Ways to Purchase Insurance

• Calling a company or using their website can be great if you love a certain company, but it is often is a call center with minimal/incorrect advice, providing an impersonal experience and potential gaps in coverage

• Directly from an insurance agent - often referred to as "captive" agents. They have a local presence, but are locked to one carrier. If they provide competitive rates, quality relationship, and good advice, it can be a good option. Just watch out for rate creep. They may be competitive when you set it up, but creep up over years costing you hundreds or thousands. Frog in boiling water?

• Directly from a broker…brokers have access to a list of carriers as well as a "rater" that shops all the carriers not only up front, but can easily re-shop it on renewals if the chosen insurance carrier drastically changes rates. This is often the best option as you get a local agent, solid advice, and consistently competitive rates. Just make sure the broker doesn't set it and forget it. Ask them what their annual review process is. If that concept sounds foreign to them, keep calling around until you find someone that reaches out annually to check in, make adjustments, and shop it out again if necessary.