Necessary Insurance Documentation For Accurate Online Quotes
Your auto policy comes with a page known as a declarations page or “Dec sheet” for short. This is the page that will contain most of the information you will need to both have an understanding of the coverage you currently have as well as the details needed in order to get an accurate rate quote from another company or companies.
Every company will give you a copy of your policy and each policy will contain a declarations page showing the different coverage provided. Although most Dec sheets are designed similarly, you’ll find small differences between different companies but nothing significant. Basically the top portion will contain the insurance company information, the policy period, the name of the policy holder and your Agents information.
Below this information will be a list of vehicles on the policy. Also provided will be the VIN numbers for each vehicle, next to the year, make and model. When getting a quote online this is much needed to know information in order to be sure your quote request comes back accurately.
On the declarations page you will also find your coverage information for each car. Typically each car will have the same amount of liability coverage, however comprehensive, collision and other optional coverage may vary between cars. There should also be boxes containing the premium amounts for each type of coverage on each car followed by a totaled premium near the bottom of the page.
Near the end of your declarations page you may also find information such as discounts added, drivers, exclusions and other endorsement information. When getting a new quote you may also want to have your vehicle(s) registration, all drivers’ licenses and driving history facts where you can access them at the appropriate time.
Comparing quotes can either be a quick process or a timely process depending on exactly how many companies you would like to compare. You never want to go into this process with half the information. This will only result in headaches and time wasted. By having all the correct information in front you, you can rest assured knowing your rate stands a better staying where it was originally quoted.
Sometimes when details are left out companies will send and increase notification months later after the purchase has been made. This can usually happen when a past claim or accident went unmentioned during the quote process. Some companies look 3 years back while others look as far as 5 years back for each driver’s history, so it’s a good idea to keep records since most of us can easily forget about an occurrence that happened years ago.