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Avoiding Disaster: Choosing the Right Auto Insurance Company
A great deal is at stake when choosing an auto insurance
carrier. In addition to the financial considerations, there are
issues such as reliability, quality of service, and integrity.
Luckily, there are certain steps you can follow to ensure that
you select an auto insurance company that will meet your needs.
When choosing an insurance carrier, reputation carries a great
deal of weight. For instance, Allstate, Nationwide, and State
Farm are well-known companies that have managed to hold onto
some clients for years. For additional guidance, you can consult
your state's department of insurance website. The website might
offer consumer complaint ratios which indicate exactly how many
complaints an auto insurance company has received for every
1,000 claims filed. This information can help you to better
evaluate companies so that you have some idea how their customer
service rates. You can then compare the list of companies with
low complaint ratios with the list of companies with low
premiums and see if you can come up with any matches. Those
companies that combine stellar customer service with low rates
offer you the best deal for your money.
If for some reason you cannot locate complaint ratios for your
state, try looking at the complaint ratios for other states.
While an insurance company's operations may vary from state to
state, if a company posts a high complaint ratio in a number of
states, you should consider that to be a warning sign. It is
best to simply cross off your list any insurance company with
consistently high complaint ratios.
Another technique you can use when evaluating insurance carriers
is to determine which insurers body shops in your area
recommend. Because body shop managers must deal with a number of
insurance adjusters, they can provide you with an inside look at
insurance companies. The managers will know, for instance, which
companies offer the most convenient claims procedures. They'll
also know which companies are particularly slow in processing
claims.
Another important source of information is J.D. Power and
Associates, which rates insurance companies in terms of variety
of coverage, rates, claims processes, and customer service. In
recent years, Amica and Erie have posted the best rankings with
J.D. Power. These two companies have earned raves for finding
ways to cover claims, when at all possible. You might also want
to consider an insurer's financial strength by checking out
ratings from A.M. Best and Standard and Poor's. These ratings
determine an insurance company's ability to pay claims. Still,
you should be aware of the fact that most well-known carriers
are considered to be financially sound.
Finally, you might select your insurance company based upon the
professionalism of an individual agent. Since you will have to
work closely with your agent, it is important to find one that
you can trust. You might consider consulting a relative or
friend to find out the names of some particularly efficient
agents.
In the end, you may not find out just how responsive your
insurance company is¡ªuntil you are faced with an accident.
However, if you conduct extensive research before selecting an
insurance company and agent¡if you pay close attention to
complaint ratios¡and you ask plenty of questions, chances are
good you will find insurance coverage you will be happy with.
About the author:
Auto-Insurance-Spot.com is a directory of auto insurance
companies across the United States.
http://www.auto-insurance-spot.com
Written by: Auto Insurance Spot
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