Gathering car insurance quotes from multiple providers is a great way to find the best rates. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to get an accurate quote without providing a significant amount of personal information.
In this article, our Guides Auto Team will outline a few ways to get reliable auto insurance quotes while providing as few personal details as possible. We’ve also researched and ranked the best car insurance companies to help you find the right match for your coverage needs.
What Information Is Typically Required for a Car Insurance Quote?
Before you can get a reliable free quote from a car insurance provider, you’ll need to provide some personal information. While companies ask for varying amounts of detail, you can expect to be asked for:
- Your driver’s license number
- Your date of birth
- Driver’s license numbers and dates of birth for others in your household
- Year, make and model of all vehicles on policy
- Vehicle identification numbers (VIN)
- Ownership/lender information for vehicles
- Garaging address for vehicles (usually your home address)
- Prior insurance information and driver histories
You’ll also need to indicate what type of coverage you want in order to get the most accurate quote. A full-coverage policy that includes comprehensive and collision coverage will come with a higher premium than minimum-liability insurance, which includes only bodily injury and property damage liability coverage. The coverage limits and deductible you select will also have a significant impact on your auto insurance quote.
Auto insurance companies typically won’t ask for your Social Security number unless you’ve already received a quote and want to purchase a policy. Insurers use your Social Security number to check your credit score, which has a big impact on premiums in most states. You should not need to provide your Social Security number unless you’re far along in the process of purchasing an insurance policy.
Tips for Getting an Anonymous Car Insurance Quote
It’s not easy to obtain a car insurance quote while remaining completely anonymous. Insurers need a certain amount of detail about your identity and the vehicles in your household to provide an accurate quote.
Thankfully, some companies make it easy to get a more reliable cost estimate without providing too much personal information. These providers often require you to submit only your ZIP code, date of birth, vehicle type and driving history to receive a quote.
Providing contact information such as your phone number or email address to receive an insurance quote may lead to multiple follow-up phone calls or emails. If you’d like to avoid that, we suggest that if a company requests your email, you consider using a secondary email address. That way, your primary inbox doesn’t get filled with auto insurance offers.
If you’re okay with a car insurance estimate rather than a precise quote, you can use any number of online car insurance calculators. Several large insurance providers offer this type of tool, which typically asks a few anonymous questions about your vehicle and provides you with policy suggestions and coverage limits that might work for you.
Factors That Affect Car Insurance Costs
As you compare car insurance quotes and search for the best or the cheapest car insurance, remember that providers are weighing the following key factors to determine costs:
- Age: Drivers between the ages of 16 and 25 typically pay the highest car insurance rates. Rates gradually decline from there and start to increase again slightly once a driver reaches the age of 65.
- Gender: In most states, the gender on your driver’s license affects how much you pay for car insurance coverage. Males typically pay more than females.
- Driving record: A clean driving record is one of the best ways to find cheap car insurance. Having a speeding ticket, driving under the influence (DUI) conviction, at-fault accident or other traffic violation on your record will lead to higher rates.
- Credit score: Insurers in most states weigh financial responsibility by evaluating credit scores. The higher your credit score, the lower insurance premiums you’ll pay.
- Vehicle type: Cars with high crash and theft rates — especially sports cars — cost more to cover. Also, a new car will typically be associated with higher rates than an older, used car.
- Marital status: Married drivers often pay less for car insurance than single ones.
- Location: Population density, accident rates and the frequency of auto insurance claims where you live all have an impact on how much you pay for an auto insurance policy.
Anonymous Car Insurance Quote: Conclusion
It’s tough to get an accurate car insurance quote without providing some level of personal information. However, some insurers will give you a reliable quote with only your ZIP code, date of birth and vehicle type. Some websites and car insurance companies feature online calculators that can provide coverage suggestions or cost estimates. While these calculators don’t offer exact quotes, you can get a good idea of insurance costs without providing any personal information.
Top Auto Insurance Recommendations
However you go about gathering car insurance quotes, we recommend that you include the following top-rated providers in your search.
State Farm: Editor’s Choice
Our reviews team named State Farm our Editor’s Choice because it offers affordable rates, a wide range of coverage options and a nationwide network of local insurance agents. Along with standard auto coverage policies, State Farm offers add-ons like rideshare insurance, uninsured motorist coverage and rental car reimbursement.
You’ll need to provide your driver’s license number, vehicle details and driving history information to get a quote from State Farm. The company also requires an email address before sending a quote.
Keep reading: State Farm insurance review
Geico: Affordable Rates for Most Drivers
We recommend Geico thanks to its strong reputation in the insurance industry, solid customer service and competitive pricing. The company offers higher coverage limits than most other large insurers as well. Geico also stands out from the crowd by offering mechanical breakdown insurance (MBI), which covers a host of key components and offers protection similar to an extended car warranty.
The quote process is simple and straightforward with Geico. You don’t need to provide much in the way of personal details — just some basic vehicle information and demographics. It only takes a few minutes to get a reliable quote.
Keep reading: Geico insurance review
Anonymous Car Insurance Quote: FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about getting an anonymous auto insurance quote.
Our Methodology
Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.
In this article, we selected companies with high overall ratings and cost ratings. The cost ratings were informed by auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities.
*Data accurate at time of publication.
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