Free insurance quotes keep the world of insurance competitive which is beneficial for us drivers.

Take advantage of free insurance quotes to save money on your insurnace premium.

“The best things in life are free.”

I am not sure if getting free insurance quotes are one of the best things in life, but it is pretty darn good. Yes, price quotes are usually free with everything. But, think about this – insurance quotes are one of the only things in the entire insurance industry that companies don’t charge for.

When was the last time your insurance company threw in a free 6 months of comprehensive coverage just for buying collision coverage? Or gave you free rental or towing coverage?

Free insurance quotes also save us money by giving us the freedom to shop from one insurance company to another to find the best deal. They are easy to get and can even be done without having to leave our own home. There is also no limit on the number of free insurance quotes that we can get until we finally find that incredible premium.

See, free insurance quotes really are one of the good things in life.

All Quotes Should be Free

While you are shopping around for insurance quotes if you run across a company that wants to charge you to get a quote, run the other way. There should never, ever, ever, be a charge to get an insurance quote. That’s like a store charging an entrance fee just to go in and shop around.

If you do find one that does not offer free insurance quotes, get all of their contact information and contact your state’s Department of Insurance or Insurance Commissioner.

Ways to Get Free Insurance Quotes

Free insurance quotes are everywhere. You can go through the insurance section of the local phone book and call all the agents you find. You can find local insurance agents by doing a search online. You can even skip the agent altogether and visit the websites of different insurance companies to get quotes directly from the companies.

The best way to get a quote though is by using an online quote aggregator. With an aggregator you fill in all of your information online just once and it comes back with free insurance quotes for multiple insurance companies for you to compare. If you find the premium that you like, you have just completed the whole quote process in one step.

If you are interested in trying out a quote aggregator you can start by clicking here.

Being Prepared for  Free Insurance Quotes

Getting free insurance quotes is a process that you have to prepare for. But, don’t worry it’s not like training for a marathon or anything. You just need to make sure to have all the information you need to get your free insurance quotes such as:

• Driver’s License

• Social Security Number

• Year, make, model and VIN of vehicles

• Declaration page of current insurance

The last one on this list is very important. Without having the declaration page of your current insurance in front of you, you will have nothing to compare the free insurance quotes with. The declarations page shows exactly what coverages you have and how much you are paying for each. If you don’t have this information you won’t know if your free insurance quotes are cheaper quotes for the same coverage or cheaper quotes for less coverage.

Elephant auto insurance is proud to announce lower rates, but only in one small area.

Summary

Commercial opens on the Elephant Auto Insurance logo and the sound of a trumpeting elephant before spokesman is shown onscreen.

Spokesman: Did you know Elephant has lowered their rates by over 30% in the past year all over southwest Virginia?

Map appears behind the spokesman of Virginia Elephant Auto Insurance coverage area with little elephant symbols popping up all over southwest Virginia as he speaks.

Spokesman: If you live in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Salem, Martinsville or the surrounding areas you could save a ton with Elephant. These great rates can’t last forever. Get a quote now at elephant.com and join the thousands of others who are already taking advantage of these amazing rate decreases and saving over 500 dollars per year.

Map disappears and Elephant Auto Insurance logo appears next to him with the phone number and the web address for the company below the logo.

Spokesman: Call or visit us online at elephant.com.

Point of the Commercial

This Elephant Auto Insurance commercial is pointblank for just southwest Virginia even though Elephant Auto Insurance writes in the whole state of Virginia, Illinois and Maryland also. So something has happened in southwest Virginia that Elephant Auto Insurance was able to decrease the premium for this particular coverage area that they write for.

This is not unheard of though, whenever new safety statistics come out for certain areas a change in rates is seen. If the new statistics show a decrease in claims or in activity that claims are filed for, rates go down. Likewise, if there is an increase in activity for claims then the rates go up. Elephant Auto Insurance must have received new stats and refigured their rates to be able to do this.

What They Want you to Do

For the residents of southwest Virginia that have gotten quotes from Elephant Auto Insurance before, they are indirectly letting them know that if they call for a quote now the premium may be lower. For the other residents in this area, they are throwing the bait out there to get their interest in calling Elephant Auto Insurance for a quote. The others are going to want to check if Elephant Auto Insurance is now cheaper than their car insurance with this new rate decrease.

My Opinion

I personally have never heard of Elephant AutoInsurance as I do not live in the area that they write insurance for. I do like the Elephant Auto Insurance logo and the memory tricks that they use in their otherwise boring commercial.

The elephant is something new and catches your attention if you have never seen it and it is a mascot to associate with this company (visual memory). The elephant trumpeting is not something you usually hear for a car insurance commercial (audio memory) and their telephone number (877-21-trunk) associates their mascot and their number together to make it easier to remember Elephant Auto Insurance.

Even though I think the Elephant Auto Insurance commercial is boring, it does its job to get you to both remember the company and attract the attention of the residents in this area. I have to give this particular Elephant Auto Insurance commercial a thumbs up.

Old car insurance covers many different types of vehicles; some need special coverage and others don’t really need any at all.

Different older cars need different old car insurance.

To start off, let me state the obvious. If you are looking for information about your brand new car or truck, you are in the wrong post. Now, if you have something like a 1959 Buick Invicta this post about old car insurance is for you.

Old cars come in all sorts of different conditions. Some are restored to better-than-new condition and others would look prettier as a flower bed than they do sitting in your driveway. Other old cars fall in-between the two categories and are just there. How your car falls into one of these categories will determine what type of old car insurance you need.

Old Car Insurance for Classics

Classic cars actually have a special old car insurance of their own. In these special old car insurance policies, the value is determined differently. This is due to the age and that some of these cars have been modified or restored to conditions that are better than when they were new. Most old car insurance policies for classic cars are on a stated value. A stated value is when the insurance company and the owner of the vehicle agree on the value of that particular vehicle.

There are also restrictions placed by the insurance company as to the use and the storage of the vehicle by the owner. If the owner does not comply they no longer qualify for this special category of old car insurance. They will instead have to get insurance coverage for their classic car under a normal car insurance policy which may not protect their car as well as the special classic old car insurance.

Old Car Insurance for Junkers

Junkers are cars that are being kept out of the junkyard but the strength of the bungee cord holding them together. There is not much value to them and if they were to ever be in a car accident they would most likely be a total loss.

For these types of cars, old car insurance that has comprehensive and collision coverage is a waste of money. Now you still have to keep the liability portion of the old car insurance so don’t drop that. But, you will be paying out more in premium for the comprehensive and collision coverage than the insurance company will ever pay out for your vehicle. Just take the money you save from not having those two coverages on your old car insurance and put it in the bank. Then if anything happens to the car you can pay for it yourself.

Old Car Insurance for In-Betweens

Old car insurance for those cars that are not classics, but aren’t junkers yet either depends on you and your financial situation. If your older model car is in good shape and is still retaining a good value, you may want to consider keeping comprehensive and collision coverage on it. There is no reason to go without this coverage if it will benefit you in the event of an accident.

However, keep in mind that your car insurance company is only going to pay out so much on your old car insurance. If the amount that you are paying exceeds the amount that they would pay out if your vehicle was a total loss, drop the comprehensive and collision coverage from your old car insurance. Just like with the junker, put that money in a bank account. Only use this money when you need to pay for damage to your old car or need to buy a new car.

There is just no reason to keep handing the insurance company money for old car insurance if you would be better off financially with paying for any damages yourself.

Filing a comprehensive coverage claim for a deer accident can happen any time during the year, but the odds of one happening increase in the fall.

Fall brings cooler weather, beautiful colors and a spike your odds of having a deer accident.

This topic may feel more like a community service message than an insurance topic. However, all drivers need to be alert for a peak accident season coming up within the next month that you will need insurance coverage for.

Is it the drunk driving season? Well-yes, but we will cover that one in a different post.

The peak accident season that I am talking about right now is deer accident season. The higher number of deer on the roads this time of year increases your chance that you will end up having to file a claim for a deer accident.

Why the Peak in Deer Accidents?

For deer (and other animals) the fall holds two critical seasons for them. First, it is hunting season. But, contrary to popular belief, hunting season is not the reason for the increase in deer accidents. During hunting season deer still stay very close to their normal habitat. Also there is little hunting done close to the main roads to cause a deer to be spooked by a hunter and dart out into traffic.

Second, November is the mating month for deer. Now this is the main reason behind the increase in car vs. deer accidents. During mating season, deer venture off to find a mate. They leave their normal habitat and whether alone or with the herd they are going to be crossing roads to find that mate. Naturally, the more deer out on the roads the higher chance of a deer accident.

The roaming behavior during this time of year, in addition to more and more humans living in what is deer habitat, brings us together. Throw in a vehicle and an animal that spooks easily and you have the perfect conditions for a car/deer accident.

Why Comprehensive Coverage and Not Collision Coverage for Deer Accidents?

If you think about a deer accident, technically a collision has occurred. But, no matter if it is you hitting them or even them hitting you (yes, these animals have been known to run into vehicles), any animal hit actually falls under your comprehensive coverage. It doesn’t matter if the animal is alive when you hit them or dead it is all the same.

This is actually good news for you as comprehensive coverage claims have less impact on your insurance premium. Also your comprehensive coverage deductible is usually lower than your collision coverage deductible.

On the other side, if you were to swerve to miss a deer and you ran into a guardrail or a tree; this would fall under your collision coverage.

Lowering Deductible For Deer Accident Season

With the increased chance of having a deer accident during this time of year, you may want to consider lowering your comprehensive coverage deductible during this time. Yes, this will create a small increase in your comprehensive coverage premium. However, the increase will be smaller than what you would end up paying out for your comprehensive coverage deductible if you were to have a deer accident.

It would also be a good idea to add this coverage to your insurance if you don’t already have it. It is better to have the comprehensive coverage and not need it, rather than need it for a deer accident and not have it.

When all things are considered 21st Century shows that insurance companies are the same, except when it comes to insurance premium.

Summary

Commercial opens with a light blue car under the name of GEICO and a similar red car under the name of 21^st Century.  A man in a white jumper with the red 21^st Century logo on it and also wear a red hard hat with the same logo walks out on screen.

Announcer: How to choose the right car insurance made easy.  Start with two identical cars. One, covered by a leading insurance provider (man indicates to the car under the GEICO name), the other coverage by 21^st Century Insurance. Both cars have the same coverage, same low deductibles and……..

Man in the white jump suit takes a sledge hammer out of what looked like a musical instrument case.

Announcer: ….. oh, boy!

The man uses the sledgehammer to hit the front door of each car.

Announcer: The same door dings. Since both cars are covered (Screen shows the words “A Few Days Later”) both cars get the same repairs.  Here’s the difference, customers who switch over to 21^st Century save an average of 480 dollars every year.

Man pulls out a sign in the shape of a big red arrow pointing to the red car that says, “21^st SAVES $480”.

Announcer: If you’re switching from Progressive or Allstate, 21^st Century saves you even more.

Man switches sign to other hand and it changes from an arrow to a rectangle and says, “21^st SAVES $528”.

Announcer: why would anyone pay more for the same insurance? Why wouldn’t you pick up the phone today and compare for yourself? Call 21^st Century at 888-get-2121 (catchy number), 888-get-2121 or visit 21^st.com; 21^st Century auto insurance, the same great coverage for less.

Screen moves to an all red screen with the 21^st Century logo and motto.

Point of the Commercial

Although this is just another “were cheaper than the competition” commercial this one uses visual actions to bring the point home. 21^st Century shows us that all things can be the same from one insurance policy to the other as far as coverages and claims procedures. The only difference is, as they point out, that the price of their insurance is cheaper than the other guys.

What They Want you to Do

21^st Century would like you to give them a call for what your premium would be with them as compared to what you are paying now. They do a nice bit of advertising here to enforce you to call them also.

One, they show you their phone number. This enhances your visual memory of their phone number. Two, they point blank tell you to call them instead of leaving it up to you to figure out to call or not. Three, they tell you the phone number. Telling you the phone number enforces the visual memory of their number with an audio of the phone number. The fact that it is a “catchy number” also helps to enforce the audio memory.

My Opinion

I like this one. It could be because of that secret inner desire we all have to take a sledge hammer to a car (don’t tell me that if you were given a sledge hammer and told you could dent a car without consequence that you wouldn’t). It could also be because 21^st Century found a new, interesting way to tell us that they are cheaper than the competition. Honestly, it’s probably a mix of both.

Giving this one a thumbs up.