Home & Auto Insurance are among the few products that many people buy but hope to never use. Night and day, proper coverage provides peace of mind that an accident, weather event, natural disaster, or unexpected injury or illness will not cause financial ruin. And yet, many Americans are either uninsured, underinsured, or are paying too much for coverage.
Insurance Research Council (IRC) data cited by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)1 shows that as recently as 2019, 12.6% of US motorists were uninsured – that’s approximately one in every eight cars you may find on the road. For uninsured drivers, plus anyone involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, anything from a fender bender on up can result in financially devastating out-of-pocket costs.
Homeowners need to be properly insured as well. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information2, since 1980, the US has seen more than 350 weather events or natural disasters that each have caused more than $1 billion in damage. But even a small thunderstorm can send a tree branch into a house causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. For home and auto insurance, consumers must be sure their policies cover full replacement and repair costs at today’s market rates in addition to liability for personal injury and other damages.
Insurance helps bridge these gaps, but it’s common for people to renew policies without checking them at least once per year, and it’s easy to see why. All types of insurance policies are often seen as complex and confusing, and that prevents people from purchasing the proper coverage.
A March 2022 survey from realtor.com found that only 56% of homeowners knew what to look for in their homeowners insurance policy when they bought their home, and 15% didn’t have any idea what to check.3 In addition, Forbes Advisor reported in April of the same year that 40% of drivers believe they had coverage that doesn’t even exist in any auto insurance policies.4 This sort of confusion surrounding one of the most important financial decisions a consumer can make is putting people at risk.
Here are a few of the biggest challenges consumers face when shopping for and comparing insurance policies and providers:
- Industry Jargon and Lingo – When you visit a website or talk to an insurance agent, you may feel like you’re speaking a different language with words like “deductible”, “premium”, “co-pay”, “additional insured”, “aggregate limit” and “co-insurance”.
- Bait and Switch – insurance carriers love to advertise low rates, but when you apply, your rate may be higher than expected – often with no explanation.
- Fine Print – “Sorry, that’s not covered”, these can be the most chilling words to hear when you’re hoping your insurance policy comes through for you in a time of need. Sure, an explanation may be deep within the policy, but you may need a magnifying glass to find it.
- Transparency – Why is your rate higher than your next door neighbor’s? How will remodeling affect your home insurance rate? Does your birthday mean your rates will go up or down? So many of the decisions that affect rates and coverage seem to be done behind a giant curtain.
- Apples to Oranges – With so many moving parts within the average policy, how can one person possibly compare rates and coverage without hiring a forensic accountant?
Technology is stepping up to solve these issues and deliver a dramatically improved experience. A decade ago, the only way to compare insurance rates was to make a lot of phone calls and read a lot of brochures. You could meet with an agent, but then need to trust they’re selling what’s best for you and not what’s best for them. Even with high-speed broadband, you still need to visit a lot of websites and take a lot of notes, often entering the same personal information time and again.
Thankfully today, insurance marketplaces like the flagship platform from Guaranteed Rate Insurance, make it easy to compare multiple carriers, all at once, with a single application. When you work with one of Guaranteed Rate’s dedicated agents, you’ll receive an unparalleled level of service from a trusted advisor that’s nearly impossible to find anywhere else in the industry.
“The primary benefit insurance delivers is peace of mind,” said Jeff Wingate, Executive Vice President and Head of Insurance for Guaranteed Rate. “If the relationship between an insurance provider and customer begins with stress, confusion, and frustration, the provider isn’t delivering the desired service – that’s why we made it easier than ever for consumers to make informed decisions about rates and coverage from trusted and reliable providers.”
Customers enter basic information one time only to receive a variety of quotes for home and auto insurance coverage from more than 50 top-rated carriers, allowing a quick, side-by-side comparison to showcase better and more affordable coverage options. Life Insurance, Umbrella, Jewelry, Flood, Pet, Landlord or Earthquake policies, are among the other policies currently available or planned for the site. Coverage benefits are easy to read, with clearly explained terminology and experienced agents standing by to answer questions. Instead of having to click around each provider’s website, results within each category are listed side by side. Once you find the coverage that’s best for you, simply click to purchase.
To find more information and explore the insurance marketplace, visit quote.rateins.com.
About Guaranteed Rate
Guaranteed Rate is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, the Guaranteed Rate Companies have over 850 branches across the U.S., serving all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Guaranteed Rate Companies have helped more than 1 million homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances. The company has cemented itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates and delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include: Top Lender for Online Service for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; Best Mortgage Lender for Online Loans and Best Mortgage Lender for Refinancing by NerdWallet for 2021; HousingWire’s Tech100 award for the company’s industry-leading FlashClose℠ in 2020, digital mortgage platform MyAccount in 2022, and Language Access Program in 2023; No. 2 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s 2022 list of Top Retail Mortgage Lenders; The most Scotsman Guide Top Originators for 11 consecutive years; Chicago Agent Magazine’s Lender of the Year for seven consecutive years; and Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years. Visit rate.com for more information.
[1] https://content.naic.org/cipr-topics/uninsured-motorists
[2] https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/
[3] https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/is-your-home-insurance-ready-for-extreme-weather/
[4] https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/most-drivers-dont-understand-car-insurance/