There is something very fishy going on in the car insurance industry of late. A recent study by a insurance watchdog organization found that of all the different types of insurance products available, car insurance products have the greatest price variance given the same set of variables. To the lay man, if you use the same set of information about your lifestyle, where you park your car, your workplace etc and use that information to get quotes for the same coverage from different companies you will get huge differences in their quotations for car insurance. Sometimes the difference between the lowest to the highest can be as much as 100%. The coverage and risk figures are exactly the same; the only thing that can account for the difference in price is how much money the insurance company wants to make off their clients.
A number of smaller insurance companies have actually decided to use this to their advantage, the have specialized in targeting consumers and offer quotes that are wildly above market rates. They will target certain consumer groups that aren’t particularly savvy when it comes to car insurance needs or those who are plainly too lazy to go for other quotes and are happy to pay the premiums that are over market acceptable rates. This may also be the practice with those who have insurance agents who are supposedly working for their interests. The dodgy car insurance company will offer the agents commission that is above the norm so the insurance agent with direct their clients to their insurance company instead. The insurance agent gets more money and their clients get screwed.
The worst part about this is that the insurance firms that do this aren’t exactly doing anything wrong. They are simply putting up a trap and you are willingly falling inside. There are no laws against it and even the industry watchdogs are turning a blind eye to this practice. If you actually look at it subjectively, the car insurance provider that offers a car insurance quote that is too high compared to industry standards really isn’t doing a crime. It is merely a marketing profiling practice where certain consumers are just happy to pay the extra charges for the ease of not having to look around for other insurance quotations.
This is where the classic saying “buyer beware” comes into its own. Insurance agencies like any other business are a profit making entity and their main aim is naturally to take as much money off your hands without breaking the law. It is the consumer’s own place to say if they are happy with the quotation they receive for their car insurance or if they want to decline it in favor of another better priced alternative. It is understandable that people are too busy these days to fill in the countless forms and liaise with the many different car insurance companies just to get a few quotes. The benefits of doing so however are far greater than the costs. You will understand the car insurance market better and also get a much better deal if you just spend a few extra hours looking around.
Some people will simply stick to their insurance provider year-in year-out just because they are comfortable with their arrangement. Some insurance companies have a policy which increases your premium by a few percent every year. Over a number of years your car insurance policy could have gone up in cost by as much as 50% but you don’t really feel it due to the small incremental percentage increases. It is only when you actually take the step to take the same date that you have and apply for the same insurance coverage with other companies that the differences are highlighted. Even when you already have an on-going insurance policy, there is not reason why you should not be looking around for a better deal with other insurance companies.
As you would have guessed, the morale of the story is to always search around for quotes. This is especially true in the car insurance industry where there are some unsavory practices and unfair treatment for certain types of customers. Besides the point on certain customer profiling, this is an industry where differences in normal car insurance quotes from differing companies can substantially vary.
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