Navigating California Auto Insurance
So you’re trying to acquire that all elusive, seemingly exclusive, SR22 insurance form. The SR22 insurance form is basically just a form that you send to the California DMV stating that you are insured to drive any vehicle. Either you or your insurance broker can send it and it is a form unique to California. If any of this is news to you, then welcome to California auto insurance – it can be as irritating as the freeways sometimes.
There are three ways to acquire California auto insurance: through an agent, through a direct carrier, or through a broker. An agent is by definition an employee of a particular insurance carrier. While the agent is supposed to be looking out for everyone’s best interest, the carrier’s and yours, that agent’s primary responsibility is to his/her employer, not you. A direct carrier means that the insurance carrier bypasses the agent or broker and sells directly to the customer. Many people mistakenly assume that if they are getting their insurance “direct from the source” it means they are saving money. This is not really the case. In the insurance world, bypassing the middleman does not equal money in your pocket. The direct carrier still has the same limitations the agent has. It is limited to selling only insurance from only one carrier (itself) and of course, it is going to look out for itself first.
By definition, the insurance broker works for the customer. The broker, like the agent, is required to look out for everyone’s best interest, but the broker’s first obligation is to his/her employer - you. Better yet, a broker often has a broad choice of auto insurance programs for you to choose from. This is how it works. A broker makes an agreement with different insurance carriers to present their programs to potential customers. Insurance carriers are pretty careful whom they make agreements with, so if you find a broker with many different carriers to choose from, it means they have a solid reputation in the insurance industry.
To sum up, when shopping for a car insurance quote, California can seem like the worst state to live in. It’s not. It’s a great state. Find a broker that offers many different insurance programs; it will save you significant stress and confusion. You’ll get enough of that on the freeways, trust me.
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