According to certain embodiments of the present invention, a method is provided for providing insurance including: permitting a customer to access a retail website; retrieving intelligently, from the customer through the website, a first limited set of information pertaining to the customer and a vehicle of the customer; determining, from the first limited set of information, a first insurance rate corresponding to a first insurance policy from a first insurer and a second insurance rate corresponding to a second insurance policy from a second insurer, wherein the first and second rates are determined without intermediately consulting the first and second insurers; evaluating which of the first and second rates is preferable to the customer to determine a preferred insurance policy; displaying information corresponding to the preferred insurance policy to the customer; and providing an option to the customer to purchase the preferred insurance policy. According to an embodiment, the method further includes retrieving intelligently, from the customer through the website, a second limited set of information pertaining to the customer and a vehicle of the customer when the customer opts to purchase the preferred insurance policy. According to an embodiment, the method further includes communicating substantially immediately, to the user, legally binding documents for the preferred insurance policy after the user purchases the preferred insurance policy to form a purchased insurance policy.