Direct Auto Insurance

You’ve probably seen all the commercials on television for direct auto insurance ranging from talking lizards to being in good hands. They make it sound like the best thing since sliced bread. It may be a no-brainer for the DIY crowd, since, you’ll be negotiating the auto direct insurance path without an personal agent. But rest assured, as they say, even a caveman can do it!

Would you trade lower rates for dealing with a website rather than a human being? If you are considering  direct automobile insurance, that’s the question you have to ask yourself. Two factors have combined to create direct general auto insurance: no-fault insurance and the Internet. With direct insurance, you deal directly with the insurer rather than through an independent agent. Cutting out the middleman allows a lower direct auto insurance quote. Some provide offices; some are strictly available over the phone or across the Internet.

Lower direct auto insurance quotes are the greatest appeal and direct auto insurance firms know that it is the reason they operate primarily in jurisdictions with mandatory no-fault car insurance. Claims settlement and administration is much faster and simpler under no-fault bylaws. This allows direct insurance to eliminate the middleman, the insurance agent, and lower rates for the end user. Insurance companies under no-fault legislation, always pay their own clients damages (at least in theory). Civil cases are also limited.

In fault-allocation localities, who pays the cost for damages and losses incurred in a traffic accident is determined by a finding of fault. It is a fact that payouts are delayed and civil court cases are many in fault-finding jurisdictions. In these jurisdictions, the job description of the insurance agent includes hand holding and claims expedition. But under no-fault rules, the payout is made simply based on damages incurred. This means an insurance appraiser, rather than an agent, is the key player.

The no-fault states, which include the three states with highest populations (New York, California, Florida) enacted no fault legislation in part to simplify and speed payments to accident victims, and in part to reduce the number of time consuming cases in our bulging civil court system. Claims appraising becomes the only bottleneck and no-fault states ease that by instituting approved collision centers. In some jurisdictions the claim centers are government-run.

The most difficult area as far as consumer confidence goes for direct auto insurance lies in compensation for physical injuries. Unlike collision centers, the diagnosis of injuries to the human body, particularly central nervous system injuries, is not always final. Over the course of treatment and recovery from severe injuries, you want one go-to person so you don’t have to get a new call-center agent up to speed every time you need to get a question answered.

All things considered, going with a direct auto insurance firm rather than through an insurance agent is a risk – reward question. If you are adequately covered, are the savings worth having to act as your own agent? That is the question you’ll need to ask yourself, but then again, millions of satisfied customers have asked and answered that same question in the affirmative.