For years, Clark has encouraged his listeners to shop around for insurance coverage of any kind. Health coverage is a bit hard to shop for, but the others are fairly easy. It’s just boring. But there may be a deeper, more evil reason why people see such wide price differences between companies. Consumers may have been paying tons more in premiums because of kickbacks that deceitful insurance companies were receiving. The first phase involved sales of insurance from company to company. The second phase involved ripping off people who get benefits from their employer. These companies were basically charging a huge mark-up on the insurance offered through an employer. There is also a third phase, which involves the direct sale of insurance to individuals. So, it’s now even more important that you shop the marketplace when your renewal comes up. Use the Internet, word of mouth and traditional resources before you buy. Treat insurance as if it were a car you would like to buy. It’s always a good idea to shop first with the companies Consumer Reports recommends. They are Amica Mutual, USAA and Cincinnati Insurance. And, decade after decade they have been the most reliable companies. Best in service doesn’t necessarily mean best in price, but sometimes it’s worth it to go with the best.