Auto Insurance Ratings – What Companies are the Best?
You can get auto insurance ratings from a number of services. But do these ratings really tell you what you need to know? Here’s the inside scoop on how find the best rates with the best companies.
Auto Insurance Ratings
As a former insurance agent I’m often asked, “What’s the best insurance company?” My answer is usually, “Best in terms of what? Biggest? Best known? Most solvent? Best rates? Best service?”
There are three major services that provide auto insurance ratings – A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s. However, their ratings focus primarily on a company’s financial strength.
Nice to know if you’re an investor or an insurance agent trying to impress potential client. But what you really want to know is how good a company’s service is and how fast they pay their claims.
The best way to find out this information is not to check a company’s ratings, the best way is to ask the company’s customers.
But what if you don’t know anyone who’s dealt with a particular company?
There’s an easy way to get the inside scoop on insurance companies. It’s a little-known site where actual customers rate companies on such things as customer service, response to claims, and even website experience.
My favorite part is the review section where customers pass on their experiences with various companies. It is, to say the least, a real eye opener.
Be careful when you read the reviews because some of them look like they were done by insurance company employees (“These guys are the greatest!”), and some were done by their competitors (“These guys suck!”). As in the Olympics, toss out the highest and the lowest ratings, or at least take them with a grain of salt, and go with the majority.
Comparison Shop First
If your looking for the cheapest insurance rate with an A-rated company there are websites where you can get multiple quotes from top-rated companies. My advice is to check out one of these sites first to get the best quote, then check out the company.
Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com or click on the following link to get the best auto insurance rates with A-rated companies. You can get more car insurance tips by checking out their “Articles” section.
Watch the video related to auto insurance rates
www.quick-car-insurance-quotes.com There are a number of different things you can do to save money on your car insurance but the fastest and easiest way to find cheap auto insurance rates is to do a little comparison shopping. By taking a quick look at what some of the various companies have to offer and how much they’re charging you can easily find a company that’s offering the coverage you need at the most affordable price. Anyone who drives a car is required by law to have auto insurance …
Help answer the question about auto insurance rates
What auto insurance companies DON’T use a credit score when deciding rates?
I’m against the practice of using credit scores (i.e. insurance scores) to decide auto insurance rates. Does anyone know of a company in the U.S. that doesn’t use the practice?
About Author
The author, Brian Stevens, is a former insurance agent and financial consultant who has written extensively on auto insurance ratings.
Tags: auto, auto-insurance-quote, car-insurance-quote, car-insurance-quotes, free, insurance, online, quote, quotes, savings, Tips
Auto Insurance | admin August 1, 2009
8 Comments to “Auto Insurance Ratings – What Companies are the Best?”
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By nap4gbp, November 14, 2009 @ 5:31 am
There are several companies that rate the insurance companies. We go with A. M. Best's ratings. The look various items that say how well the company is doing and how likely they are going to have the money to pay claims. A lower rated company does not have as much money, so in the event of a lot of losses they may not have the money to pay all the claims. Example of a major loss is Katrina. Some insurance companies went out of business due to all the money they had to pay.
By rob_shm, November 14, 2009 @ 5:42 am
check with AM Best and Standard & Poors.
By dfab1526, November 14, 2009 @ 6:24 am
Ugly big white rat on her neck.
By jobedied, November 14, 2009 @ 7:10 am
Buying on line car insurance is one way to get screwed royally
stay away from Esurance. They take your money but do not have an accident my daughter did rear ended, car totaled , put in hospital for two days. 40 plus phone calls 36 emails 7 different agents to deal with. Do not under any surcumstance deal with these scam artist internet Barny Madeoff with your money thieves. We have to get a lawyer. Stay local not worth the non existing service to save 100 bucks.
By dorios, November 14, 2009 @ 7:41 am
I liked Progressive car insurance because they were fast and thorough, but they were more expensive. Jim Ott at Wells Fargo can probably help you with banking. Brian Claunch at Merrill Lynch can help you with finances.
Best restaurant: Vic and Anthony's downtown / Clary's,Galveston
Best piano bar: Post Oak Grill / Claudio's in Kemah
Best hotel: 4 Seasons downtown of course.
Car rental : Enterprise
Shopping: Galleria
Wecome to Houston.
By etinge2, November 15, 2009 @ 4:38 am
In a nutshell, (statistically) people who have a poor credit score are more likely to file a claim.
Actuarial studies show that how a person manages his or her financial affairs, which is what an [insurance score] indicates, is a good predictor of insurance claims. Insurance scores, plus other factors such as age, driving record, make and model of your car, and how many insurance claims have been filed in the past, are used to help insurers differentiate between lower and higher insurance risks and thus charge a premium equal to the risk they are assuming.
The goal of every insurance company is to correlate rates for insurance policies as closely as possible with the actual cost of claims. If insurers set rates too high they will lose market share to competitors who have more accurately matched rates to expected costs. If they set rates too low they will lose money.
Some states ban the use of credit scores as a consideration. This might been seen as benefiting those in lower economic groups — but others in the risk pool are subsidizing these people (from a statistical perspective).
By chriscr8, November 15, 2009 @ 7:47 pm
she is a insurance risk with that damn dog on her while driving
By etinge2, November 17, 2009 @ 4:37 pm
Insurance companies are in the business of insuring risk. There is a strong correlation between credit history and insurance risk, it may seem these are unrelated but people who make bad decisions in one area of their life tend to make bad choices in other areas also and are higher risk.