More Consumers Not Shopping Online For Car Insurance Savings
Now is the time for drivers to be spending their time on the Internet looking for more competitive auto insurance premium rates. However, a new study that was recently done by J.D. Power and Associates on the trends involving online shopping for car insurance coverage.
The auto insurance industry spent nearly six billion dollars last year to advertise their products to consumers. Most people know the commercials by heart because they are run on a loop all the time on TV. The industry spent 11 to 12 percent more in 2011 than they did in the year before on advertising and marketing campaigns.
In all, more than 40 percent of the drivers who did shop on the Internet for lower auto insurance premiums did end up finding what they were looking for and switched their insurance company. This is a three percent increase and the highest rate of changes in about three years.
About half of drivers search online for their car insurance coverage and almost three quarters of them will directly visit an insurance company’s website for further information. One reason why fewer people may be shopping online is because they think that the economy is very bad and they will not be able to get enough of a discount to save them a lot of money.
In 2011, drivers saved more than $410 on their auto insurance coverage by utilizing online insurance quotes. Now most people save around $359 which is a significant drop. With the number of uninsured drivers on the road increasing all the time, it stands to reason that this may be the cause of why savings have not increased for drivers.
Drivers typically decide to switch their auto insurance provider when they suffer a huge premium rate increase or they feel as though they are not receiving quality customer service. The study found that drivers are now giving their auto insurance companies a score of 790 out of 1,000. This is an increase of 13 points from the year before. If drivers are getting what they want then they will tend to stay put.
Auto insurance companies put a lot of money into their advertising efforts. It stands to reason if they will increase their budgets in the coming months. As it goes to show, consumers will pay money for a quality product that offers them the best customer service possible. It is still a great idea to shop around though because drivers can still save money.
