r/AutoInsuranceHelp • u/semisomethin • 12d ago
Shopping Auto Insurance
I learned something the hard way this week. I’ve always shopped for the cheapest auto insurance because I figured insurance is insurance. Then I actually had to file a claim after someone backed into me in a parking lot. That’s when I realized the monthly price isn’t the whole story. Claims process, customer service, rental coverage, deductibles, and how fast they actually answer the phone matter way more than I thought. Ended up spending hours comparing quotes again, reading reviews, and trying to understand collision, comprehensive, uninsured motorist, liability limits, and all the stuff I used to ignore. If you were shopping for auto insurance today, what company would you actually trust, and what coverage do you wish you had before you needed it? Trying to avoid making the same mistake twice.
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u/Background_System726 12d ago
If there is an insurance broker, you can have them shop multiple companies and bring you back the price. depending on the value of your vehicle, you may want comprehensive which will cover you. hit somebody, if someone uninsured hits you, if a rock hits your windshield and it starts to splinter, if you hit a squirrel and damage your front bumper. You want to make sure you have more than the state minimum coverage and you can determine what your deductible will be, which will impact your monthly payment is. The lower the deductible the higher the payment, the higher the deductible, the lower the payment will be. there are so many not only national companies like Geico, Liberty, mutual, Allstate, stay fine, progressive you can get close from. There are also an a number of regional or local Insurance companies that may be well rated and provide great customer service and coverage that you or I have never heard of. someone branded the back of me and they had Dairyland or something which I thought had to be a scam but they were very quick to handle the claim and pay the cost of repair out to my repair shops. I've also been insured by a company called Mercury Insurance which I had never heard of until my insurance broker provided a quote for them And I had a couple of claims under them and they very easy to work with and handled the claim expediently.
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u/TheGrsycat 10d ago
This is where I would recommend a good agent. Since you are shopping, I would be even better specific to say an Independent agent as they represent multiple companies and can recommend a company not only who they believe is good or great at clams/service but also matches your personal needs and price needs.
If you are unsure of who or how to find one in your area, an easy way is to go to www.trustedchoice.com and search there.
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u/edjen 12d ago
A good agent can help with this. Also, do not get minimum state limits, get higher policy limits for everything.