There is Something Strange in the Car Insurance Quotes
There is something very fishy going on in the car insurance industry of late. A recent study by a insurance watchdog organization found that of all the different types of insurance products available, car insurance products have the greatest price variance given the same set of variables. To the lay man, if you use the same set of information about your lifestyle, where you park your car, your workplace etc and use that information to get quotes for the same coverage from different companies you will get huge differences in their quotations for car insurance. Sometimes the difference between the lowest to the highest can be as much as 100%. The coverage and risk figures are exactly the same; the only thing that can account for the difference in price is how much money the insurance company wants to make off their clients.
A number of smaller insurance companies have actually decided to use this to their advantage, the have specialized in targeting consumers and offer quotes that are wildly above market rates. They will target certain consumer groups that aren’t particularly savvy when it comes to car insurance needs or those who are plainly too lazy to go for other quotes and are happy to pay the premiums that are over market acceptable rates. This may also be the practice with those who have insurance agents who are supposedly working for their interests. The dodgy car insurance company will offer the agents commission that is above the norm so the insurance agent with direct their clients to their insurance company instead. The insurance agent gets more money and their clients get screwed.
Just to put this into perspective, this practice of focusing on customers that will pay more for their car insurance needs isn’t exactly wrong. It isn’t illegal and is endorsed by the insurance associations. It is a part of marketing customer profiling and is looked upon favorably by almost everyone in the insurance industry. To them, there is nothing wrong with offering an insurance product with a high quotation. The choice is still up to the consumer if they want to proceed with the offer or not. It certainly isn’t the prerogative of the insurance firm to offer quotes that are market competitive. There is nothing wrong with marketing to consumers who are willing to pay the extra premium for whatever reason.
Being a prudent customer also calls for you to at least get a few quotes from different car insurance companies. We can certainly understand that many people are indeed busy to liaise with the different car insurance companies to obtain quotes however the benefit of doing it (lower quotations and market analysis) far outweigh any inconveniences with filling up forms and calling the insurance company to chase for quotes or verifications.
Some people will simply stick to their insurance provider year-in year-out just because they are comfortable with their arrangement. Some insurance companies have a policy which increases your premium by a few percent every year. Over a number of years your car insurance policy could have gone up in cost by as much as 50% but you don’t really feel it due to the small incremental percentage increases. It is only when you actually take the step to take the same date that you have and apply for the same insurance coverage with other companies that the differences are highlighted. Even when you already have an on-going insurance policy, there is not reason why you should not be looking around for a better deal with other insurance companies.
The morale of the story here is to be prudent not only when looking for a car insurance quote the first time, but also be prudent even if you have and existing policy. Always be on the look-out for better deals on the market. Insurance companies really have very little loyalty to their customers and you should treat them the same way that they treat you. Always be cautious of the price and keep a look-out of changes in policy that should be reflected in the pricing.
It is vitally important that you know what is going on in the car insurance industry. Visit my site at InsuranceRelease.com so you can get the latest quotations for your car insurance and ramblings on the vinetree.
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