ValuePenguin offers tools and financial information about insurance, credit cards, and other financial products. The company also has a car insurance comparison product, but it doesn’t provide any real-time insurance quotes. It primarily generates leads and sells them to auto insurance agents. Some ValuePenguin reviews from online customers even cite receiving spam communication after requesting an insurance quote.
Here’s what you should know about the auto insurance comparison site.
ValuePenguin at a glance
Launched in 2013, ValuePenguin is a lead-generation site owned by LendingTree.1 On its site, ValuePenguin claims to offer comparison tools, expert analysis, and data-backed recommendations. But its comparison tool isn’t actually a full-service quoting product. It doesn’t provide you with any real insurance quotes.
How does ValuePenguin work?
ValuePenguin offers a fairly easy-to-use auto insurance quote comparison product. To start, you’ll need to select the type of insurance you want to compare quotes. Then, enter your ZIP code and age range and answer whether you currently have insurance. Select “Find Insurers” on the comparison site to continue the process.
Next, you’ll need to answer how many vehicles you need to insure. For each vehicle, you must enter information about its year, make, model, and trim.
You’ll also need to answer some questions about your auto insurance history. ValuePenguin will first ask if you’ve had auto insurance in the last 30 days.
If you say yes, you’ll need to provide your current insurance company and answer how long you’ve had coverage.
Next, you’ll need to enter information about yourself, including your gender, marital status, education history, employment status, military status, and more. You’ll also need to answer if you’re a renter or a homeowner, whether you want to add a homeowner or renters policy, and whether you’ve had any driving incidents in the past three years.
ValuePenguin will ask if you’ve had any driving incidents in the past three years. If you have, you’ll need to clarify if you’ve had an at-fault accident, two or more speeding tickets, or a DUI.
Finally, ValuePenguin asks for your birthdate, full first and last name, email address, street address, and phone number. Once you’ve filled in your information, ValuePenguin brings you to the quote page.
But in this instance, ValuePenguin only provided one option. Clicking on the quote brings the user to the auto insurance company’s site, with a prompt to fill out their personal and vehicle information again. In conclusion, ValuePenguin doesn’t offer real-time quotes to users.
ValuePenguin reviews: What real customers are saying
ValuePenguin has negative reviews across different online rating sites. It received only 2 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot and 1 out of 5 stars on Sitejabber. Users commonly complain about rude service, spammy calls and texts, and not valuing their experience.
Here’s a closer look at what some customers are saying:
ValuePenguin vs. Insurify
Unlike ValuePenguin, Insurify offers users real-time insurance quotes. It doesn’t require people to complete insurance quotes a second time on an insurance company’s site. That said, both platforms offer useful information regarding insurance, relevant industry data, insurance company reviews, and how to find your auto insurance policy.
Insurify covers a wider range of topics than ValuePenguin, including auto, home, renters, and life insurance.
One useful tool that ValuePenguin provides is its minimum-coverage calculator. It quickly shows you how much auto insurance coverage you’ll need in a given state. But if you want real-time car insurance quotes, you should use Insurify, which is a true comparison site. Comparing auto insurance quotes from multiple insurance companies is one of the best ways to find affordable coverage.2
Is ValuePenguin a spammy site?
In many ways, yes, ValuePenguin is a spammy site. Many users complain about an inundation of calls and emails after using the product. That said, ValuePenguin does have a privacy disclosure about using its product. Users consent to telemarketing calls, text messages, emails, and postal mail from ValuePenguin, its marketing network, and up to eight insurance companies or their affiliates or representatives.
ValuePenguin FAQs
If you’re unsure if ValuePenguin is the right tool for you, take a look at the following information.
Is ValuePenguin easy to use?
Yes. ValuePenguin is easy to use. Its quoting process only takes a few minutes. But users don’t receive real-time insurance quotes at the end of the process.
Is ValuePenguin free?
Yes. ValuePenguin is free. It doesn’t charge users any money. But it sells user data to third parties. So, while users won’t have to pay any money, they may have to deal with a lot of calls, texts, and emails.
How does ValuePenguin make money?
ValuePenguin earns money through advertisements on its site, payments from auto insurance companies featured on the site, and the sale of user information to third parties.3