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.