Spending 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance. We've heard it a 1,000,000 times. It's the new "got milk". Hey, I get it! Nowadays we have the desire to have everything we want – yesterday. Even car insurance quotes. Which is why we are all seeing commercials claiming that they only need 7 1/2 minutes of your time to save you money on your auto insurance.
We had to get to the bottom of this! Could they really cut the time spent shopping online for car insurance in half aaannndd save you money?
So on November 18th, I shopped online for car insurance. And I timed it.
Here are my results:
I went to ESurance, the latest time-saving company, claiming that in only 7 1/2 minutes they could save me and you money on car insurance. At first look, I was impressed. I gave them my name and address and then they asked me a series of questions to determine if I would qualify for any discounts – one of which included if I had a PayPal account, which I am still scratching my head about. Finally I was asked about my current policy. After this I received my quote – $75.41 a month.
But I then had to go through each of the default coverages and select what I really needed. For example, they automatically gave me state minimum on my liability ($25K/$50K/$25k) and a $500 glass deductible. (No thanks ESurance.) Then I had to add coverage for Medical Payments and Rental Reimbursement. (Yes, please.) When I quoted, my new total was $85.48 a month.
So I kept going. I was then asked to fill in my wife's drivers license number, which took a few minutes to locate. A few more clicks and I was at the purchase page. It was then that I saw it – this quote was for a 6 month policy. So my seemingly inexpensive quote of $85.48 a month, now just came out to $127 more than what I am currently paying per year for my policy with MetLife Auto and Home. (Annnnd here is the kicker, this whole process took just over 13 minutes – and I work in insurance!)
Bottom line? I spent more time than what was promised, I had to double check everything that was quoted to make sure I was correctly protected, and I would have ended up paying more money had I proceeded with their quote.
Yikes! Personally, I'm offended with ESurance and every other click-and-quote insurance company out there. I shouldn't be hurried to complete a quote for car insurance. I personally want to know that I can talk to someone who can explain the coverages to me (not click on a pop-up for clarification), someone who will take the time to get to know me and my needs (like how I don't want to pay to replace a cracked windshield), and someone who will walk me through the process every step of the way (to give me the peace of mind I deserve). I want to have the peace of mind that if a claim happens, I'm covered. No surprises, no hidden deductibles, no coverage restrictions. Is that asking too much?
So before you jump online to buy your next car insurance policy, give your local insurance agent a call. They can shop numerous different insurance companies for you and will look out for you and your families interest. They'll take the time that you deserve.
Written by Financial Insurance Services on Nov 19, 2014