Avoiding Scams When Looking For Car Insurance Rate Quotes
The Internet is perhaps the best and most efficient tool you can use when shopping for car insurance rate quotes. With the plethora of comparison websites available, you can instantly receive multiple car insurance quotes from several companies.
Unfortunately, there are malicious individuals who are taking advantage of this highly impersonal, virtual marketplace through car insurance scams. To protect yourself and your hard earned money, you must be a vigilant shopper armed with the right information in order to avoid these potential car insurance scams.
To avoid being scammed when shopping for auto insurance rate quotes, only deal with reputable car insurance companies. Scammers are small-scale companies that are almost impossible to trace due to the absence of a physical location. When browsing through car insurance companies online, check if an office address and viable contact numbers are available. Feel free to give them a call. Talk with a representative and ask as many questions as you can. If you cannot get through or if the number is not in service, this should already alarm you.
In addition, take time to read reviews before making a commitment to a company. Complaints about companies are easy to find. Simply look them up on a search engine and any complaints said or filed against them will be listed. You may also check consumer protection and government websites. Take time to also check websites that publish the rankings or financial ratings of car insurance companies. These ratings are good indicators of the ability of the company to finance insurance claims.
It is the aim of scammers to take advantage of your desire to find affordable rates. Thus, they will attempt to lure you in by offering a low insurance rate. If you purchase the policy, you will then be informed months later that there was an error or that the low quote was just an introductory rate. You will then be charged with a much higher rate.
To protect yourself, always do comparison shopping. Go over all the car insurance quotes you have gathered and do your research to see if there are hidden fees.
Comparison shopping does not mean looking into all insurance companies that you stumble upon online. Do not act on the spam emails you receive. Scams tend to be advertised through spam so better use the search engine instead.
An important method you should use to avoid scams is to ask for referrals. Ask your family and friends about their past and current experiences with their car insurance providers. You may approach body shops as well since they constantly deal with car insurance companies. They can suggest which companies are the best in the business.
