Get a car insurance quote

What to have ready

• Year, make, and model of each vehicle
• Approximate annual mileage
• Names and dates of birth for everyone who drives
• Your current coverages and limits — your declarations page has these
• Your current deductibles
• Any accidents, claims, or violations in recent years

What tends to move an auto rate

Some of these you control, some you don't. Knowing which is which saves a lot of frustration.

• The coverages and limits you choose, and your deductibles
• Driving record, including at-fault accidents and violations
• Annual mileage and how the vehicle is used
• The vehicle itself — repair costs and safety features both matter
• Where the vehicle is garaged
• Discounts you qualify for but aren't currently receiving
• Depending on the state and product, credit-based insurance information

Compare like for like, or don't bother

A cheaper quote usually means less coverage, and the difference tends to surface at claim time rather than at purchase.

• Are the liability limits identical?
• Are collision and comprehensive both included, at the same deductibles?
• Is uninsured motorist coverage present in both?
• Are add-ons like rental reimbursement included in one and not the other?
• Do both assume the same drivers and the same mileage?

The discounts people most often miss

Discounts vary by insurer and by state, so this isn't a promise that any apply to you — it's a list worth asking about explicitly, because they're frequently not applied automatically.

• Bundling auto with home or renters coverage
• Low annual mileage
• Defensive driving course completion
• Good student status
• Vehicle safety and anti-theft features
• Paperless billing or paying in full

Get quotes on the same specification

A quote is only as useful as the specification behind it, and arriving without one means accepting whatever the seller assumes.

Decide before you start: the liability limits you want, the deductibles for collision and comprehensive separately, whether you want uninsured motorist and at what limit, and whether you need rental reimbursement, roadside assistance or gap coverage.

Then request every quote on exactly that. A cheaper quote against a different specification is not a comparison, and it is the most common way people end up with less cover than they had.

What an insurer will ask for

Having this to hand turns a twenty-minute call into a five-minute one, and it improves the accuracy of what comes back.

• The vehicle identification number for each car, which is more reliable than make and model
• Current mileage and a realistic annual estimate
• Every licensed driver in the household, with dates of birth and licence numbers
• The garaging address, which is where the car sleeps rather than where you receive post
• Any accidents, claims or violations in recent years, with approximate dates
• Your current declarations page, which is the fastest way to quote like for like
• Lienholder or lessor details if the vehicle is financed or leased

Where online quotes and issued policies diverge

An online quote is generated from what you typed. The issued premium reflects what the insurer verifies afterwards, and the two frequently differ.

Insurers check motor vehicle records, claims history databases and, where permitted, a credit-based insurance score. An incident you had forgotten, a household member you did not list, or a garaging address that does not match will all surface and re-rate the policy.

That is not a bait and switch - it is verification. The way to avoid a surprise is to disclose accurately at the quote stage, including the driver you were hoping not to have to list.

Comparison sites and what they actually are

Some comparison tools produce real quotes from insurers. Others generate an estimate and sell your details onward, which is why a single form can be followed by a great many calls.

Neither is dishonest, but they are different products. Before entering anything, check whether the site states that it shares your information with partners, and whether the figure shown is described as a quote or an estimate.

Going direct to two or three insurers, plus one independent agent who can place with several, generally produces better information with less noise.

Before you switch

The order matters more than the choice, and getting it wrong costs more than any premium difference.

Get the new policy issued and confirm the effective date in writing. Only then cancel the old one, effective the same day or later. Never the other way round, and never on a verbal assurance that cover has started.

A gap in auto cover, even a short one, is recorded and priced against you afterwards - sometimes for years - and in some places it affects your registration as well.

Deciding the specification before you call

Four decisions determine most of what a quote will be, and making them in advance is the difference between comparing policies and comparing prices.

• Liability limits, set against what you would stand to lose rather than the state minimum
• Whether to carry collision and comprehensive at all on each vehicle, and at what deductible
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist limits, which should generally match your liability
• Which add-ons you actually need, having checked what you already have elsewhere

Timing a quote

Some moments produce better quotes than others, and shopping at the wrong one wastes the exercise.

Quote before a renewal rather than after it, because a lapse or a late switch creates gaps. Quote after an incident ages out of a rating window rather than while it is still counted. And quote after any change that helps - a shorter commute, a car paid off, a young driver leaving the household - rather than before.

Shopping every year rarely repays the effort. Every few years, or after a real change in circumstances, is a more useful rhythm.

What to check on the quote you accept

Read the quote as a specification rather than a price, and check it against what you asked for before agreeing to anything.

Confirm the liability limits, both deductibles, the uninsured motorist limits, every listed driver and vehicle, the garaging address, and any add-ons. Then confirm the effective date and get it in writing.

Once the policy is issued, read the declarations page against the quote. Differences are common and usually explainable, but they should be explained rather than discovered at a claim.

Common mistakes when quoting

Most of what goes wrong at this stage is avoidable, and it is usually one of a short list.

Quoting the state minimum liability because it produces the lowest number, without asking what it would leave exposed. Comparing quotes with different deductibles and concluding something about price. Omitting a household driver in the hope of a better rate, which surfaces at verification or at a claim. Letting the old policy lapse before the new one is in force.

And the quietest one: accepting a renewal without quoting at all for years, then discovering the increase was a discount that expired rather than a rate change.

The short version

Decide the specification before anyone quotes you - liability limits, both deductibles, uninsured motorist, and which add-ons you actually need. Have the VINs, mileage, every household driver and your current declarations page to hand. Request every quote on that same specification, and disclose accurately, because verification happens either way.

Then compare the policies rather than the prices, and never let the old policy end before the new one starts.

If the quote comes back higher than expected

A quote well above what you expected usually has a specific cause rather than a general one, and it is worth asking what it was.

The common answers: an incident on record you had forgotten or thought had aged out, a household member the insurer found and you had not listed, a garaging address that rates differently from where you receive post, a lapse in previous cover, or a credit-based insurance score where that is permitted.

Several of those are correctable. An incident may be closer to ageing out than you think, an address may be recorded wrongly, and a lapse stops counting after a period. Ask which factor drove it, then ask when that factor stops applying.

Quoting after an accident or a violation

It is worth quoting, and it is worth knowing what you are looking at first.

Insurers use different rating windows for the same incident, so a company that will not price you well today may do so in a year, and a different company may price it differently right now. Ask your existing insurer how long the incident affects their rating - that tells you when shopping becomes worthwhile rather than guessing.

Keep the quote you accepted

Save the accepted quote showing the limits, deductibles and add-ons, then read the issued declarations page against it. Differences are usually explainable, but they should be explained now rather than discovered at a claim, and the quote is the only record of what you actually agreed to.