What is the quickest way to get your auto insurance? Thankfully things aren’t as slow as they used to be.
Gone are the days when you had to meet an insurance agent in person whenever you wanted to purchase a policy. Getting car insurance has become a task you can complete without taking a ton of time out of your day.
We’ll go through the basics of how to buy car insurance, how long it takes to get insured, and which option is best for you.
Getting a quote online
As you would probably expect, when it comes to getting car insurance, most people set up their auto insurance online. And it’s easy to see why. It’s one of the fastest ways to get a quote and to get insured.
As a result, most of the big insurance companies let you get insurance online. It’s quick because all you need to do is input your personal information. You’ll also answer some questions about the coverage you want, the limits you’re comfortable with, and the deductible you’re willing to pay.
After you’ve agreed to your policy, you will be emailed a copy of it. There’s also usually an option for you to receive a copy in the mail as well.
In anywhere from 10-15 minutes, you could go from being uninsured to having car insurance.
The benefit of getting a quote online is that you can go through it at your own speed. You can take your time weighing your options. You also won’t need to deal with an agent who might try to upsell or pressure you.
This is probably the best option for you if you’re already very familiar with how insurance works and know exactly what coverage you need.
Getting insured through an app
Since you can do everything on your phone from ordering flights to getting Starbucks delivered to your door, it makes sense that you should be able to buy insurance on it too.
According to a survey done by Facebook and comScore, people are starting to rely more on their smartphones to figure out their insurance options. And 64 percent of people surveyed said they used a smartphone to shop for car insurance.
At Cover, we created an app for you to get the right coverage you need at the best rate possible. You will get a quote within minutes by downloading the app in the App Store or Google Play and answering a few questions. And if you have any questions or are ready to lock down the price, you can easily contact our agents through SMS.
Instead of shopping around and keeping track of what you’d be paying from each provider, we’ll do that for you and send you the best quote straight to your phone. You will be able to see it in the app as well as through SMS.
Similar to buying insurance online, you can take things at your own pace. If you’re ever confused about a coverage or an insurance term, the app comes with explainers throughout.
Insurance can be overly complicated and confusing, but we’re trying to simplify everything. We want you to understand every part of your policy.
Connecting with an agent over the phone
If you’d prefer speaking to someone without leaving the comfort of your home, you can get a policy over the phone.
Generally, most insurance companies have a main phone number you can call. Through the directory, you can get the information of an agent who works in your area. Other insurers let you input your zipcode on their website, which gives you a phone number for a branch in your area.
Keep in mind that it won’t be as fast as inputting your information into a questionnaire. But you will get the benefit of asking for clarification right away from an agent. And you still save time from having to go to the insurance office in person.
Meeting an agent in person
Increasingly with technology, it might not make immediate sense for you to go get insurance in person.
It can take especially long out of all the options for you to get a quote and for you to get insured. You might expect that the whole process should take just under an hour or so.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t go this route. You can get a quote from an agent that works with a specific insurance company, but they are limited to exclusively showing you policies from that company.
To combat that, you can always seek out an independent agent or broker so they may search through various options for you.
But if getting that face to face time is important to you, this option would work best for you.
How long does it take to get car insurance
The good thing about car insurance is that it’s a pretty speedy process no matter which method you choose.
There isn’t a specific enrollment period like with health insurance and it won’t take weeks like with life insurance.
Once you’ve agreed to a policy, it really doesn’t take long for you to be insured.
In fact, you’re covered the second your payment goes through. And if you had a previous policy with another company, you can choose what day your new policy starts.
Before, you would have to wait for the insurance company to send your insurance card in the mail. But these days you can get it sent to you digitally, which you can print at home.
Alternatively, you can now keep a digital version on your phone to present to a police officer if you’re ever pulled over. You just need to make sure that you have some form of that card with you when driving.
What you need to get insured
Whichever way you decide to get insurance, there are things you can do to make the whole process go smoothly.
When getting car insurance, you will always need to know the following information:
- The year, model, and make of your car
- Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
- Drivers license information
- Social Security Number
- Your bank account information or credit card number to set up automatic payments
And if you’re looking to get certain discounts, you should have that information on hand as well.
For example, discounts are offered if you’re a member of any alumni or professional groups. And for any full-time students, maintaining a high enough GPA could get you the good student discount.
Which method should you go with?
Since there are several different avenues you can go down to get insured, it’s up to you to determine what works best for you.
For example, if you value efficiency, getting insured online or through an app is probably your best bet.
But if you really value that face-to-face time with an agent to go through the process with you, you can still go into an insurance office branch to get insured.
Cover
will get you an auto quote in as little as five minutes.
All you have to do is answer a few short questions.
Get your auto quote here