a SSN and they quote me an insurance "score" which includes my credit score....I'm confused...I will be quoted a flat score that limits credits...What does this all mean? |
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07-09-2008, 07:23 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2007
844 posts, read 474,356 times
Reputation: 299
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles
Any recommendations for searching for a combined home/auto quote online without being contacted by agents? Ideally, plug in basic info: zip, street name (if known), size, building type, age, automobile information, and other typical insurance questionnaire data to receive ballpark figures instantly online? I tried several and the first thing I am asked for is my email; I don't want that.
I don't know of any combined search tools and that would be good because when you bundle auto and home you often get a discount. Just because Company A is cheaper for home and Company B is cheaper for auto doesn't mean Company C wouldn't be cheaper with a bundled policy.
Even if this isn't possible and I have to search separately, is there a search tool which provides general rate information online instantly (at least ballpark figures for comparison purposes) without me having to provide contact information? If so, then I could get a list of maybe the five cheapest home and also the five cheapest auto and see if there are any in common and then consider that common company for a bundled package.
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I can't help with the computer mechanics of refining a search tool. What I can say is that if you are looking for a totally anonymus method of on-line insurance, unless you are really skilled in the technical aspects of insurance and really understand what you have, hope you never have to file a claim through some anonymus claim system not knowing what the "system" is looking for.
What I'm saying is that you should identify one or two long lived insurance agencies who handle multiple insurers, develop a relationship, and really find out what your needs are.
I do not sell insurance so I have no agenda, but I certainly would not consider business or personal insurance of any kind by trying to suff the internet to find "the best price".
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07-09-2008, 07:31 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hampton Cove, Huntsville, AL
11,518 posts, read 10,631,576 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UpperPeninsulaRon
hope you never have to file a claim through some anonymus claim system not knowing what the "system" is looking for.
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I have no desired to buy a policy from a firm with an anonymous claim system....not sure where that idea came from. Just looking for an tool to get general combined quotes from normal insurance companies. Don't want to be hassled by salesmen.
I want to go to a web page, type in my insurance needs (house information, deductibles, vehicle types, etc), press a button, and get a table with three sortable columns. Someone wrote this could be credit score dependent; OK, I know my credit score, ideally there would be a place to enter that too.
You can buy cars, computers online with configurators. Why not insurance? I can do anything an insurance salesman can do. All they are doing is accessing databases. That's all I want. |
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07-10-2008, 08:58 AM
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Junior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2008
4 posts, read 2,288 times
Reputation: 10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles
I have no desired to buy a policy from a firm with an anonymous claim system....not sure where that idea came from. Just looking for an tool to get general combined quotes from normal insurance companies. Don't want to be hassled by salesmen.
I want to go to a web page, type in my insurance needs (house information, deductibles, vehicle types, etc), press a button, and get a table with three sortable columns. Someone wrote this could be credit score dependent; OK, I know my credit score, ideally there would be a place to enter that too.
You can buy cars, computers online with configurators. Why not insurance? I can do anything an insurance salesman can do. All they are doing is accessing databases. That's all I want.
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What you're asking for just isn't possible.
Most insurers don't really use your credit score per se. They use your credit information (amount of credit used, whether you have a mortgage, defaults, etc) to create their own proprietary credit score, which may not look much like the credit score you are used to seeing. This is done because your traditional credit score measures the probability of default, whereas insurers want a credit score which measures probability of incurring a claim.
In addition, in order to quote multiple insurers simultaneously, agents have what are known as comparative raters. These can be quite expensive to get a subscription to (sometimes you have to pay for each insurer you want to put on it). Also, they contain quotes only from insurers which operate through an independent agency system (e.g. Progressive). They would not get quotes for those operating through an exclusive agency distribution (e.g. Allstate, State Farm) or directly (e.g. Esurance).
You will usually be able to get the best price from going to an independent agent, simply because of the number of different insurers you can get quotes from. The internet may also offer deals because the costs of distribution are lower, since no commissions need to be paid to agents.
Hope this helps.
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07-10-2008, 12:09 PM
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Dreaming of Californication
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Somewhere in Sopranoland
608 posts, read 364,137 times
Reputation: 133
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11-14-2008, 07:02 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hampton Cove, Huntsville, AL
11,518 posts, read 10,631,576 times
Reputation: 2929
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcian
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It wasn't obvious if this tool above provided quotes for combined auto and homeowners. Does it? |
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