Most people today still buy insurance through a broker and assume that they are receiving the best rate the broker can find. Yet there is no need to believe that that is in fact the case and it is easy to find cheap insurance rates yourself. With respect to insurance brokers, there are many cases where collusion has taken place within the insurance industry. Brokers have sold higher rate insurance policies to naive consumers, where better policies and rates have been easily available. While this is ostensibly illegal, this goes on often within the insurance industry and other industries, where companies pay high commissions or other kickbacks for sales of high cost packages or policies.
The Internet makes it possible for consumers to easily investigate some policy options and cheap insurance rates themselves. Insurance companies easily offer low rates online as there is very little overhead, it’s very easy to offer complete information and the policy can be closed most simply. Yet most people are still leery about even investigating insurance outline. This is unfortunate.
The fact that insurers offer low rates online is a simple, straightforward reason to at least investigate lowest insurance rates online. Using an insurance broker is becoming more and more an old school concept; this is demonstrably impractical as brokers are only “middle men” who take their cut and drive up the overall cost of the insurance policy.
It is very practical to search for insurance rate deals online for all manner of insurance, including home, health, life, auto and even business insurance.
How do you investigate?
It’s best to use a multi-pronged approach to investigate insurance rate deals online. By that, I mean investigating insurance providers and obtaining quotes through a variety of means:
• Go to insurers’ websites, where they offer quotes along with deep, additional information. You can purchase direct from the vast majority of companies.
• Third party comparison sites: these have many advantages but they open you up to a variety of options you may not have been aware of. You may not know of significant companies or policy options available to you until you investigate thoroughly. Third party comparison sites make this easy.
• Insurer to Agent – Insurers’ websites present quotes then direct you to an agent search where you can find a local agent. This informs you of the base cost although you do end up paying an agent as a middle man.