The Proper Care and Feeding of Auto Insurance Agents

Experts are always reminding you about the need to compare auto insurance quotes at least once a year. The reason? Because by doing so, you just might be alerted to the fact that you’re paying far too much for coverage – or you might even find an insurance agency that’ll give you better service than you’ve been getting all along, at a more reasonable cost. But even if you are in the habit and you compare auto quotes on a regular basis, there’s one thing you might be totally forgetting to do: communicating with your insurance agent.

Back in the old days, the only way to make changes to your insurance policy or make payments for your premiums or even shop for auto insurance was to visit an agent in person. But throughout the course of time and thanks to the evolution of communications technologies, we’ve come to view conversing with our auto agents in person as a nonessential and superfluous task. After all, why drive clear across town if you can just as easily pick up the phone or even fire off an email to your agent and get the same information with less effort?

The problem is, some things can’t be discovered unless you actually partake in what old timers sometimes still refer to as “verbal discourse.” For example, say your company’s just moved offices and you no longer have to commute an hour to work. Everyone will remind you about the need to compare auto insurance plans when you move, but if it’s your place of employment doing the moving, it’s easy to forget. Chatting in person about incidental things might lead you to mention this fact, which could result in you having to pay far less because you're no longer commuting a long distance. Or maybe you're thinking about trading in your sports car for something a bit more practical. Mentioning this to your agent could give you the idea to shop specifically for a vehicle that’ll cost the least amount to insure.

In the end, it’s critical to remember that just because your auto insurance automatically renews and the premiums are automatically withdrawn from your bank account and you never have cause to file claims, that’s no excuse for not maintaining a relationship with your insurance agent. Make it a point to visit your agent at least once a year to go over your coverage and to compare auto quotes from other providers at the same time. By doing so, and by discussing any changes in your home and work life, you could stumble across savings that you’d otherwise never have known were there to be taken.