You should be able to get a free car insurance quote online from any auto insurance company with a website, and most of them do these days. There was a time when you had to pay for a quotation, but not now. In fact if any company tries to charge you for an online quote, don’t bother dealing with them.

What should you be looking for in a free auto insurance quote? A low price obviously, but that will depend on the information you provide in the online quote form. You want a quick response, certainly, preferably within matter of minutes, although generally the same day is normal. The response can come online or by email, and should include a detailed list of what the quotation covers you for should decide to accept it.

However, a free online quote is really just the first stage and nobody really expects it to be accepted as it is; neither the insurer nor the driver. There is usually a degree of haggling or negotiation before the insuring agreement is finally signed. The online quote form is not generally comprehensive enough to include all of the factors that will decide the ultimate price of the insurance policy, and you could look upon it as a means of comparing a number of companies prior to drawing up a short-list.

What many people that are trying to insure their private passenger autos do, is to choose a long list of auto insurance companies from which to seek the initial free car insurance quote online. They use the form to provide information on the basic auto coverage required, together with some of the factors that establish the auto insurance rates and discounts. Not all of these factors can be provided online, and are generally kept for use for further negotiation.

The final automobile insurance policy should be negotiated from a short-list drawn up from the cheapest of the free online quotes. That is when you get personal, and pick up the telephone. Speak to each insurer on your short-list and negotiate reductions and discounts. You can use factors such as any special driving courses to have taken, the rate of liability cover you want and any other factors such as the security and safety features that make your car less liable to harm passengers and less likely to be stolen or damaged.

Perhaps your age, employment or residential area qualify you for a discount, or maybe you have other insurances with the company that could be at risk if you don’t get that taken into consideration. Or you could even move your mortgage or life insurance to that company if you get a whacking discount of your auto insurance. These things have been known to happen.

The whole point of an online free car insurance quotation is that you can compare the auto insurance rates being offered by a lot of different companies. You will get best results if you draw up a list with the help of an online comparison site, and perhaps a review site. Include in your list a few well known large national companies, a few smaller local companies and some brokers with access to a number of different auto insurance companies. You will then have a good mix of auto insurers with standard prices, and also some likely able and willing to negotiate auto insurance rates.

Each must offer a free online quote of course, or it’s pointless having them on your list. However, just about every motor insurance company worth dealing with is online these days. Once you have compared the various quotes, take the lowest three or four for your short-list and then do as recommended earlier. When you are down to the last two, call each again and let them know the other price, asking them if they can beat it. That way you will get the cheapest possible price for your circumstances.

You can also use an online form if you are looking for fast auto insurance quotes, since online quotes are usually much faster than telephone quotes. When they say “I’ll get back to you shortly” they will get back to you, but rarely ’shortly’! You are much quicker doing it online. However, a fast quote is not necessarily the cheapest quote, so keep that in mind: you only get ‘cheapest’ by comparing a number of quotes and then negotiating.

However, no matter how you use it, a free car insurance quote online is convenient and certainly a lot better than walking the streets from office to office.