The convenience of shopping for auto insurance online is fantastic. You can do this after work or even on the weekends. You can do this at your own pace. You don't have worry about walking into a car insurance office and having to sit for hours. And when you do get to speak with a agent at the office, they are trying to up-sell you. You then loose your train of thought of the reason why you are in there the first place and what you are looking for. Yes, the office agent you are visiting can throw you off your path by getting you to buy other car insurance and offering you other add-ons you just don't need. Buying online car insurance at least gives you the option to speak with a agent if you want to. If you decide to speak with a agent, there is nothing wrong with that. The agent can possibly help you put a plan together if you are working within a budget.

Before you start filling out applications, make sure the site you are using is very secured. You want to make sure that all your information is going to be confidential on a secured encrypted site. You should also make sure you read the website's privacy policy. The website's privacy should let you know if your info will be shared with third party companies/associates and this website should explain how you can opt out this if you choose too. If you do not want to share any of your contact info with third party companies, there is usually a email, phone number or mailing address to contact this website's office so you can be deleted and have your name not put on anyone of their associate's mailing list. This option is always usually available.

To make the application process easy, this is what you should have available.
A. Your name, address, phone numbers, age, sex, marital status. If you have just moved, then make sure you have your last address and phone number available.
B. Make sure you know exactly what is on your driving record. If you have any speeding tickets, accidents or traffic violations, let the auto insurance online company know this. You might as well because they are going to find out anyway. Moreover, do not put any false information on your application. This could backfire on you.
C. Make sure you have the year of the car, the make and the model.
D. Let them know how far you drive.
E. You also have to give your social security number so they can do a credit check.

When all of the above information is provided and you put all of this on your online application, press that submit button. And in a few minutes you should received your car insurance online quotes. Many sites will give you this information immediately. You can then choose to accept a online car insurance quote right away or you can choose to have more info sent to you by email or regular mail.

There are some drawbacks when dealing with some online car insurance websites so beware. At some auto insurance companies you deal with online, you will only be able to buy just auto insurance and I know this is what you want to do. However, if you were looking to get some property or life insurance also, you may not be able to do that. The reverse side of this is, you may have some auto insurance sites that will offer you a bunch of discounts with your auto insurance policy. However, you can only get these discounts if you buy also some life or property insurance. In other words, just be careful and read between the lines because some sites do this. There are always going to be some drawbacks in some of the things we do. However, one thing I can say is, buying auto insurance online is still the best way to go. I have also noticed that there is now a somewhat positive side to this. Since online car insurance is so competitive, I have seen some car insurance sites change some of their policies on this.

Another thing you really need to pay attention to is, if you are getting various quotes from different car companies, make sure you really compare the same types of policy when it comes to savings. For example, if you may want to take away some of the deductibles on policy A to save some money. However, on policy B you are getting all of those deductibles but if you get into a car accident you may be paying more. Watch out and have a strong third eye when it comes to comparing policies of the same type.

Finally, you need to be aware of these two options. There are direct companies and comparison site companies. Direct Companies are like Progressive of Geico. They have their own applications at their site that will give you quotes directly from their company. You then have Comparison Site Companies. These types of company websites have a form that will allow you to receive car insurance online quotes from several different insurances companies. I love these kinds of sites. These sites can quickly show you how to save the most money. You are getting many car insurance online quotes all at the same time.

Good luck in your search and keep searching until you find auto insurance online that is right for you and that is within your budget. I promise you will find a good deal. They are just so many auto insurance companies. They are right here online.