- First Choice Insurance
- 1st Choice Insurance
- Progressive Insurance
- AAA Insurance
- Young America Insurance
- Michighan Farm Bureau Insurance
- Peachtree Casualty
- Willis Group
- Commerce Commercial
- Colorado Farm Bureau
- Great Mutual Insurance
- Meadowlark Insurance
- Infinity Insurance
- Markel Insurance
- esurance
- Farmers Insurance
- Maine Mutual Fire & Casualty
- Clarendon
- Liberty Northwest
- Madison Mutual Insurance
- GEICO
- Apollo Casualty
1) Your first order of business is to go to the website of The Department of Insurance of the state you live in. Every state has a Department of Insurance. Most of these departments have web sites that publicly publish the ratio of consumer complaints for every auto insurance company that sells insurance policies in that state. The consumer complaint ratio is calculated by the amount of complaints an auto insurance company has received per one thousand claims that have been filed.
If the consumer complaint ratio is high, you should cross that company off of your list. Don't rely on the fact that just because they are a big name company that they will treat you right. With that same token, companies that you have never heard of should not be written off. You should compare various auto insurance companies with an open mind.
Now that you have your list of insurance companies and low premium auto quotes, you should also note the best or lowest consumer complaint ratios. The handful of companies that you have written down should have the lowest premiums and the lowest consumer complaint ratings.
If you are unable to find the consumer complaint ratios for your company in your state, you should look at complaint ratios that other states have published. When looking at other published complaint ratios in other states look for general trends. If you notice that a particular company you have your eye on has several complaints in many other states, it would be wise to steer clear of this auto insurer. On the I-CAN Web site you will find contact information as well as other helpful links for each state's department of insurance. www.ican2000.com/state.html
2) Secondly, You should contact body shops in your area that you know are trustworthy and ask them who would they recommend as a reliable insurance company. This is an excellent way to hone in on reliable insurance companies. Since managers at body shops work intimately with insurance adjusters, they can give you the honest truth of whom you should do business with. They have first hand knowledge on which companies process claims quickly. When your claim is processed quickly, you get your car fixed quickly. Managers at body shops also know which companies try to cut costs by pushing parts that are not made by the original manufacturer of your vehicle versus authorizing using genuine parts recommended by the manufacturer (OEM).
3) You should also check out the J.D. Power Ratings on an auto insurance company. J.D. Power & Associates collect their data from across the nation from individuals who hold policies with various auto insurance companies. They are rated according to price, coverage options, customer satisfaction. claims handling, and the experience overall. By checking the J.D. Power ratings, you will have a good idea on how major insurance carriers measure up. A survey is done annually and published by J.D. Power & Associates on the top auto insurance companies. Personally, I like Progressive Insurance claims handling. Many other companies look for an excuse to not payout on a claim. Progressive's approach is just the opposite.
4) Before settling on an insurance company, you should really look at the financial strength of the company. Here is where you can start.
Standard & Poor's www.standardandpoors.com/en_AP/web/guest/home AND
A.M. Best www.ambest.com ratings. These two companies publish the ratings of the financial strength for all auto insurance companies. These ratings measure each company's capability to pay out on a processed claim.
Generally speaking if you go for the more well-known insurance carriers, you don't have to worry about their financial strength. But it doesn't hurt to know this tidbit of information. You will definitely want to look up the financial strength of smaller lesser-known insurance companies to be sure they are a safe bet.
When evaluating the A.M.'s Best rating report, they use a letter grade from A+++ being the best to a grade letter D being poor. If you should see an E, F, or an S rating by a company's name, an E means regulatory action concerning a company to resolve claims. An F means the company is in liquidation and an S means that the company is suspended. Anything below a B rating should not be considered doing business with.
The Standard & Poor's rates auto insurance companies in a similar manner. They use a AAA meaning the highest to CC meaning the lowest. If you should see an R or NR by a company's name, an R stands for under regulatory supervision and NR stands for not rated. You might also see a plus or minus symbol by the letter grade. At any rate, you should only do business with those companies who have a BBB rating.
5) If you are still confused about selecting the right auto insurance, you should consider speaking with an agent in person.
When you have a personal agent, him/her has a personal interest in making sure you are happy. What I mean by this is that he/she will take the time to talk with you and find which policy is right for you financially.
When you have a good rapport with your insurance agent, it will help you to make a better decision about which policy to purchase. And if your needs change, your insurance agent can help you quicker since he/she is already familiar with your situation.
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