Reader question:

How do I pick the right auto insurance company?

Manuel

Fantastic question.

I think I am probably very annoying in the fact that whenever I buy something big, I do a bunch of research about it and then make a list of questions, which I then hammer the salesperson with. However, when you’re spending your money, especially on something like an auto insurance company, then I think it’s better to be annoying than forgettable. If you really want to get the most quality auto insurance company while you are shopping around, then not only do you have to look at things such as the quotes, but you also have to learn to ask questions, and the rights ones. Here are some questions to bring along for your trip to the office.

• When you file a claim after a collision, does an adjuster come to your house to examine the car, or do you have to take it to the car body shop to get it looked at first?
• What sorts of repair shops are on the auto insurance company’s recommendation list that are within a short distance of your home?
• When your car is getting fixed and a part needs to be replaced, will they use aftermarket or OEM?
• Once everything concerning your claims process is done, how much time does it take for you to get your check?
• If your car is getting fixed up, what sort of rental do you get to drive in the meantime? Are rentals even provided?
• If you go for a long time without having to make any car insurance claims, do you get any kind of discount?

Before you even go into the office, though, you should do some initial research. First, of course, comes the gathering of several instant auto insurance quotes online. Once you have at least a dozen of these, pick companies out of them and go find out what they’re about and if they are stable enough financially to handle the claims that come at them. To do this, you can go check out Standard & Poor’s websites, which deals with financial ratings for companies.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.