INSURANCE TRENDS by Product Trends Magazine

Product Review: Esurance Car Insurance

About the company: "Over half a million people have trusted Esurance with their auto insurance coverage. That's because, along with our commitment to quality customer service, our insurance credentials ensure that you have coverage you can count on. Esurance is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best, a leading, independent rating organization. Our corporate parent provides extensive industry know-how and financial stability, so you know we'll be there for you when you need us."

The big pitch: 24/7 customer service, instant online approval and proof of insurance, save hundreds on your auto insurance today!

One of the beautiful things about the internet is that it has the ability to make many of the tasks that used to take us months, happen instantaneously. Or at least, it should. Yet, oddly, many car insurance companies still work the old-fashioned way, asking you to bring or fax in copious copies of forms and applications so they can take weeks figuring out your rate. But not everyone is slow off the mark when it comes to taking full advantage of the online world for insurance, and at Esurance, they're forging a big reputation by making things fast, simple, and pretty darn cheap.

When you click the Esurance link and go to their main page, you won't find a dazzling variety of options and animations... you just find one single box. Put your zip code in it and hit 'next'. Congratulations, you're one step closer to getting your automobile insured!

But while there's precious little to confuse you about Esurance's front page, don't be fooled - there are LOADS of options under the surface, but the way Esurance works the process is that they only ask you what they need to, while allowing you to make alterations to your policy AFTER you get your quote, to bring it down in price, or to fit in with your budget.

We found this to be an insanely clever, simple, non-confusing move. We simply gave our name, date of birth, how many cars, how many drivers, etc - about a minute of easy information entering - and we were looking at a comparison screen with four different company quotes on offer.

Now, let's be clear here - Esurance's estimate was NOT the cheapest deal listed. In fact, it was the second most expensive out of the four rates shown, with another company coming in at less than half of the price of Esurance, but the fact remains that every single policy has so many variables that, while this company wasn't in the ballpark on our first test quote, it was the cheapest by far when we tried it for a second quote on another car.

What we love about Esurance is how quickly it cuts through the crap and gave us full control of our policy. By tweaking factors after the quote was given, such as bodily injury limits and additional personal injury protection, and by lowering our property damage limit and raising our collision coverage deductible, we knocked a hundred bucks off the 6-monthly cost of a policy.

When we decided we were ready to buy, that too was simple - just enter your personal details, such as driver's license numbers etc, and then print off the proof of insurance, and that's it!

Esurance is absolutely a good starting point whenever you need auto coverage. They may not give you the lowest quote, but they will allow you to figure out ways to reduce your rate, and they're open and honest enough to show you what their competitors will charge, which you simply have to love.

The Product Trends rating: Esurance gets a big four stars. An absolute pleasure to work with.

To try Esurance for yourself, click the image below:

posted by Oz @ 9:23 PM