How to Get Online Auto Insurance Quotes

1. Figure out the "garage location." In most cases, this is the address of your residence. However, if you have more than one home or use your vehicle for business, this location might be different. The garage location is the place where the vehicle will be parked the majority of the time that it is not in use. You'll want the zip code for this location in order to get online auto insurance quotes.

2. Get necessary vehicle information. Many companies doing online quotes require the year, make and model of the vehicle as well as some other basic information. You may not need the VIN (vehicle identification number) up front for your online quote, but it's a good idea to have it handy if you want to follow through with any of the insurance estimates that you receive.

3. Locate any necessary driver information. For example, if you are adding your spouse as well as yourself, you may need that person's date of birth and other basic information.


4. Find online auto insurance quote services. A quick Google search should bring you a few of the biggest and most popular auto insurance quote websites. You may want to select the ones that are more familiar or seem more established in order to get the best results. The good thing about quick car insurance quotes is that you don't need to give details like your Social Security number or other sensitive information up front. If quick quotes are asking for your Social Security number, bank account information or other critical data, that's a red flag that they may be illegitimate scam sites.

5. Complete online applications. Fill out the required information on the online application tools that you find on your quick car insurance quote sites. Again, keep an eye out for any sites that seem to ask for too much personal information up front.

6. Collect the results. Within days, your quick car insurance quotes will come in through your email inbox. Gather them together and look for the ones that provide the most detailed picture of how the insurance company will charge you for your annual premiums.


Tips:
Follow up on the phone. There's only so much you can do with an online car insurance quote. The online quote is in a basic estimate for how much a driver like yourself might pay. A lot of the final cost of your policy is going to involve direct negotiation between you and an auto insurance company representative.

Use deductibles and smart coverage to lower your rates. When you are talking with the auto insurance company directly, you have a lot of chances to cut down that initial car insurance policy quote to a more affordable number. Quick quotes don't usually take preferred driver discounts, safety features and other cost lowering factors into account, and with some good self-representation or cost limiting tools, you could come out with a lower priced policy.