Five Minute Guide to Searching Online for a Denver Insurance Agent

When shopping for car insurance, choosing the right Denver car insurance agent is harder than just calling the closest agent. You need a professional licensed agent, and also competitive car insurance rates.

Lots of insurance agents contend for your business, so it can be very hard to choose a car insurance agent and get the best coverage at the lowest rate possible.

Your local neighborhood insurance agent

Educated insurance agents can help determine the best coverages and help submit paperwork. The best thing about getting online price quotes is you can get the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent.

To help locate an agent, after submitting this quick form, the quote information gets sent to local insurance agents in Denver who will give you bids for your business. You don’t have to leave your house as quotes are delivered directly to your email. It doesn’t get any easier! You can find better rates and a licensed agent to work with.

Deciding on an insurance agency requires more thought than just a low price. Some important questions to ask are:

• Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in Colorado?
• How are claims handled?
• How are they compensated?
• What are the financial ratings for the companies they represent?
• Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
• Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
• Are there any hidden costs in their price quote and does it include driving and credit history?

Not all auto insurance agents are the same

If you’re trying to find a reputable insurance agent or broker, you need to know there are two types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agencies in Denver are either captive or independent (non-captive).

Agency Captives

These agents are contracted to one company and some examples include Allstate, AAA, Liberty Mutual and State Farm. These agents are not able to shop your coverage around so it’s a take it or leave it situation. Captive agencies are well schooled on the products they sell which helps them compete with independent agents.

Shown below is a short list of captive insurance agencies in Denver that are able to give price quotes.

American Family Insurance – 1650 Franklin St – Denver, CO 80218 – (303) 292-9995
Allstate Insurance – 655 Broadway # 420 – Denver, CO 80203 – (303) 534-1327
Farmers Insurance Group – 3435 S Yosemite St # 250 – Denver, CO 80231 – (303) 696-7368
State Farm Insurance – 695 S Colorado Blvd # 422 – Denver, CO 80246 – (303) 722-1139
Shelter Insurance – 1333 W 120th Ave # 220 – Denver, CO 80234 – (303) 254-9793

Independent Agencies or Brokers

Independent agencies are not employed by any specific company so they have the ability to put coverage with lots of companies and potentially find a lower price. To move your coverage to a new company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you won’t have to switch agencies. When shopping rates, you should always include several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection.

The following is a list of independent agents in Denver that are able to give price quotes.

Shenandoah Agency Inc – 4201 E Yale Ave – Denver, CO 80222 – (303) 789-1907
Emcasco Insurance Co – 8181 E Tufts Ave # 500 – Denver, CO 80237 – (720) 200-3700
Lee Bell Insurance – 1660 S Albion St – Denver, CO 80222 – (303) 753-6991
J Hernandez Agency Inc – 1865 S Federal Blvd – Denver, CO 80219 – (303) 936-0991
Peterson Brokerage Agency – 425 S Cherry St # 160 – Denver, CO 80246 – (303) 321-4545

To view a full list of car insurance agents in Denver, please go to this site.

Upon receiving good answers to any questions you have and an acceptable price quote, you may have just found an insurance agency that is a good match to adequately provide car insurance.

Consider every option when buying coverage

Professional insurance agents are important, but you also have the option of buying Colorado car insurance directly from online companies. A few companies like Allstate and State Farm who have local agents in Denver also give you the option to get quotes and purchase online, and consumers should do that if you prefer not to work with an agent.

If you’re uncomfortable with not having professional advice when buying direct, this is expected but don’t let that bother you. Insurance companies that require consumers to choose their own coverages provide options that you can contact for information. Consumers also can use extensive coverage information and 24/7 assistance so you can feel comfortable buying online.

Does coverage cost less online? It’s hard to say exactly since there are many things that impact your final bill. It’s a common assumption that buying online cuts out the agent as a middleman. But in most cases, there are high advertising and marketing costs so there may not be significant savings.

If you have the time, the only way to find out who has the best deal, local agents or online insurance companies, is making fair comparisons of each of their rates. You could possible even receive different price quotes when quoting both agents prices and online prices from the same car insurance company. It’s not possible to know which method provides the best price without getting separate quotes utilizing both methods.

More Colorado car insurance information

More tips and info about car insurance can be found at the Colorado DORA Division of Insurance website. Colorado consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, read consumer alerts, and view agent and company licensing information.

Better coverage you can count on

When you buy insurance online, don’t be tempted to skimp on coverage in order to save money. In many instances, consumers will sacrifice full coverage and learned later that they should have had better coverage. The aim is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

People who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including high rates after DUI convictions, policy non-renewal, poor customer service and policy cancellation. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch choosing a new company is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.