During these recessionary times a lot of people have felt compelled to try a "do it yourself" approach by shopping for insurance quotes on line. As a long time insurance professional, I strongly support the idea of doing research and I want every one of myclients to be well educated consumers when it comes to their insurance protection. But there are several risks associated with online insurance shopping and I want to make you aware of them so that you don't stub your toe if you choose this approach.  I'm going to ignore the fact that some sights give the impression that buying insurance is a great do it yourself project.  It isn't and I have seen some of the ugly results of people purchasing insurance to protect their assets without the help of a professional.  This article instead addresses what you might be putting at risk when you use the internet to do the shopping for you.

An entire industry of insurance lead resellers has cropped up over the past few years. These are companies that advertise on Google and other search engines and use "pay per click" advertising to lure insurance shoppers to their site. They then offer the visitor a chance to complete a form with personal information so that the shopper can receive an insurance quote.
 
What happens next is that the shopper's personal information is then sold to many different insurance agencies across the internet and these agencies all compete to get you a quote the quickest. Sounds good so far doesn't it. The trouble is that these 3rd party lead resellers are not very diligent about who they let sign up to buy their leads. This means many unscrupulous businesses are now able to gather information about the insurance shopper, simply by posing as an insurance agent and signing up to buy these leads. The result for the shopper could be a minor annoyance like increased junk email or it could go as far as full blown identity theft.   Either way, the risks are just too high for the consumer.
 
Here is a better idea. Use the internet to research specific insurance agents and agencies that you might like to do business with.  Then call them or better yet, visit their office and ask them the questions that give you a comfort level with them.  If you use an independent agent, then they will have access to a wider swath of the insurance marketplace. You can let them explore the marketplace for you. They can keep your personal information safe and save you time.