Ha, this one’s too good not to post. Happy Holidays!

We’re still trying to figure out what this person meant to say… perhaps eject?  But who ejects out of their car?  Maybe they got it right and are into kangaroos. Ha ha ha – (like the Foster’s beer commercials) – Australian for creepy.

I was driving along when I saw two kangaroos copulating in the middle of the road causing me to ejaculate through the sun roof.

Explanation given on an actual insurance claim report in Australia.

Big insurance companies try to keep local agents mouths shut to stifle competition.

We are at an important threshold to improve the insurance marketplace for the benefit of the American consumer. Higgins said, “No agent fears competition; we live with it every day. The strength of competitors’ advertising and call centers and the rest cannot outdo us when the playing field is level – a condition for which we look to our regulators.”

Read the full article and comments here.

Man drives car into bus!

Going to work at 7 a.m. this morning, I drove out of my drive straight into a bus. The bus was five minutes early.

explanation given on an actual insurance claim report

Of course, this begs the question: since when are buses EVER early? ha ha ha.  I hope this guy has good auto insurance.  If not, he could get a free quote with us!

Lookout! Beware old men.  Don’t get too close to the street or you may be run down 😉

Yowza! Some people shouldn’t be given the keys to a car.

On I’d Be Sad, Too:

I saw a slow moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the roof of my car.

Explanation given on an actual insurance claim report!  Fortunately, the gentleman had only minor injuries.

Is this person for real? Or just trying to be silly? I wonder what town they’re driving in!! LOL.

I wonder what town they're driving in?

On being a little too safe…

Q: What are the important safety tips to remember when backing your car?

A: Always wear a condom.

Actual answer on an exam given by the California Department of Transportation’s Driving School

Don't get washed by overpriced quotes

Auto insurance is big business and there are lots of dollars changing hands (whether it’s your dollar to the insurance company for premiums or their dollar to you for a claim payout). At times, while shopping for insurance you may feel like shark bait, just waiting for someone to take a bite out of you. Obviously, insurance companies aren’t “not-for-profit” organizations; they need to make a buck off you. That is why one of the great things about freecarinsurancequotesonline.com is exactly that, we provide free services! You’re going to end up paying for car insurance, that’s a given, but you shouldn’t have to pay to shop for them!

Some other sites don’t have the same scruples that we do. One sneaky way that a site might end up getting you to pay for your “free” quote is by asking you to provide your credit card information, presumably for the quote, and then charging you discreetly for their services. Don’t let this happen to you. There is never any reason for you to provide credit card information for a free service. You may be asked to provide credit history information (or to allow the insurance company to access your credit history) and other personal information that should strictly relate to measuring your insurance risk profile (age, driving history, etc.), but shouldn’t be asked for credit card information. Stick with reputable sites that respect you and your privacy enough to not even ask for that kind of information.

Along those lines, should you encounter a site that flat-out asks you to pay for insurance rate quotes, avoid them. There’s no need to pay companies to solicit your business. You pay for the product, not for the right to purchase the product. Be wary of businesses that charge for a “consultation session” or other type of fee to offer you an insurance quote. While it isn’t illegal to ask you to pay for what should be a free service, agencies, sites or companies that do so are trying to take advantage of you. If a company is trying to sell you the right to buy a service from them, just imagine what types of fees you’ll purchase from them over the life of your policy.

An insurance quote is simply an estimate of the cost for a policy. It is a price list, just like the menu at your favorite restaurant. While the dishes may be a little more complicated (more fine print…that you should read or discuss with a trusted adviser, which may be your insurance agent), the concept is essentially the same. Imagine if a restaurant tried to charge you a fee to take a look at the menu. As with restaurants, insurance companies want you to take a look at the menu; it is the first step in the purchase process. Of course they have to make a profit, but that should be for providing you a valuable service, not for opening the door to their establishment.

Just as restaurants have moved to the web, so too have insurance companies. Menus for your local eateries can be found on the web and that’s what we’re all about, helping you shop for the service that best fits your needs and not charging you a dime for it (we charge the insurance companies). We provide services that give you tailored quotes, from some of the best insurance companies in the business, who operate locally to serve your needs. Shop around, trying things on, taste the samplers, etc. just don’t pay to do so. Once you have found the policy you want and the company you are comfortable doing business with, that’s the time for you to “pony up” and in return, they’ll need to start “earning their keep.” It’s a give and take relationship; not a take and take.

If you have ever considered using the internet to request a free car insurance rate quote, you have probably wondered about whether or not the quote will be accurate. Will an online service adequately understand your situation and price a policy correctly? Will your needs be understood such that the policy isn’t filled with features you don’t need or want?

I wonder how much THIS guy pays for his insurance?

The accuracy of the rate quote you receive is directly related to the accuracy of the information you provide when filling out your application. When filling out online quote forms, it can be tempting to “erase” a ticket, an accident, or even something as serious as a DUI or DWI charge from your reported driving history, know that this information will eventually come to light. Insurance companies do check this information and when they do (notice we didn’t say if), you will be billed appropriately; in many cases, you will have to pay back amounts owed. A lie or omission is also a good way to get your policy terminated without reimbursement. Always strive for honesty and integrity when requesting a free rate quote.

Don’t forget either that changes in your life can affect your car insurance rate quote. Getting married or divorced, having children, growing older, having a wreck, getting a ticket, moving, and many other life changes and situations can cause a change in your insurance rate. Therefore, make sure you always request a rate quote based on your most up to date information. Also, once you have insurance, alert your agency of any such changes in your life. Annual “insurance checkups” are always a good idea and are part of a healthy financial regiment. Soliciting quotes online and comparing them to your existing policies (even if you don’t switch insurers or otherwise change your policy) is a wise financial move.

While online rate quotes may be inaccurate at times, they tend to be inaccurate in your favor. What we mean by this is that you are quoted a premium that is higher than the one you actually end up having to pay. This is generally the result of discounts or other deals that you find you qualify for as you get further along in the process. For instance, you may have forgotten to list the car alarm that you installed after you purchased the car on the initial rate quote information form. This anti-theft device might come to light as you review the final policy or communicate with the insurance agent, which results in a discount to your premium. Be sure to explicitly inquire about discounts as well, as some agencies are, unfortunately, less than forthright with such information and will only offer discounts if you specifically ask about them. A good agent will walk through these discounts with you to find the ones that apply to your situation.

Occasionally you may be quoted a rate this is lower than what you eventually end up paying. While this doesn’t happen often, it is usually a result of inaccurate information on the application form or inaccurate information “on file” with the insurance company (if you are a past customer for instance). Be sure to bring these issues up with the insurance company. Some companies may even offer you the lower price as a gesture of goodwill or as an apology for their error. Comparing multiple rate quotes (or your existing premium/policy to online rate quotes) is a good way to identify these types of issues.

Fortunately, the insurance business is highly regulated. In addition to federal regulations, each state has a dedicated organization to regulate insurance companies operating in that respective state. These organizations exist to protect consumers, and all that regulation applies to insurance purchased through online services. While it may not ferret out the sites that offer horrible customer service, these regulations and regulatory bodies do help to ensure that you end up with an accurate policy.

While securing the right auto insurance policy is no laughing matter, insurance can be a little dry for most of us.  Here’s a funny auto insurance joke to brighten your day:

Hope this gives you a good chuckle 🙂

Written on an insurance claim form by a claimant whose car hit a cow:

Q: What warning was given by you?

A: Horn.

Q: What warning was given by the other party?

A: Moo.

Have more questions about auto insurance?  Check out our FAQ section or drop by our Free Quote page and compare quotes today.

Since the cost of car insurance is generally spread throughout the year across monthly payments, it may not seem like a significant purchase. However, those monthly payments add up, and when you factor in the likelihood that you’ll stay with a provider for a couple of years (though we strongly urge annual reviews to make sure you’re getting the best deal!), car insurance becomes a significant purchase. As with all significant financial decisions, shopping around for the best deal is a best practice. Using car insurance rate quotes from online services like ours can make the job fairly easy. If we haven’t sold you yet on the importance of shopping for a deal, here are some additional selling points:.

1. You Could Miss Out On Some Great Deals
   No one likes to miss out on a big sale or a great discount, but that is essentially what you might be doing to yourself- by choice- when don’t shop around and compare quotes online before purchasing automobile insurance. Insurance companies are continuously re-balancing their “portfolios” (which is effectively the population of insurance contracts that they have entered into). Each company uses a unique and complicated risk model to determine pricing and to find the mixture of policies that minimizes their overall risk and maximizes their profit. An insurer may find that they need more teenage drivers or more drivers with multiple policies (etc.) and may offer discounts or reduced pricing to attract that type of customer. Effectively, that insurer is having a sale and that sale may only last a limited time, until their portfolio is again “in balance” at which time they stop trying to aggressively attract your business. Only by shopping policies across insurers can you find these types of deals.
2. You Might End Up Overpaying
   Beyond offering “sales discounts,” insurance companies are all unique. Each one has its own set of internal models that measure risk and return, and each company focuses its attention on a certain mixture of policies. As insurers compete against one another, they specialize (which involves tailoring their financial models) to best control their risk and maximize their profit. Many insurers specialize in specific demographics (or portfolios). Some insurers specialize in “high-risk” drivers (teenagers, people with poor credit, etc.) while others prefer to specialize in low-risk drivers (for instance, a middle aged person with a clean driving record, a dog and two kids).This specialization enables these companies to build tailored models that better manage risk and return. Specialization also allows a company to offer tailored customer service practices to meet their target population (for instance, a company may focus on Hispanic drivers and employ Spanish-speaking customer service agents). You can benefit from the competition between insurers by comparing policies to find the insurer who is able to offer the cheapest car insurance policy and best customer service due to their specialization.
3. Comparing Rate Quotes is Quick
   As millions of retail consumers have come to learn, shopping online is quick! It’s one of principal reasons why shopping online has grown significantly in the past couple of decades. As the internet has matured, the speed has only increased. This speed and efficiency applies to insurance as well as it does clothing or electronics. At freecarinsurancequotesonline.com our services and business practices offer you quick access to insurance quotes. The whole process can take as little as ten minutes. While time is important, we do recommend that you compare multiple policies to find the best policy for you.
4. Comparing Rate Quotes is Free
   Since it doesn’t cost you a dime to view and compare rate quotes, and can actually save you quite a few dimes in the long run, there really is no excuse for not comparing quotes online. Unless, of course, you enjoy just throwing money away.
5. Comparing Rate Quotes is Informative
   Above all, the best thing about being able to get and compare rate quotes online is how much you learn in the process. Insurance is a big purchase, both in terms of dollars and in terms of peace of mind. Not only do you learn which providers operate in your area, their rates, and their coverage options, but you gain the knowledge to take control of a major financial arena. That, in itself, is absolutely priceless and will serve you continuously over the course of your life.

Avoid the accident of not comparing rate quotes

If you currently have automobile insurance for which your policy renews automatically every six months or every year, then you could be spending way more money than you actually have to. Most people think that after they have secured automobile insurance at a rate that they are happy with, they can stop shopping around, but the truth is, you should actually continually check on your rate and compare it to other rates available in your area. Your car insurance rates often go up gradually each year, something your insurance agency will only make known to you in fine print and that you might not even notice at all. What’s more is that changes in your life can cause other agencies and rates to become more worthwhile for you. Therefore, to avoid overpaying, you have to stay on top of your options.

The good news is that this doesn’t have to take much of your time at all. In fact, if you choose to use our free rate quote form, you can receive a variety of free, local rate quotes in just a matter of minutes. It’s great to use this site and its service anytime, but it can be especially useful when you are trying to decide whether or not to renew your current policy.

Receiving your rate quotes from the site is incredibly easy. Unlike other sites, which require you to fill out long, boring, complicated forms with lots of sensitive, personal information, we simply asks you to provide your zip code. Once you have done so, you just hit submit and wait a few seconds for a listing of all insurance providers in your area offering free rate quotes to fill the screen.

You are then free to request free rate quotes (or not) from any agency you are interested in. You should use the quotes you receive to find out whether or not you could be getting a better deal elsewhere. Just make sure that you also consider the level of coverage and protection offered with each policy, as this is just as important as the rate that you will be asked to pay. Whether you make the decision to switch or not is up to you, but at least you will know what your options are and be able to make an informed choice, rather than just taking a shot in the dark.

Obviously, it’s smart to use Free Car Insurance Quotes Online. Just make sure you don’t get it confused with any of the other sites out there. Many of them claim to offer the same type of service, but few of them do. What’s worse is that a lot of those sites have hidden charges and fees, and/or share your sensitive personal information with third parties. Don’t let that happen to you. Always make sure that you are using the very best site in the industry.