Advertising Disclosure

How does CompareRatesHQ make money?

Partners pay us. When you click a link to a comparison service or insurance partner, send a quote request through one of our forms, or buy a policy through a partner, that company may pay us a fee. You do not pay anything extra. The price you are quoted is set by the insurer, not by us.

We do not publish the amounts or the terms, and they can differ by partner. This is the only way the site is funded. We sell no policies, and we are not an insurer, agent or broker.

You should weigh that. A site that is paid when you click has a reason to want you to click. The rest of this page explains the limits we put on it.

Which companies are our advertising partners?

On car insurance pages, the partners are QuoteWizard, The Zebra, Insurify, SmartFinancial and EverQuote. On home insurance pages, the partners are QuoteWizard, Policygenius, The Zebra, Hippo and Lemonade.

The list can change. These companies are advertisers. A partner’s name on a page means it is a paying advertiser. It is not our endorsement.

What is an ad on this site, and how can you tell?

Every table headed “Advertising partners” is an advertisement. You will see these signs:

• The heading says “Advertising partners,” and a note under it says we may be paid.
• A caption under the table says “Advertisement.”
• Each partner button is a paid link. It carries the “sponsored” tag that search engines look for, and it leads to our quote form.
• Our forms and page footers say that we are a comparison service, not an insurer, and that you get quotes, not policies.

The FTC’s advice is that a payment note should sit next to the link it affects, in plain words. A single note on a home page, or a link to a separate disclosure page, is not enough. That is why we repeat the note by each table instead of only here.

Does the order of partners mean one is better or cheaper?

No. The order is not a ranking, and we give no scores or stars. We do not take payment for a higher spot, and we never call a company the best or cheapest on our own say-so.

This matters because the FTC treats paid rankings as deceptive, and a disclosure cannot fix that. The agency’s own example is a review site whose rankings depend on payments. Our tables are different on purpose: they list services and what each does, and you decide.

Can money change the facts on a page?

No. Partners cannot see, approve or edit our pages before they go up. State rules, penalties, fees and any price estimates come from public sources, such as state insurance departments, and each page shows its sources and a review date. Read our editorial policy for how we check them.

One honest limit: we are funded by quote requests, so we write about topics where people may want quotes. The facts on those pages are still sourced the same way.

What happens to my details if I use a form?

If you submit a quote form, your details may go to our partners and to insurers or agents that serve your ZIP code. A licensed agent or a partner may then call or text you, possibly with an autodialer or prerecorded voice. You agree to that by continuing, and agreeing is not a condition of buying anything. Our privacy policy covers how we handle your data.

You can stop the contact at any time:

1. Reply “STOP” to a text, or tell the caller to stop calling you.
2. If calls continue, repeat the request in writing, such as by email, and keep the date.
3. Expect a company to stop within about ten business days of a reasonable request.
4. Complain to the FCC or FTC if it does not stop.

You can also skip our forms and contact an insurer or agent directly. Your state insurance department can confirm that a company or agent is licensed.

How do I get a fair comparison anyway?

Use the same coverage limits and deductibles on every quote, or you will be comparing different products. Our guide to reading a car insurance quote shows what to line up. Then also get at least one quote from a source that is not on our page, such as an agent or an insurer’s own site.

Bottom line

We are paid when you use partner links, and the partner tables are ads, not rankings. Money does not change the facts on our pages, but you should still check anything that will cost you money against an official source. If you want no part of it, skip the tables and go straight to your state insurance department or an insurer you already trust. Questions or concerns go to [email protected].