How to Find the Best Auto Insurance Rate With the Best Company

Most of us are looking for the best auto insurance rates with a top rated insurance company. But how do you find it without spending half your life visiting insurance offices or talking to agents. This article shows you a quick and easy way.

How do I get the best auto insurance rate?

As a former insurance agent I get asked this question all the time, and each time my answer is the same: "Shop and compare."

The only way to know if you're getting the best car insurance rate for your particular situation is to comparison shop, and the best way to do that is to fire up your computer and shop online.

There are a number of sites where you can get auto insurance rates from A-rated companies, and it only takes a couple of minutes to get multiple quotes from a number of top companies so you can compare rates. (See links below.)

When you go to one of those sites you'll be asked a series of questions in order to tailor the quotes to your particular situation. Some things you want to consider in order to get the best auto insurance rate are:

* Dropping your collision and comprehensive coverage - If you have a older car that's not worth a lot, you may want to drop your collision and comprehensive coverage. A good rule of thumb is if your annual premium for your collision and comprehensive insurance exceeds 10% of your car's value, consider dropping them.

* Raising your deductible - If you make a lot of small insurance claims, your insurance company may cancel your insurance. So raising your deductible by a couple of hundred dollars will not only save you hundreds of dollars a year on your insurance premium, it may also save you from having your insurance canceled.

* Adding security devices - Insurance companies will give you discounts for installing anti-theft devices and auto alarms. Installing these devices not only saves you money, it will give you peace of mind knowing that your car is less likely to be stolen.

How do I know the company I pick is a good company?

Insurance companies are rated by various independent organizations like A.M. Best, Standard and Poor's, and Moodys. Unfortunately you have to subscribe to their service to get their information, and they only rate companies primarily on financial criteria and not customer experience.

If you want to get the inside scoop to find out which companies have the best service and pay insurance claims the quickest, surf over to epinions.com. Here you'll get consumer ratings and reviews from actual customers who've used a company's services. Believe me, it can be a real eye opener.