Auto Insurance Company Ratings
Selecting the best auto insurance company for your unique insurance needs can be a daunting task. Using the internet can make the job manageable.
Sorting through the over 2500 insurance companies offering auto insurance policies to make sure you are getting the best deal is easier today than ever before. The internet allows you to do much of your research on your computer from the comfort of your home. There are auto insurance quote sites that will provide you with multiple insurance quotes and there are websites that provide information about auto insurance company’s history of dealing with current customers and the company’s financial stability.
Whether you are searching for your first insurance policy or looking for a less expensive alternative to your current auto insurance policy consumers need to consider not just which insurer offers the lowest premium but also research how the company treats its policyholders and the insurer’s financial stability.
An auto insurance policy is only as good as the company’s policies and practices for dealing with customers – whether in person or online. Discovering the insurer’s reputation for honest and fair customer service is an important factor you want to research before selecting an insurer.
Finding a cheap insurance policy is not a good deal if the company turns out to be more interested in denying your claim than processing your claim, cutting costs on claim repairs or if you cannot get a timely and responsive answer from company representatives when you need an answer.
Tips for Finding Good Auto Insurance Rates and Researching Auto Insurance Company Ratings and Reputation
Insurers spend a lot of money on advertising to convince you their insurance product is the best for you. However, insurers with the largest advertising budgets may not be the best company for your insurance needs. Insurers offering the least expensive auto insurance policy are not always the best insurance options. Before you select an insurance company you also want to make sure the company has a reputation for dealing with the customers in a fair and friendly manner and is financially stable.
Comparison shopping is the best way to find good auto insurance rates. You can research auto insurance rates by submitting multiple auto insurance quote requests on individual auto insurance company’s web pages, by visiting multiple insurance offices or by working with an independent insurance agent who represents multiple insurers.
Perhaps the most efficient way to search for the best auto insurance rates is to submit a single auto insurance quote request and get multiple auto insurance quotes from auto insurance quote websites. Auto insurance quote websites are free and after you submit an auto insurance quote request the website will send directly to you multiple auto insurance quotes for your review at your leisure. Using an auto insurance quote website allows you to easily find the least expensive policies for the type of auto insurance coverage you are looking for without dealing with high pressure insurance sales tactics and without submitting multiple auto quote requests. You may submit an auto insurance quote request on this webpage.
To submit an auto insurance quote request you will have to determine the types of auto insurance coverage you need, the limits you want the policy to provide and the level of deductible you want to pay out of your funds if you file an insurance claim.
There are some types of auto insurance coverage that are required by state law. Auto liability insurance is required by almost every state. Liability insurance covers damage to others vehicles and medical and related expenses from injuries that result from an accident you cause. Each state has a minimum amount of liability insurance that is required. The amount of liability coverage required varies state to state. You can find the required minimum liability insurance requirement in your state by checking with your state’s department of motor vehicles web page.
If you own your home or have other assets you will probably want to purchase more than the mandated minimum liability insurance. A serious accident can result in significant personal liability and if your liability insurance is insufficient to cover the damages and medical expenses resulting from an accident you cause your assets will be at risk. Spending a little more for liability insurance is a good investment that will protect your assets and your peace of mind.
Some states also require drivers to carry uninsured motorist insurance. Uninsured motorist insurance covers the cost to repair your car and covers the medical and related expenses for injuries caused by an accident with an uninsured driver.
Optional auto insurance coverage includes medical and personal injury coverage and collision and comprehensive coverage.
Many drivers find they do not need to include medical and personal injury coverage as a part of their auto insurance package if they already have a comprehensive medical insurance and a disability insurance policy. If adding medical and personal injury coverage to your auto insurance policy will not provide additional coverage for medical and related expenses it is just an unnecessary added cost to your auto insurance premium.
Collision and comprehensive auto insurance covers damages to your vehicle. Collision insurance covers damages to your vehicle from an accident with another vehicle. Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your vehicle from other causes, for example from storms, hail, fire, vandalism and replaces your car if it is stolen.
If your car has a low market value and if you are comfortable you have the resources to cover minor damage out of your funds than you may determine that you do not need to include collision and comprehensive insurance as a part of your auto insurance package.
If you have financed the purchase of your vehicle you may be required by the financing agreement to carry collision and comprehensive insurance as a condition of the loan.
If you decide you need to include collision and comprehensive insurance as part of your auto insurance package you can reduce the cost by increasing the deductible you are willing to pay out of your funds when you make a claim. The more the deductible limit you establish the less the cost of collision and comprehensive insurance. Be careful not to set a deductible higher than you will be able to cover if you make a claim.
After you have determined the types of auto insurance coverage you want to include in your auto insurance package, the limits for the insurance coverage and the deductible you are willing to cover, you are ready to submit your auto insurance quote request.
When you receive your auto insurance quotes and determine which companies offer auto policies that best meet your insurance needs and budget you are ready to begin your research into the auto insurance ratings and reputation. Following through on this last important step will help to ensure the insurers you are considering will meet your expatiations for customer service and claims processing.
There are many independent sources and organizations that can help you to find out more about the auto insurance companies you are seriously considering. You will want to check out the company’s history of customer service and their financial stability.
Check with family and friends about their experiences with insurers you are considering – If family or friends have insurance with a company you are considering they will be a good source of information about the company’s’ policies and practices. Ask around – if someone you know has had a policy with an insurance company you are considering ask about their experiences. It is always comforting to have a firsthand account from someone you know personally of how an insurance company has handled the company’s existing customers’ questions and claims.
Ask local Body Shops about their experience working with insurers you are considering – Auto body shops deal with many different insurance companies when making claim repairs. The owners, managers and employees of local body shops will have opinions about which insurers are the easy and which are difficult to work with. They will know which company’s claim repairs proceed most smoothly allowing the repairs to be done quickly. They will also know which auto insurance company representatives ask the body shop to use aftermarket or lesser quality parts to do claim repairs. You want to select an insurance company that is committed to providing customers with timely and quality claim responses. An inexpensive auto insurance policy from an insurer who denies legitimate claims or cuts corners on claim repairs is not a good deal it is a headache.
Use state government web sites to find customer complaint levels – Your state’s department of insurance or your state’s Attorney General’s consumer complaint websites generally publish information about insurance companies licensed to sell auto insurance in your state. Most states publish information such as number of complaints filed by consumers against insurance companies. Typically this information is published as a “consumer complaint ratio.” The ratio reflects how many consumer complaints were filed per 1000 claims the company processed in your state. The ratio makes it easy to compare the relative customer satisfaction between large and small insurance companies.
If your state does not publish auto insurer complaint ratios try neighboring states’ web pages. While the claims processing practices and policies for a single insurer may vary state to state, information from neighboring states will give you a general idea of the company’s level of commitment to keeping its customers happy.
Use JD Power and Associates’ auto insurance company rating service – J.D. Power and Associates collects and publishes data from auto insurance policyholders from all over the United State and provides auto insurance company ratings according to the company’s auto insurance coverage options, price, claims handling processes, customer satisfaction when dealing with the company representatives and the overall customer experience. J.D. Power publishes the survey of auto insurers’ policyholders’ satisfaction annually. Amica, the oldest mutual insurer of automobiles in the United States, received the highest score in the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 National Auto Insurance Satisfaction Study and for the past three years. Also ranked highly on policy offerings, price, billing and payment practices and ease of contacting the insurer are 21st Century, ALFA, Allstate and American Family.
J.D. Power also publishes an on-line shopping customer satisfaction survey. Hartford ranks number one in that survey.
You can find the J.D. Power auto insurance company ratings and survey results on their web page at www.jdpower.com.
Consumer Reports customer opinion surveys – Consumer Reports magazine publishes customer opinion surveys of the customer’s perception of their experience with their auto insurance company. If you are a Consumer Reports.org subscriber you can find the survey results on the magazine’s website or check your local library for the hardcopy October 2010 issue of the magazine.
Auto Insurance company consumer review websites – There are free websites that publish consumers’ reviews about their experience with their insurers. These websites do not represent a survey of all types of auto insurance customers. Typically the reviews are published by unhappy customers, most often as the result of a problem the reviewer has experienced with their insurer. When considering these reviews look for general trends rather than relying on one unhappy individual’s review.
Auto insurance company ratings based on financial strength – Almost all auto insurers licensed to do business in your state are going to be financially stable. However, as a final step in your research, take a look at the auto insurance company rating of financial stability for the insurers you are considering. Standard and Poor’s and A.M. Best are two independent organizations which provide ratings for insurance companies based on the company’s financial stability. You can find these auto insurance company ratings on many insurance company websites or on the A.M. Best and Standard and Poor’s websites. A.M. Best auto insurance ratings can be found at www.ambest.com and Standard and Poor’s at www.standardandpoors.com.
The A.M. Best auto insurance company rating is a letter grade. The best grade is A++ and the lowest rating is a D. An auto insurance company designated with an E has a pending regulatory action regarding the company’s solvency and an F indicates the company is in liquidation. You should only purchase an auto insurance policy with companies that have at least a B+ A.M. Best rating.
Standard & Poor’s auto insurance company ratings range from AAA to CC. An insurance company with a rating of R is under regulatory supervision and a NR notation indicates the company “not rated” by Standard and Poor’s. Consider purchasing an auto insurance policy only through those companies with at least a BBB rating.
Final Selection of the right auto insurance company for you
Compare the best auto insurance deals you identified from your auto insurance quote requests with the information you have collected about the insurance companies who provided those quotes. You will be able to see which of the insurers with the lowest insurance rates also have good customer service reputations and a high financial stability rating. Looking at all these factors will give you the information you need to make an informed choice about which auto insurance company will best meet your insurance needs and budget.
