We would love to say that the Internet is a perfectly safe place to shop, play and do business.
We really would.
Unfortunately, as with everything else there are people out there that don't think twice about exploiting the vulnerability of the Internet, and those people are trying to ruin it for everybody.
Identity theft is the number one concern of most consumers doing business on the web, forcing them to ask-how much personal information do they really need when you're shopping for insurance quotes online? The amount of information you're going to give out is going to depend heavily on the type of insurance you're looking for, so I can't give you a tried and true answer under every condition.
I can, however, give you some idea of what companies should be asking and what information could raise some red flags when it comes to keeping your information safe online.
What They Need to Know Regardless of the type of insurance quotes you're looking for, your insurer is going to ask you for your zip code before they issue you a policy.
That's especially true if you're shopping for auto insurance quotes online, since certain parts of the country have a higher incidence of accidents (and, by default, insurance claims) than others and represent a greater risk to your insurance company.
If you're shopping for home insurance quotes they're also going to need to know your address to give them a general idea of what homes in your neighborhood are worth and how common vandalism/theft/etc.
is in your part of town.
Really, it all just comes down to having some idea of how likely they are to have to pay an insurance claim.
If you can save them money by living in a safe part of town, they'll save you money when you're shopping for insurance quotes online.
It's as simple as that.
Your driving record, your car's safety features, your health history (if you're shopping for health or life insurance) and any additional features on your home are also going to make the must-have list when they're trying to guesstimate how much it's going to cost you to buy insurance through their company.
What They Don't Need Most companies will ask for your driver's license or SSN when they're trying to calculate your auto insurance quotes, but these should be optional until you're actually ready to buy a policy.
They need to be able to check your driving record, credit history, etc, but they can give you a quote without it.
They also don't need your credit card number, since most companies will offer free insurance quotes online.
If you see any of these, steer clear.
They might be innocent.
They might not.
But the last thing you want is to have to take that chance.