The FAQ, starting with the money

We don't work for any insurance company. We hold appointments with twelve carriers (on this sample site, fictional ones) and shop your coverage across them. When a carrier raises rates at renewal, we can move you without you starting over: that's the practical difference from a captive agent, who can only ever sell one company's products.

Carriers pay us a commission on every policy we place: typically 10–15% of the premium for personal lines, built into the carrier's pricing. You never pay us a fee, and your premium is the same whether you buy through us or from that carrier directly. One honest wrinkle: commission percentages differ slightly between carriers, which is a conflict of interest we manage by showing you every quote we receive, side by side.

Not automatically: anyone who promises that is selling. Direct carriers spend their distribution money on advertising; carriers that work with agents spend it on commissions. What shopping multiple carriers reliably does is find the company whose underwriting likes your situation, and that's where real differences show up, sometimes large ones. Sometimes your current insurer genuinely is the best deal. We'll say so; read our three-star review.

Twelve, listed on our carriers page: a mix of national and regional companies plus specialists for life insurance and unusual risks. (On this sample site every carrier name is fictional; a real agency would list its actual lineup.)

No. Insurance quoting uses a 'soft pull' that never appears to other lenders and doesn't move your score. Insurance scores are also calculated differently from lending scores.

Because an honest premium depends on facts we haven't verified yet: your exact vehicles, roof age, claims history, prior coverage. Any instant number we showed you would be a marketing estimate dressed up as a quote, and it would change. Our coverage checkup tells you what you need; real pricing takes about ten minutes of real details.

Usually painless. Most carriers refund unused premium pro-rata (a few short-rate, which we'll flag first). We line up the new policy, set matching effective dates so there's no gap, and send the cancellation for you. Your mortgage escrow gets updated too: that's the step people forget.

Rate increases are mostly about everyone's claims, not yours: repair costs, roof replacements, medical bills, and reinsurance all rose sharply and carriers re-file rates statewide. Your clean record still matters: it's why we re-shop renewals that jump more than 10% automatically.

They keep you legal, not protected. Ohio's 25/50/25 minimums were set decades ago; one hospitalization can pass $25,000 quickly, and you're personally liable for the balance. Stepping up to 100/300 usually costs less than people expect: we'll show you the actual difference for your household.

Mostly no. Business property is capped (commonly around $2,500) and business liability is excluded. Depending on what you do, the fix ranges from an inexpensive endorsement to a small commercial policy. Tell us what you're running from the spare room: we've heard everything.

If you drive, host, own a dog, have a teen driver, or have assets (including future wages) worth protecting: it's worth pricing. A $1M umbrella is typically the cheapest liability protection per dollar of coverage in the entire industry. If your exposure is genuinely low, we'll tell you to skip it.

The carrier pays claims; we advocate. Call us first (unless it's an emergency, then 911, then the carrier's 24/7 line, then us in the morning). We help you decide whether filing makes sense, file alongside you, translate adjuster-speak, and push back when an estimate looks light. That's the whole reason claims-help has its own page here.