No one likes to constantly get calls, texts, and emails with car insurance quotes from countless companies—even long after you’ve already purchased a policy. If this has happened to you, you probably used a quote comparison website to save yourself time, instead of calling individual insurance companies.
Luckily, there are ways to use these time-saving websites without getting spammed for weeks on end with quotes.
What are quote comparison websites?
Table of Contents
Quote comparison websites are third-party sites that take down all your information (all that’s relevant to finding car insurance, anyway) and uses that data to find multiple quotes for you from different car insurance companies.
There are two types of quote comparison websites: One simply shows you quotes after you give it your information; the other one shares your data with insurance agencies and marketing companies and even sells it to data brokers, and you proceed to get bombarded with quotes and offers from many companies until you decide to sell your car and flee the country. Luckily, there are actionable steps to make sure you’re dealing with a non-spammy website.
Use these comparison sites to save time and not get spammed with insurance quotes
The tricky part about comparison websites is that you don’t really know which of the two types you’re going to get until you’ve already submitted all your information and get to the quotes phase. It’s essential to know which comparison websites will reliably show you quotes instead of selling your information. The following independent insurance agents have been shown to be trustworthy:
These insurance agents conveniently also have affiliations with different insurance companies, so you’ll get a diverse selection with each one (just don’t expect quotes from some big players like Farmers and State Farm; some don’t allow insurance agents to sell their policies). Keep in mind that the numbers you see are preliminary, meaning you’ll get the exact quote once they run your credit and look at your driving history.
Avoid these comparison sites
You want to avoid comparison tools known as lead generators, who relay your data to other companies, such as:
These lead-generator companies take your data and sell it to anyone for whatever amount of money someone is willing to pay, and sometimes to companies who have nothing to do with car insurance. Luckily, some State Attorney Generals are trying to get the practice banned.
Best practices for shopping for car insurance
You should check every year where your policy stands in the market (especially if you move cities). Using comparison sites is smart and saves a lot of time. But if you don’t like getting spammed or other companies profiting off your private date, follow these steps to shop safely:
- Check if the comparison site is licensed to sell insurance. If they’re not registered as an insurance agent in your state, they can’t give you quotes, so why give them your data? Call their customer service and ask directly or contact your state’s insurance commission office.
- Read their terms and policies. I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out. Every company’s terms of service and privacy policy are usually accessible at the bottom of their page. You can do a simple word search for some keywords like “sell” or “share” to see what they do with your data. I promise it’ll be quick.
- Always opt out of further communications. Once you’re done using the price comparison website, make sure you opt out of their communication services. You can do this by unsubscribing from their emails, texting “stop” or “opt-out” to their text messages. You can also Google the company’s name followed by “opt-out” to find the page to opt-out from further communications. (If you used a lead-generator comparison tool, you will have a much harder time doing this).
- Call individual major car insurance companies as well. Remember, some big companies will not be in the comparison tools, so make sure to give them a call or check their websites for quotes.