EverQuote Car Insurance Review: Spam Risk, Quotes, and More

EverQuote lets you compare quotes for a variety of insurance products, including auto, home, renters, and life insurance. If you’re in the market for an auto insurance policy, EverQuote claims it can help you shop for and compare car insurance quotes that meet your unique needs.

But beware — the “quotes” you receive on EverQuote won’t come with prices. Instead, these results are mostly ads that often force you to re-enter your information after clicking. If you want to compare real, accurate quotes for auto insurance and other products, sites like Compare.com, Insurify, and The Zebra are a much better option.

We’ll cover everything you need to know in the sections below.

What Does EverQuote Do?

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, EverQuote made its debut in 2011 as a car insurance comparison site. The company was founded by MIT students Seth Birnbaum and Tomas Revesz.

Over the years, the site has evolved and now connects customers to other types of insurance policies, such as home, renters, and life insurance. It’s a free service that can match you to local and national insurers.

With EverQuote (and other comparison sites), you don’t have to request quotes from multiple insurance companies. Instead, the site will do the heavy lifting and provide you with several quotes in one place. It calls itself “the fast, free, and easy way to shop for insurance.”

But keep in mind that while you can expect to see results from multiple insurance companies simultaneously, EverQuote is actually a lead-generation site that shows you ads instead of prices. Insurance companies bid on these ads based on your driver profile, so be prepared to enter your info multiple times if you choose EverQuote over one of the better insurance comparison sites out there.

How Do You Use EverQuote?

Here’s what you can expect if you’d like to use EverQuote to compare car insurance quotes.

1. Choose the policy type: Go to EverQuote’s home page and select “Auto.”
2. Plug in your ZIP code.
3. Provide information about your vehicle, including its year, make, model, and trim level.
4. Share whether you own, finance, or lease your vehicle, as well as whether you use it for business, pleasure, commuting, or farming.
5. Enter your estimated annual mileage.
6. Choose how much coverage you’d like.
7. Share whether you’ve had car insurance in the past 30 days, as well as your current insurer.
8. Select how many drivers you want to include in your auto policy.
9. Enter your gender, marital status, education level, occupation, and credit score.
10. Disclose how many at-fault accidents, tickets, and DUI convictions you’ve had in the past three years.
11. Share whether you’ve had your driver’s license suspended or revoked in the past three years.
12. Provide information about any other drivers you’d like to include in your car insurance plan, such as their relationship to you, marital status, occupation, and driving history.
13. Share if you rent or own your home and whether you’re interested in home insurance quotes as well.
14. Enter your date of birth.
15. Type in the names of all the drivers on your policy.
16. Enter your address.
17. Select how you’d like to receive your car insurance quotes.
18. Receive your quotes from EverQuote’s car insurance partners.

Notice how each result simply says, “View my quote.” On more reputable insurance comparison sites like Compare.com and Insurify, most of your results will have a price. But if you click on the result for InsuranceRatesForLess, for example, you’ll have to start the process all over again before getting any sort of monthly or annual price.

EverQuote Reviews: What Real Customers Are Saying

EverQuote has generally negative reviews wherever you look. The company earned 1.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, and, on the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it holds a B rating and 1 out of 5 stars.

Unfortunately, most EverQuote reviews are from disappointed customers who’ve been bombarded with spam calls from the site after they filled out a form. Many mention the company’s spammy practices, and some people who have never heard of EverQuote complain about unsolicited calls.

Many reviewers — like the one above — are frustrated by the number of texts and phone calls they receive, even after they’ve specifically opted out of them.

The below review is one more example of another EverQuote customer who’s annoyed with all of the phone calls received after filling out a form, claiming that they receive calls “every 10 seconds.” Unfortunately, this is a common trend among reviewers.

Take the below review as an example. Not only is this customer complaining about the overwhelming number of phone calls, but she also states that she has to tell the callers all of the details she already shared when she filled out an EverQuote form online, such as her relationship status, age, gender, and address. That’s far from ideal.

Luckily, several sites provide a much better experience for comparing online insurance quotes. Let’s take a look at how EverQuote compares to each.

EverQuote vs. Compare.com

Compare.com helps customers find the cheapest car insurance options for their unique driving profile and budget. Unlike EverQuote, its sole focus is auto insurance. But what sets Compare.com apart is that it has direct integrations to more than 75 of the nation’s top insurance companies. That means you get real prices, not just ads.

Once you plug in your ZIP code and share some details about yourself and your vehicle, you’ll receive a list of car insurance quotes for different coverage levels, including minimum, basic, plus, and premium. The best part is you can expect most of your results to have real prices and a much more straightforward purchasing process.

In addition, Compare.com has earned better ratings on reputable review sites like Trustpilot and the BBB.

EverQuote vs. NerdWallet

NerdWallet is a personal finance website that educates users about the insurance industry, but, like Everquote, it also includes a car insurance comparison tool.

The tool is similar to EverQuote in that it directs you to the website of each auto insurer so you can get a quote from them. You often have to reenter the information you provided NerdWallet to get a true quote.

When it comes to customer reviews, EverQuote earned a slightly higher rating on Trustpilot than NerdWallet. But NerdWallet has a much more favorable rating from the BBB.

EverQuote vs. The Zebra

The Zebra, like Compare.com, is a leading online insurance marketplace you can use to compare real-time quotes from different insurers. Compared to EverQuote, The Zebra matches consumers to more types of insurance policies, such as home insurance, pet insurance, boat insurance, and small-business insurance.

Once you fill out its online quote form, The Zebra will share personalized quotes — but whether you get a price or not can vary on where you live and your driver profile.

Let’s take a look at how EverQuote stacks up to The Zebra.

Is EverQuote a Spammy Site?

There are plenty of customer reports stating so. EverQuote receives user data directly from insurance shoppers as well as passively through tracking tools, third-party companies, and various digital channels. It then sells this data to the highest bidder — most often other insurance companies.

However, EverQuote states that it won’t sell the data you provide without your approval. The catch is that if you don’t allow the site to sell your personal information, you won’t get quotes.

EverQuote FAQs

We have answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about EverQuote from shoppers like you.

Is EverQuote an insurance company?

No. EverQuote isn’t an insurance company. Instead, it partners with insurers and uses technology to provide customers with “quotes.”

It’s essentially a lead-generation tool that can help you compare a variety of insurance products, such as car insurance, home insurance, renters insurance, and life insurance.

Is EverQuote easy to use?

Yes. EverQuote is a relatively intuitive website. Once you fill out a questionnaire, it’ll share insurance ads and policy details from its partners.

Just be aware that you’ll likely have to connect to the insurance company directly to receive real quotes.

Is EverQuote a trustworthy site?

EverQuote states that it’ll only share your personal information with insurance agents and insurance companies that plan to help you. It won’t sell or redistribute your information to other third parties.

But while EverQuote has a B rating from the BBB and states it’s provided more than 35 million quotes, its reviews are mostly negative. This means it may not be as trustworthy as it claims to be.

How do I unsubscribe from EverQuote?

To unsubscribe from EverQuote’s marketplace, visit the website’s “Contact” page. Then, provide your email address in the unsubscribe request.

Sources

1. BBB, “EverQuote, Inc.,” Accessed September 14, 2023.
2. Trustpilot, “EverQuote,” Accessed September 14, 2023.