How to Really Get the Best Premium For Your Insurance Needs

This article details the difference in insurance companies and gives the customer some areas in which to look when deciding what to look for when browsing the internet and multiple insurance agencies for the best quotes to fit your insurance needs.

In today's world there are some specific things to notice when you are browsing for an insurance quote. You have your large corporate entities, there are the middle level and private corporations and businesses which are generally an offshoot of the large insurance companies, and finally there are the independent insurance agents who work for themselves or for a small agency. All levels competing for their piece of the pie. Each level has the ability to offer different perks to their clients.

Corporate/Large Insurance Companies

When browsing online for quotes, you very often come across the large corporations first, mostly because they have the sources and the funds to achieve a first, second or third spot on a Google, Bing or MSN web search. These companies are competing with other corporate companies to sell their product to the potential consumer (which is you and me). The best example to explain my point is when you arrive on each insurance company's website; you have to fill out a quote sheet or survey for each company detailing the insurance in which you are interested to receive a price quote specific to that company's product.

Positives of large companies: They can offer very competitive rates; they are easy to find; they have a reputation and name recognition to the consumer.

Negatives of large companies: They only offer rates or polices of their product: They are very impersonal; there is rarely someone to talk to about the insurance without having to deal with the recorded message labyrinth that you get when you call their 1-800 numbers.

Middle Level Companies

The middle level companies, for discussion sake, would be similar to representative at the end of your neighborhood with a corporate name beside theirs on the sign. These are how the large companies get a face to the name of their product. These companies are obviously far more personal, you have the ability to call, or stop in to say hi to an agent, which gives the customer a sense of security to know they can always find someone to answer questions they may have.

Positives of middle level companies: They are easy to find; they have a reputation and name recognition which is comforting for the consumer; they have the personal aspect, in which you can speak with an agent face to face; they offer similar rates to what you would find searching online

Negatives of middle level companies: Not always, but very often these companies also only sell insurance for one company and can only offer policies for their product.

Independent Agents

And finally there are the independent agents or small private companies. These are agents who have decided to stay independent of the corporate world and tackle the insurance world on their own. These agents have the ability to make a living by offering some perks that the large and middle level companies very often cannot. By staying independent, they are free of having to sell product for one company. They have the ability to go across corporate lines and sell products for multiple companies. This is good for the corporate world because they don't mind posting a small commission for an independents sale of a policy because the large insurance company still sells an insurance policy. With the freedom of being licensed with multiple companies, the independent agent has the advantage of offering the best rates specific to the customers' needs.

Positives of the independent agents: Independent agents are generally in your area, you can call them or stop by their office and speak face to face; they have the ability to find their customer the best rate, generally because of their independence from the large insurance companies;

Negatives of the independent agents: sometimes they can be difficult to find in the pool of large and middle level insurance sites and companies; even though they have the ability to offer the same policies as the large companies, they do not have the comfort of name recognition which can be detouring to customers.