Using the Buyers Guide

Instructions for Purchasing and Using the Buyers Guide

You will receive an email with a validation code for activating your membership.

(Note: If you are requiring incoming emails to your account to be approved in advance by you, please allow mail from email addresses that end with "homeinsurancebuyers.org". If you do not receive the email with the validation instructions, please check in your trash or bulk email folders before contacting customer support.)

After you enter your validation code, click on the "place order" link from the member home screen to purchase access to the buyers guide.

Make sure the zip code you enter for your credit card to purchase access to the guide matches the zip code on your credit card billing statement.

You will receive an email confirming your purchase. Please note that you are purchasing two weeks access to our on-line database, not a hard copy of the buyers guide. You will not receive a printed copy of the buyers guide in the mail.

(Make sure you are using one of the following Internet browsers: Internet Explorer Version 6 or higher/Mozilla Firefox version 2.0 or higher.)

From the member home page you can:

Search for companies writing new business in the counties you have purchased on an unlimted basis for two full weeks.
See your purchase history and the date when your database access expires.
Contact customer support.
Place additional orders to view data in other Florida counties up to a maxiumum of three.
Submit a testimonial about your results with the Home Insurance Buyers Guide.
Submit three competitive Florida homeowner insurance quotes and receive a coupon code good for 20% off your next purchase of the Buyers Guide.
Submit a data correction if you learn new information that does not agree with the data in the Buyers Guide database.
Submit and share market intelligence for the benefit of all Florida homeowner insurance consumers.
Rate your satisfaction with your present Florida homeowner insurance company.
Leave us feedback on your success in finding private homeowners insurance using the Home Insurance Buyers Guide.

Follow these instructions to get the most out of your Buyers Guide subscription:

From the member home page:

Click on the "Search Companies" link.

The "Search Companies" page will appear.

Click on the "Instructions" link to show or hide the directions for searching the database.

Click the "down arrow" in the subscriptions section to see the county subscriptions you have purchased.

Select the county you want to search in.

Search within that county for companies that meet your selection criteria.

Sort your final list of companies alphabetically or by using the Buyers Guide Rating©.

Review each company's Buyers Guide Rating© and use it to create a short list of companies to consider.

Click the name of each Florida homeowner insurance company to see additional contact information, how to get a quote from that company, and to review its underwriting guidelines.

Look at each company's underwriting guidelines. If their guidelines exclude your home due to its age or type of construction, eliminate that company from your short list.

Using your list of finalists, decide which companies you would like to obtain a quote from.

Take action by clicking each company's method for helping you locate an agent who represents them. This could be a company agent locator or toll-free number. This could also be contact information we have supplied for a specific agent who represents that company in your county.

Contact that agent by phone and speak to the agent live. Don't leave voice messages.

Ask to receive a quote specifically from the company you found in the Home Insurance Buyers Guide.

If that agent won't quote you a policy with that company, go back into the Buyers Guide and locate another agent who represents that company.

Stay with this process until you have quotes from at least three private insurance companies.

(Please let us know immediately if any insurance agent shown in the Buyers Guide is unresponsive or does not return your phone calls quickly.)

Compare homeowner insurance rates for each of the companies you are considering.

Make your final selection and purchase insurance from the agent who provided the winning quote.

Pay for the insurance in full or make the first required installment per the insurance company's policy.

Get a declarations page (summary page) of your policy with all your coverages and limitations.

Important:

Don't cancel any existing insurance until you have a declarations page with the date that the policy becomes effective.
Under no circumstances should you ever let your existing policy lapse prior to the start of a new policy. A gap in coverage could make it more difficult or impossible for you to find insurance.

Don't throw out any of the quotes you've received while shopping for insurance.

After you have purchased insurance, help other Floridians by logging back into the member home area and:

Share three competitive Florida home insurance quotes and receive a coupon code for a 20% discount on your next purchase of the Buyers Guide.
Rate your satisfaction with your experience using the Buyers Guide.

Start shopping immediately to get the most out of the Buyers Guide. You will have unlimited access to the Buyers Guide database for two weeks.

Your user name and password will remain active even after your database access has expired. After you have been with your new carrier, you will have up to one year to log into our website and rate your satisfaction with your new insurance company.

Cost and satisfaction information will be made available in the Buyers Guide for all subscribers once we have a statistically valid sample to include in the database.

If you have other questions or experience problems when using the guide, submit your request to our customer support department.

Get the guide.

Helpful Hints

Start with the company first!

Use the Buyers Guide to find the names of companies writing in your county and to sort for only the best.

Call Agents for that company

Ask for a quote from that company. If they won't quote you, move on to an agent that will.

Be willing to work with multiple agents

If you have to work with more than one agent to get quotes from several of the best private companies, don't be afraid to do it!

Customer Support

If you experience any issues purchasing or using the Buyers Guide, please contact customer support.