With the high number of insurance companies and their serious marketing strategies, finding the perfect insurance company to cover you may be challenging. However, when you know how to hunt for the right insurance company, it becomes a lot easier. Here are the steps to help you find insurance companies that are right for you.
7 Steps to Find Suitable Insurance Companies
1. Assess Your Needs
The first step is to assess your insurance needs. They will determine the kind of insurance companies you will go for in your search. Is it car insurance or health insurance you are looking for? Beyond the type of insurance, what kind of liability coverage do you need? Having a clear picture of how exactly you want to be covered in case need arises will help you in making the decision.
2. Prepare a List of Insurance Companies
You can now delve into the search. Start with local insurance companies that you can find in a local phone book. These will be listed under insurance and in local searches online. Next, include national insurance companies on your list. You will easily come across them using search engines like Google, Yahoo, or any other search engine. You can narrow down your search by typing in the specific type of insurance you need.
3. Assess the List
It is now time to start filtering through your list. You can assess them based on the following key aspects of insurance companies:
- Financial Solidity—according to independent rating agencies, is the company financially stable?
- Licensing—are they licensed to operate within your state or sell the type of insurance you need?
- Service—are they responsive and do they offer high-quality customer service?
- Comfort—do you feel comfortable being covered by them?
Using these questions, you can narrow down your list to about five companies. If the list is shorter, get online and come up with more potential insurers and assess them.
4. Request Quotes
Now, you can check their pricing. Go ahead and get quotes from each of them on the list you narrowed down to in the above step. You can find the quote request form on their website or give them a call. When you receive the quotes, compare them. It is important to note that the focus should not be on finding the cheapest but rather the best cover at the most reasonable price. What are their coverage limits? Do they offer any additional services that you need? What exactly is covered?
5. Consumer Complaints Check
What the companies promise is not enough; do they deliver? You can find this out by checking consumer complaints that have been filed against them. It is easy to get this information from BBB (Better Business Bureau), your state Division of Insurance, or online reviews. Complaints give you a clearer picture of how you will be handled.
6. Choose the Best 3 and Contact Them
At this point, you can choose the best three insurance companies that have met the above criteria. Give them a call and raise any question and concerns you have. Make sure there is clarity in the coverage and policies at this stage. Are you comfortable with the agent?
7. Make a Decision
You can now choose the best insurance company for you. Just remember to go over every detail and what it means before you sign up with them.
Featured Image: depositphotos/ keport
