before you get insurance quotes

Save on hassle, money, and potentially a lawsuit by looking over this simple checklist before you start trying to get insurance quotes. Don't worry, this is NOT a sales pitch!

1. Check with people you trust.

Insurance agents just want to sell their product so before getting insurance quotes ask your friends, neighbors and family members, they may have valuable information about their insurance. They may know of great deals, small companies in your area that do a great a job, or have horror stories about insurance claims with certain companies. I learned this on the hard way by buying a big brand of car insurance and then had a terrible time with them when I had to make a claim, turns out one of my friends did too, I'd just never asked...

2. Gather all the items needed to get a quote.

Before you can get a quote you will need to know a few basics if it a car you will need to know the year, make and model. If it is for a home you will need the home's address, age, square footage, number of bathrooms, bedrooms and what the frame is made of. You should also know safety specifics, such as what kind of alarm systems you have in place and how far (approx) to the nearest fire station and fire hydrant.

3. Decide if you want to use the Internet, an agent, or a direct writer .

Many people have or develop a good relationship with their local insurance agent and feel more secure with this face to face relationship. Be aware that having a local agent may come at a price. If you decide on an online option you can go directly to the companies in question or there are several sites in which you can enter the information and they will have multiple companies contact you by phone or email. This does let you get lots of different quotes, but be aware that they will all be trying to sell you something. So be prepared with your questions and to let them know you are still in the research phase. Personally I don't like having a bunch of salespeople knowing my phone number. I checked out several of these sites and the only one I found that had an email only option was insureme.com. There may be other better services out there to get free insurance quotes, if you find them please add comments about them.

4. Write it down

When you talk to a company to get a quote make sure you really understand what they are covering and write down what they are offering as far as coverage amount and deductibles. When you later compare companies you will be sure you are really comparing the same criteria. For example some homeowners insurance policies will cover "replacement cost" of items and other will cover "actual cash value" Replacement cost means how much it would be to buy the same thing today. If you had a certain size and model of TV they will pay for a new one that is the same size and model (as close as possible anyway). Actual cash value means they will figure out how much you paid for it and then depreciate it, so you will end up getting a lot less if you had to make a claim.

5. Do your research.

You want your insurance company to be financially viable. You can check on their financial strength rating as assigned by the major credit rating agencies, like Standard & Poor's, Moody's or TheStreet.com Ratings. You may also want to contact the dept of insurance for your state and ask for any information on the company's history of customer complaints, or search the Internet for additional information about the company. Here is a list of the phone numbers for the Dept of Insurance by state.

AL: 205-269-3550

AK: 907-465-2515

AZ: 602-255-5400

AR: 501-686-2900

CA: 1-800-927-4357

CO: 303-894-7499

CT: 203-297-3800

DE: 1-800-282-8611

DC: 202-727-8002

FL: 1-800-342-2762

GA: 404-656-2056

GU: 671-477-5144

HI: 1-800-468-4644

ID: 208-334-2250

IL: 217-782-4515

IN: 1-800-622-4461

IA: 515-281-5705

KS: 1-800-432-2484

KY: 502-564-3630

LA: 504-342-5900

ME: 207-582-8707

MD: 1-800-492-6116

MA: 617-727-3357

MI: 517-373-9273

MN: 1-800-652-9747

MS: 601-359-3569

MO: 314-751-4126

MT: 1-800-332-6148

NE: 402-471-2201

NV: 1-800-992-0900

NH: 1-800-852-3416

NJ: 609-292-5363

NM: 505-827-4500

NY: 212-602-0203

NC: 1-800-662-7777

ND: 1-800-247-0560

OH: 1-800-686-1526

OK: 405-521-1828

OR: 503-378-4271

PA: 717-787-5173

PR: 809-722-8686

RI: 401-277-2223

SC- 803-737-6117

SD: 605-773-3563

TN: 1-800-342-4029

TX: 512-463-6464

UT: 801-530-6400

VT: 802-828-3301

VA: 1-800-552-7945

VI: 809-774-2991

WA: 1-800-562-6900

WV: 1-800-642-9004

WI: 1-800-236-8517

WY: 307-777-7401

National Insurance Consumer Helpline (NICH) 1-800-942-4242