Many people these days are using the Internet to purchase their insurance needs such as auto insurance. Majority of them believed that doing so will save the money because insurance companies no longer have to pay for additional personnel, or rent an office space to facilitate the transactions. With this assumption, it is only appropriate for the insurance companies to offer their products at a much lower rate.
However, the science of insurance is more than the personnel requirements or the office space stuffs, and regardless of how cheaper insurance policies may seem to be online, there are instances that buying insurance policies off-line may prove to be beneficial.
Getting some advice
Most of the time, if you buy your insurance policy online, you will be presented with the minimum liability coverage that is required by your state, a few buying options, and the recommended levels. Unfortunately, no one is going to explain to you if some of these terms are completely new to you. Of course, there are always the e-mails, phone calls, online chats, but usually the advice ends up there. If you are generous and willing to spend your time on research, you can always find the information pretty much easy. On the other hand, if you choose the conventional way, that is scheduling an appointment from the agent, you can ask him to explain to you any puzzled terms, ask for multiple insurance quotations from different companies, and other matters that may influence your buying decisions. And since these people are knowledgeable in this field, the advice you get from them is valuable.
Discounted rates
It is also possible to avail of insurance discounts by requesting the agent to review your account and find out what particular type of discounts you could qualify. Popular forms of discounts include good driver discounts, loyalty discounts, group or organization discounts, etc. Your insurance agent knows much more about you and your situation, as compared to a comparison website that only depends on the information you supplied.
If you choose to buy online insurance, you are required to fill out an online form which the insurance company will use as a basis should you qualify for a discount or not. In the case of group insurance discount, you may need to list down all the organizations that you are a member of. It is a bit harder to determine which of these organizations will get you the discounted rates. In the case of an insurance agent, you will know the answers right away.
Focus and attention
Obviously, there is no personal contact or relationship if you buy your insurance policy online as compared with insurance agents. This might also be the case when filing an insurance claim wherein your insurance agent is made available in a matter of hours, whereas if you buy online, you may have to wait for a couple of more hours before getting the needed attention.
Lastly, if you need something such as you want to buy a rider policy or want to make some necessary changes to your policy, all you have to do is to visit your insurance agent’s office and get timely answers and solutions.
