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Trusted Rates Review

Monday, December 2nd

2024 Auto Insurance Plan Reviews

Trusted Rates Review 1 Star Rating

Trusted Rates

1 Star Rating
  • Promises to keep information private
  • Save $500 or more on auto insurance
  • Quotes within 1 minute
  • All online

Before we spend time with a company and on their website, we like to learn a little bit about them. Unfortunately, Trusted Rates gives almost no information about themselves on their website. All they say is that they've helped millions of customers find customized insurance policies at the best prices and with the shortest form. Trusted Rates said they keep all information on their website safe and private using advanced encryption software. Other than that, we aren't sure about the background of this company, which is a disappointment from the start.

Jump into the questionnaire

There appears to be basically two options when you reach Trusted Rates. There's a button saying, "Call An Agent” that we assumed would lead us to a phone number, but instead it does nothing at all. So your only real choice if you want to pursue this site is to input your vehicle year, make, model, annual mileage, and license state to get to work on a quote. Trusted Rates says you'll get cheap auto insurance quotes within one minute, so we put it to the test.

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Minimal information required

It's true that it took us about a minute to fill out the questions that Trusted Rates gave us. There were far less than we've been asked by other places, which is great, but made us wonder if they had enough to go off of to give us anything accurate in the end. After filling out some very basic information, we received three insurance choices. They were from SelectMyPolicy, My Insurance Avenue, and InsuranceSaverToday. We'd never heard of these, but were willing to check out what the rates might be.

Broken links

As soon as we clicked "View My Rates” next to the company name suggested for us, we hit a dead end. The links to all three companies were broken, so there was nothing else we could do. Luckily we didn't spend too much time on this site or hand over too much information, otherwise we would have been frustrated by the time we had wasted.

Abandoned website

Trusted Rates hasn't updated their copyright since 2022. This doesn't always mean the company isn't in operation, but it does tell us that their website isn't receiving active maintenance. We are 0% surprised by this.

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No ratings

A Better Business Bureau (BBB) badge is displayed on Trusted Rates' site, but you can't click on it and we weren't able to find a rating for them from the BBB when we looked for ourselves. There is almost nothing about this service anywhere else on the internet, which makes sense since we can't imagine why anyone would be trying to use them in the first place.

Nothing for us here

You'll get nothing in return for your time with Trusted Rates. They've clearly stopped operations and can offer nothing to you. Luckily there are some great companies that offer free quote comparison services, so you aren't missing out by looking elsewhere. Trusted Rates has earned our lowest rating.

Where is the Best Place to Purchase Auto Insurance?

Whether you've just turned 16, or you're 99 years old and out driving on the roads, you need auto insurance. This protects you and everyone else by making sure that if an accident happens, it will be paid for and taken care of. Whether you get in a small fender bender or (heaven forbid) a devastating large-scale accident, your insurance will kick in and save you from potentially having to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Besides paying for damage done to your car and anyone else potentially involved in an issue on the road, auto insurance can cover things like theft, weather, keying, or natural disasters. It can help pay for medical bills, lost wages, or even a funeral if anyone is injured or killed. There are a range of other things your insurance can help with depending on the plan like a cracked windshield, which comes in handy since we've all been hit by a flying rock or two on the road.

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Auto Insurance Plan FAQ

Auto insurance is used to provide financial protection from physical damage or bodily injury caused by a car accident. It is a contract between you and an insurer that says if you pay a monthly or yearly premium to have insurance, the auto insurance company will take care of costs that arise in the event of an accident. Your insurance might cover things like damage to or theft of your car, legal responsibilities, or medical costs to treat injuries and rehabilitation.
Everyone needs car insurance. Motorists who drive without insurance can receive hefty fines from police officers if they are pulled over. In other cases, their car could be impounded or their driver's license revoked. If you're in a car accident that causes harm to another person or their property, you would be responsible for 100% of the cost which could easily equal tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many states have a pay-to-play rule which states that if you're in a car accident and it's someone else's fault, you can only collect money from their insurance if you have car insurance of your own. In short, it's extremely risky and an overall bad idea not to have auto insurance.
Many auto insurance companies have calculators on their website that ask you a series of questions to help you get an estimate of your monthly or yearly auto insurance cost. If you have a solid driving record and want good insurance, you can expect to pay somewhere around $300-$500 per year. Oftentimes you can bundle and save if you put more than one vehicle on your auto insurance. If you get a speeding ticket or are a responsible party in a car accident, it's more than likely that your insurance rate will go up. This is because the insurance company looks at you as a higher liability.
Some of the main factors in determining auto insurance rates are your driving record, how often you use your car, where you live (e.g. are you somewhere where vandalism rates are high?), your gender and age, the kind of car you drive (e.g. how much would it cost to replace?), and the type of insurance you want. There is no one-size-fits-all insurance policy, so you'll be asked about all of these things when you apply for auto insurance. You may also get discounts for being a good student, bundling more than one type of insurance (like homeowner's and life), or even for being married!
You can change auto insurance policies at any time. If you find somewhere that offers you as good or better car insurance than what you currently have for a better price, go for it! Although it is a minor pain to shop around and fill out the paperwork to make the switch, you can do it at any time. There are no penalties for changing auto insurance companies, but be cautious of the companies that make you pay termination fees.
Some online companies will take your information and match you to the best auto insurance companies around. Others will let you sign up for an auto insurance policy with them directly. It's as simple as finding a highly-rated auto insurance group and filling out an application. You'll be asked for basic personal information and some details about your driving history, location, vehicle, and other things.
It doesn't hurt to get quotes from multiple auto insurance companies. It's a no-brainer that you want to get the lowest premiums possible. Check the company's Better Business Bureau rating and make sure the insurance is comprehensive in offering everything you would need in the event of an accident. As long as the auto insurance company is known for having good customer service, you should be safe signing up for a policy with them.
If you're involved in a car crash, fender bender, or your car is stolen, call your insurance company. It's also wise to get the auto insurance information of all other parties involved so that the companies can work together to sort things out. When you contact your own insurance company, they will ask you any relevant questions about the situation you're in and walk you through the process to give you the best coverage possible.
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Continued from above...

There are usually different tiers of auto insurance plans that you can choose from that will determine how much is covered. You're probably familiar with a few big-name auto insurance companies that seem to dominate the marketplace with ads and commercials. But there are actually quite a few companies out there and some could save you a significant amount of money compared to their competitors.

You can usually get a quick online quote within minutes that will help you compare pricing between companies. There are even some services that will take your information and instantly help you compare quotes among a bunch of different companies without you having to visit them one at a time. Depending on your driving history, some of these services give you more accurate quotes than others, but it's always worth a try.

We've done a lot of the deep dive research regarding some of the top online websites that sell auto insurance and recommend keeping the following things in mind when you're shopping:

  • Quote turnaround time. It's frustrating to spend time filling out personal information on a website and answering questions about your driving history only to find that instead of providing you with an online quote, you have to wait to talk to a representative on the phone. This can drag out the process and make it hard to easily compare quotes among companies.
  • Information required. Most companies ask for basic information like your name and email address before getting started with questions about what you need in an insurance policy. However, some companies require a social security number or other private information before providing an online quote, and we would be wary of this. We like companies that just ask for what they need in order to provide you with pricing rather than try to get as much out of you.
  • Reputation. Pay close attention to the Better Business Bureau rating and customer ratings of an insurance company. When you're in a situation where you need your insurance company to step in, it's usually not a fun one and you want to work with someone who will be helpful, responsive, and provide payouts quickly. When you pay for auto insurance, you should expect the company to deliver on their product, but unfortunately a lot of companies make this difficult. Look for a place that people are happy with and trust.

The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have researched and ranked the most popular auto insurance sites you're likely to consider when shopping for coverage. We hope this information helps you have peace of mind as you head out on the road and feel taken care of when the time comes to use your policy!

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