A Car Insurance Quote From 1 Company Could Mean Years of Annoying Telemarketing Calls
It was as if the internet knew I was shopping for a new policy: Everywhere I looked was an advertisement for some online marketplace promising to find me the cheapest auto insurance around. QuoteWizard. Insurance.com. The Zebra. EverQuote. Insure.com. CarInsurance.com. But I did a little digging and found out that they are all part of a big scam.
The above companies all belong to a company named QuinStreet. And QuinStreetās customer isnāt you, the driver. No, it is hundreds of companies looking for leads on potential customers. And they are not auto insurance companies. They sell home mortgages to people, or solar panels, or that pesky extended vehicle warranty. And with QuinStreetās help, they will reach you.
QuinStreetās racket is offering to build websites promising to get you quotes from multiple insurance providers. Then it collects all of your data to sell. Weāre talking your car, your home address, who you live with, your driving history, credit, driverās license number, and your job. And sure, it will give you a list of insurance quotes (often more expensive policies than the insurance providers themselves would offer). But to see these quotes, youāll need to agree to receive telemarketing texts and calls from the websites āmarketing partners.ā One the ādo not callā list? Doesnāt matter, youāve agreed to calls.
David Troutman is, of all things, a lawyer who represents lead generation company trade organizations. But he says ābad actorsā give the entire industry a bad name. āOne consumer may literally receive thousands of phone calls for months, if not years, based on one webform submissionā¦and thereās no way to stop it.ā
That sounds like a big pain in the bumper for an insurance quote. As I said above, the kicker is that most of these insurance rate comparison websites slap you with a higher premium. Youāre better off going to the insurance providers themselves for a quote. Want to use a single website to get a ballpark of who will charge what? Consumer Reports thinks your best bet is Experian, Policygenius, or apps by āWay.comā and āJerry.ā
I found Experian a bit glitchy, but Policygenius worked well for me. I also downloaded āJerry: The All Car Appā and āWay ā #1 Auto Super App.ā Jerry gave me the same quotes as Policygenius. Way.com found the cheapest one. But obviously rates vary widely by your location, age, and what you drive.
As for QuinStreet, the Federal Communications Commission has set its sites on stopping such crooked lead generation methods. The new rules would require companies get permission from you every single time they sell a lead once. The attorney generals from 28 states have even piled on, signing an open letter in support of the FCCās new rule. But in the meantime, Iām going to be careful who gets my information, even for an auto insurance quote.
Next, how GM got caught selling your driving data.