From cars to caravans and pets to plane travel, there's an insurance policy for almost everything. Consumers are faced with a huge choice of companies offering insurance, so it's little wonder that some people don't know where to start when it comes to buying a policy.
But it's not just insurance companies who are selling insurance these days - banks, building societies and even supermarkets have all got in on the act. So where do you go to get the best deals on the most comprehensive polices?
One important resource which is sometimes overlooked is an insurance broker. Independent insurance brokers work on your behalf to find the best possible deals to suit you. They'll be able to search though the market to locate the most competitive prices available, meaning that you don't have to spend hours on the phone or online looking for quotes yourself. This can save a considerable amount of time, as insurance companies require a large amount of information in order to create a quote.
Also remember that insurance brokers are experts in their field and can therefore quickly find and compare insurance quotes. And because they are obliged to search the whole market, you can be sure that their recommendation will be the one that best suits your needs, and not biased or skewed due to other business considerations.
Another advantage of using an insurance broker is that you get to deal with a real human being. Many larger insurers have implemented automated response units to deal with requests from potential customers. Whilst this saves them money, it can be frustrating when you just want to speak to a person.
Another cost cutting measure that some insurers have been implementing is the outsourcing of their call centres to countries like India, where labour is much cheaper. However, this can cause problems with bad phone lines. Moreover, staff are not always fully fluent in English or may have a strong accent, which can make communication more difficult.
The standard advice for buying insurance and indeed buying almost anything is to shop around for the best deal. However with an independent insurance broker, you are effectively getting someone else to do all the shopping around for you; and due to the time consuming nature of obtaining insurance quotes, it can actually be more cost effective to go through a broker than to do it yourself - especially since insurance brokers have access to special rates than aren't available to the general public and can do a much better job at negotiating for discounts.
And finally, an insurance broker will fight your corner with an underwriter, should you need to make a claim - so not only can they get you the best deals, they also come with added peace of mind.
