Avoiding Disaster: Choosing the Right Auto Insurance Company

 by Auto Insurance Spot

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—until 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

Shopping Online for Car Insurance

By Scott Patterson

Helping you select the right car insurance while shopping online.

Right now there are many companies all trying to get you to buy their particular insurance plan for your car.  From quacking ducks to talking lizards, there is an overabundance of advertisements, all done with the intent to get you sign up for their company.

But which one is right for you?

One of the better solutions that I found is to go online and compare the different automotive insurance policies.  That way, it is easy to find one that fits your particular situation.  In addition, I have found that utilizing the Internet is the best way to save money.

Before you go out and buy from the first company that offers you a car insurance policy, it is important that you understand which items are important for protecting you and your assets.

As you probably know most insurance policies look the same.  So it is important to understand both the company and your unique situation.

First you should decide the maximum amount that you can use to pay for your insurance.  This step means a careful analysis of your budget.  It is a question of how much you can afford. 

This leads to our second item for consideration.  How much do you need to cover?  For people that have a lot of assets, it is vital that they get enough insurance to personally protect their money in case of a catastrophic accident. 

Many penny pinchers elect to get the lowest coverage.  While it important to save money, it is equally important to prevent one accident from wiping you out.  The funny thing is that even if you do elect for lower coverage, you wind up not saving that much money.

The next step is to check out the individual car insurance companies.  As a result, it is vital that you get quotes from at least five different auto insurance companies.  The method that I use is to go online and compare some of the top companies that show up.  Here is a brief list of companies that offer top-rated car insurance:

• 21st Century Insurance
• Geico
• USAA
• Safeco Insurance
• MetLife Auto
• Liberty Mutual
• AllState
• Unitrin Direct
• eSurance
• Progressive
• State Farm
• AIG Auto Insurance
• GMAC Insurance
• Nationwide
• Eastwood
• Amica
• AAA

Once you find quotes from different companies, you should create a strategy of the various costs involved with purchasing car insurance.  This includes deductibles, collision, comprehensive, and the total costs.  For each company, try to get quotes on different levels of coverage.  That way, you can develop an accurate portrayal of the price for each car insurance quote.

The final step is to understand how much each company will cover.  While you might save money from one particular company, they might offer little to no coverage in case you get into an accident.  While you might save some cash in the short term, the long term consequences could be disastrous.

When you have done your analysis, you will have a list of companies that offer quality insurance at an affordable price.  With a little effort and research, you can properly cover yourself within your budget requirements.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott Patterson is the webmaster of Discount Auto Insurance Information. For more information, be sure to check out his site.