Choosing the Right Provider

For typical consumers, choosing an auto insurance provider is a snap decision. They simply find the car insurance carrier with the lowest rates and sign up for a policy ASAP. When it comes time to file a claim, however, the policyholder begins to rue the day he/she chose coverage solely on the basis of cost. The bottom line is that the cheapest car insurance providers are rarely the best providers. For the best overall experience, consumers must take a number of factors into consideration when selecting an auto insurance provider, including financial ratings, policyholder satisfaction, and complaint ratios. Read on for tips on how to choose your auto insurance carrier wisely.

First Stop: Department of Insurance

Although few consumers are aware of it, a department of insurance exists in every state in the U.S. On the website of the insurance department for your state, you will find important statistics on consumer complaint ratios. These numbers can be very telling, as they reveal the number of complaints an auto insurance provider received for every 1,000 claims policyholders filed. Ideally, you should have already made a list of the auto insurance providers with the most affordable premiums at this point. After you visit the department of insurance for your state, make a list of the car insurers in your state with the lowest complaint ratios. Compare the lists to identify the auto insurance providers with the highest rankings on both.

Talk to the Pros

The people who can give you the most valuable insights about car insurance companies are the people who deal with them day in and day out-body shop mechanics. Body shop employees have to interact with insurance companies on a daily basis in order to get claims, parts, and repairs approved. Contact a trustworthy body shop in your area to see which companies the mechanics recommend. Body shop professionals can tell you how quickly insurers process policyholders’ claims and whether they pay for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts or require the shop to use aftermarket parts.

Policyholder Satisfaction

If a car insurance carrier’s existing customers are unhappy with it, chances are you will be as well. To find out how satisfied an auto insurer’s customers are, pull up the J.D. Power and Associates rankings for the current year. J.D. Power surveys thousands of policyholders every year to evaluate their satisfaction with the price of their auto insurance policy, coverage options, claims process, and the ease with which they can contact their provider. See how the insurers on your short list fared in the J.D. Power survey before you make your decision.

Crunch the Numbers

An auto insurance policy is worthless if the carrier that issues it cannot pay your claim when you file one. For this reason, it’s imperative that you consider an insurer’s financial health before you take out a policy. Standard and Poor’s and A.M. Best are both examples of companies that publish financial strength ratings, or measures of auto insurers’ ability to pay out policyholder claims. Remember that each index has its own scale, so you can’t compare one index with another. For example, although an “A” rating may be the top grade on one index, an “A++” may be the top rating on another.

To read a specific review, simply select an insurance company from the list below:

AAA
AARP
AIG
Allstate
American Family
Amica
Farmers Insurance Group
Hartford
Liberty Mutual
MetLife
Nationwide
Safeco
State Farm
Travelers