Straight answers, no sales pitch.

No. We're an independent education and comparison publisher — not a licensed insurance agent, broker, producer, or carrier. We don't sell, quote, or bind policies and nothing here is personalized insurance advice. We explain how coverage works so you can decide, then take it to someone licensed to issue a policy.

Most states require liability at a legal minimum, but that minimum is usually far below what a serious at-fault crash costs — which is why many drivers carry more. Collision and comprehensive are optional by law but often required by a lender. The right amount is the coverage that keeps a bad day from wiping you out. Full breakdown on our auto page.

Depends which policy. Motor-vehicle insurance prices have actually cooled — down about 2.0% year-over-year as of May 2026 (BLS Consumer Price Index), a sharp reversal from the 22.6% year-over-year jump they hit in April 2024. Homeowners premiums are a different story: still up roughly 34% nationally from 2018 to 2023 (S&P Global Market Intelligence rate-filing data, via Realtor.com), with the Insurance Information Institute reporting an 11.2% jump in 2022 alone (citing NAIC data). Rebuild costs and weather losses hit whole regions at once, which is why home premiums keep climbing even as auto cools.

Neither — insure it for what it would cost to rebuild today (replacement cost). Market value includes land and tracks the resale market; a homeowners policy is about rebuilding the structure. Insuring to market value can leave you badly short after a total loss. More on the home page.

They do different jobs. Term is usually the least expensive way to buy a large amount of protection for a set number of years — good for covering the years your family depends on your income. Whole life lasts your whole life and builds cash value at a much higher cost. Most people covering a temporary need are served by term. More on the life page.

The test is whether anyone depends on your income. If your death would leave someone unable to cover the mortgage, raise the kids, or clear a shared debt, that's the gap life insurance fills. If nobody relies on your income and you have no co-signed debt, you may not need it. It's about who's counting on you, not your age.

Every figure we cite comes from a named, dated public source — the NAIC, the Insurance Information Institute, a state department of insurance, the Federal Reserve, or the BLS. We describe the market, not a quote for you, and we never promise savings. The full standard is on our methodology page.

Through disclosed advertising and referral arrangements, stated on the page where they apply. What we're paid never changes how we explain a coverage or how we rank options. The full breakdown is on our how-we-make-money page.