With an abundance of new car insurance companies popping
up, it is vital to your financial well-being to check an insurance
carrier’s reputation before selecting their services.
So, how can you tell which insurance companies are reputable?
Check it against the list below...
- Check Consumer Complaint Ratios. Different state
insurance department web sites will have detailed information
on their sites that illustrates the amount of complaints
received in comparison to their competitors per $1 million
in premiums. Simply access the department site for the state
in which you live and type complaint ratios in the site’s
search engine to find the complaint ratio information for
a specified carrier within your state.
- Check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) site and look at their insurance comparison of auto
insurance costs. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.
Once you get to this web site, simply type ‘insurance’
in the Search engine to find the newest report available.
This report will show you a comparison of over 1,000 vehicles
and the average amounts paid on a monthly basis. Look at
the rates of the company you are considering. Do their rates
fall close to the amounts listed by the NHTSA?
*Note: This report will often only have vehicles listed
that fall between certain years (i.e. 2006-2008.)
- Look for automobile insurance companies with a strong
financial outlook. Have they been around for a long time?
Are they growing? Licensing and financial data can be accessed
through the Consumer Information Source (https://eapps.naic.org/cis/).
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
has provided this tool online free of charge to help consumers
to make a wise decision when they purchase car insurance.
- Do they have good customer service? In today’s world,
customer service is everything. An insurance carrier should
make you feel confident in their abilities to help you with
all of your insurance needs and handle it so you feel good
about what is happening. Good customer service is a reflection
of the dedication a company will have to you as an individual
policy holder.
- Are they honest and upfront with you about the specifics
of your policy? Given your circumstances, the company you
choose should be willing to educate you on the type of coverage
you will need as well as provide additional voluntary options.
- Don’t be afraid to ask friends or family members
if they have had experience with a specific insurance carrier.
You may find out information, either good or bad, that a
national report will not provide.
- Availability. Will they have someone available to answer
your questions when you have them? Many insurance companies
now provide a 24 hour hotline that is available to motorists
in the event of an emergency.
- How quickly do they handle their claims? Be fair. Some
claims will take longer than others simply because of the
nature of the claim, but if a claim takes more than 4 days
to process, you may want to start looking somewhere else.
*Note: This does not necessarily mean that the claim will
be resolved within this timeframe, but it should be processed
fairly quickly. The faster an insurance company can process
and resolve a claim, the more money it saves them.
There are many reputable automobile insurance carriers out
there, you just need to remember to do a little research that
will help you to feel comfortable and confident in your decision,
whichever one choose. |
