If you deal direct with a company or one of their "captive agents" (an agent who only reps 1 insurance company) you end up with no comparison shopping at all. I can't agree with that on any level. Auto insurance is a product like anything else and most people try to get the best value for everything they purchase and insurance should be the same way.

A broker or independent agent will be able to give you quotes from many different companies showing the difference in prices.

Sure some brokers are idiots and crooks but so are captive agents. The best advice I can give you is to go to an agent that is recommended by a relative or friend.

My agent is the daughter of the agent my father used, so I had a great recommendation about the agent and I would never consider buying direct off the internet. I get good service and advice and she does a great job of checking with me to see if I NEED additional coverages. A captive agent can do that for you also but without the ability to provide comparison prices.

Try to avoid buying direct online without an agent unless you are knowledgeable about insurance coverages. Last week there was a person on this site who bought a policy online but didn't do it correctly and had an accident and found out the hard way that they did not purchase collision coverage so now they have car payments on what has become a giant paperweight.

Be careful and good luck.