Since 2013 Google has been licensing its online shopping site to sell auto coverage in several states. Currently they active licenses in 26 states and have announced plans to begin rolling out a new auto coverage comparison site in four states. During the next three months Google will begin to offer the service in California and then later in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Google’s brand is powerful and will certainly have an impact, but Bill Arowood of Madison Insurance Group urges consumers to consider the value of working with a local agent. “Having someone you can call at 4 pm on a Sunday afternoon, someone that’s your neighbor, your friend; you can’t get that with a big box insurance broker solution.”
Arowood states that working with a local agent is very important to insurance consumers because of the level of personal service it affords you. Arowood says that “your local agent is usually someone you know well or will certainly come to know as a friend. That’s a value that is hard to put into dollars and cents. It’s what insurance is all about. Having peace of mind.”