Best and cheapest auto insurance? (car insurance, credit, buy, drivers)

[caliguy92832]

What do you think is the best and cheapest auto insurance available in the U.S.?

[mojo101]

they do not co-exist

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by mojo101

they do not co-exist

Best and cheapest are mutually exclusive, you get what you pay for, like anything else. If one insurer is cheaper than the others there is a reason for it. We find that with discounts for Multi-vehicle, Multi-lines, longevity, and (until recently when our state ended this) our good credit score our insurance is as much as 30% less than any others we have gotten quotes from. Since we have been happy with their service and only minor increases after claims, we stay with them. Are they the best? Who knows, we have no comparison since we have used them since 1973.

[cjseliga]

Like others have mentioned best and cheapest are not to be used when talking about auto insurance companies!

There's a lawyer on here named Mark, who deals with all of those insurance companies for a living, and he puts out a yearly tier system of the best auto insurance companies, in his opinion, and he doesn't use "cheapest" in his rankings at all.

I have had Erie, Liberty Mutual, Auto-Owners and now I have USAA, since my Dad was in the Navy during Vietnam, but I never served. Auto-Owners and USAA are the best that I have had, were they the cheapest, probably not.

[The Man in SATX]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

Like others have mentioned best and cheapest are not to be used when talking about auto insurance companies!

There's a lawyer on here named Mark, who deals with all of those insurance companies for a living, and he puts out a yearly tier system of the best auto insurance companies, in his opinion, and he doesn't use "cheapest" in his rankings at all.

I have had Erie, Liberty Mutual, Auto-Owners and now I have USAA, since my Dad was in the Navy during Vietnam, but I never served. Auto-Owners and USAA are the best that I have had, were they the cheapest, probably not.

Cant really use Mark as a measurement on what a "good" Insurance company as he bases it on how fast they bow down to his demands. You want an insurance company on your side and not the lawyers when it comes down to it. Base it on how they react when you have an accident. Not what a lawyer gets for your injury as they really dont care if you ever get your car fixed.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by The Man in SATX

Cant really use Mark as a measurement on what a "good" Insurance company as he bases it on how fast they bow down to his demands. You want an insurance company on your side and not the lawyers when it comes down to it. Base it on how they react when you have an accident. Not what a lawyer gets for your injury as they really dont care if you ever get your car fixed.

If someone feels that Geico or Progressive is the greatest auto insurance company out there, then by all means use one of those companies, I'm not stopping you!

[markg91359]

Originally Posted by The Man in SATX

Cant really use Mark as a measurement on what a "good" Insurance company as he bases it on how fast they bow down to his demands. You want an insurance company on your side and not the lawyers when it comes down to it. Base it on how they react when you have an accident. Not what a lawyer gets for your injury as they really dont care if you ever get your car fixed.

I would suggest that since lawyer's in injury claims are paid a percentage of what they obtain that the best insurance company is one that benefits both you and your lawyer. What SATX leaves out is that what is best for the insurance company is to save money. What is best for you is something other than that. Our system is one of checks and balances. Lawyers make a precisely because a check and balance is needed against the power of corporations and insurance companies.

My 2021 Rankings of Insurance Companies

Here are my rankings for 2021 for the best insurance companies. Just like another poster said, I don't base this on price. I base it on claims service. If you want other sources than me, I would suggest going to JD Powers annual ranking of insurance companies. You might see that as more objective. But based on my experiences representing claimants, I will break auto insurance companies down this way. I cannot say enough that this is my humble, or not so humble opinion. This year I am including 23 total companies. I could put more up here, but I don't feel comfortable doing so based on limited experience with them. I have included a few notes next to some of the companies. My rankings are based on how these insurance companies handle major injury claims and total automobile loss claims in my own legal practice.

Very Best Insurance Companies

USAA ( Top of the line company, but you must have a connection to the military)
Auto Owners Insurance (Consistently fair when it comes to claims service)
The Hartford Insurance (A company that generally insures good drivers only and handles claims fairly)
Cincinnati Insurance (Very personable in their dealings. Staff is fair and tries hard)
AMICA Insurance (Long record of fair dealings with claimants)
Erie Insurance (Most of what I know is by reputation, but a good company)

Good, but not quite the very best.

American Family Insurance (Very fair, but can be quite bureaucratic to deal with)
Kemper Insurance (Track record of being fair, but some adjusters are difficult)
American National Insurance (Tries to be as fair as they can. Not always quick to respond)
Nationwide Insurance ( A good company to put a carefully driving young adult in)

Average Insurance Companies

Farm Bureau Insurance (Fair, but not generous)
State Farm Insurance (Bureaucratic, but will do what it has to do)
GEICO Insurance (consistently improving performance over past years)
MetLife Insurance (Tough at times, but will do what they have to do)
AAA Insurance (Not bad, not good though)
Sublimity Insurance (Not bad)
Travelers Insurance (Not as good as it used to be, but average)
Bear River Insurance (A company that generally is fair)
Casualty Underwriters (fair, but no more than that)
Liberty Mutual (Not my favorite company, but will do what it has to do)

Below Average Insurance Companies

Allstate Insurance (Don't expect much out of them)
Progressive Insurance (Would rather spend on commercials than to pay claims)
Farmers Insurance (A company that is difficult to work with and cheap)

You can compare what I say with the JD Powers 2021 Survey here.

https://www.jdpower.com/business/pre...nsurance-study


Note what the survey says about declining claims satisfaction among consumers.


The auto insurance industry voluntarily returned more than $18 billion in auto insurance premiums to customers in 2020 to address the sharp decline in miles driven during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the magnitude of this historic relief effort, the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Auto Insurance Study,SM released today, finds that overall customer satisfaction with auto insurers is flat, following four consecutive years of improvement.

“What we’re seeing in this year’s study is a case of insurers delivering with their actions but missing the mark on effective communication to their customers,” said Robert Lajdziak, senior consultant for insurance intelligence at J.D. Power. “The refunds provided to customers during the pandemic were significant, representing nearly 7% of total industry premiums, but only half of customers were even aware of them. Worse, when customers needed to communicate with their insurers, either via phone, website or chat, many came away feeling less satisfied with the result than in the past.”

Following are some of the key findings of the 2021 study:

Overall satisfaction stagnates: Overall customer satisfaction with auto insurance providers is 835 (on a 1,000-point scale) this year, unchanged from a year ago. This is the first time since 2017 that auto insurance customer satisfaction has not improved year over year.
Insurers miss the mark in communication: While price is the lowest-scoring factor in the study, it has seen the greatest improvement year over year. This improvement is overshadowed by significant declines in satisfaction with interaction. Satisfaction with the assisted online channel, which is comprised of chat and e-mail functions, declines 12 points from a year ago, with decreases also seen in contact center (-5), website (-3) and local agent (-1).

[getatag]

While I cannot dazzle you with Mark's statistical analysis abilities or website links, I can speak from personal experience.

Cheap and best can go together when all kept within the context of getting the most for your money. The cheapest on one end (your pocketbook) may not be anywhere near the best on the other end (claims adjustment and ease of doing business).

After 40+ years with the same company and an agent that was also a dear and cherished friend, I discovered a much better solution. I now use an Independent agent that actually shops my policies around to an assortment of insurance companies. This agent changes my insurance from time to time to get the best rates and the best coverage. Because of the totality of our personal and business insured Autos, houses, and toys, it is not a small yearly amount, yet I am pleased with the coverage and service I get compared to the 40+ years insured with a large nationwide, highly respected company.
I highly recommend seeking an independent agent that has been doing business for years in your community.
The lowest price for good insurance is not necessarily the lowest overall price, but the lowest of the best companies, and it does change yearly in most cases, so by all means shop around frequently as an independent agent does.
Customer longevity means very little, if anything, with most insurance companies.
An adjuster on a claim NEVER looks at how long you've been paying premiums and tailors his recommendations on that variable.

[markg91359]

Originally Posted by getatag

While I cannot dazzle you with Mark's statistical analysis abilities or website links, I can speak from personal experience.

Cheap and best can go together when all kept within the context of getting the most for your money. The cheapest on one end (your pocketbook) may not be anywhere near the best on the other end (claims adjustment and ease of doing business).

After 40+ years with the same company and an agent that was also a dear and cherished friend, I discovered a much better solution. I now use an Independent agent that actually shops my policies around to an assortment of insurance companies. This agent changes my insurance from time to time to get the best rates and the best coverage. Because of the totality of our personal and business insured Autos, houses, and toys, it is not a small yearly amount, yet I am pleased with the coverage and service I get compared to the 40+ years insured with a large nationwide, highly respected company.
I highly recommend seeking an independent agent that has been doing business for years in your community.
The lowest price for good insurance is not necessarily the lowest overall price, but the lowest of the best companies, and it does change yearly in most cases, so by all means shop around frequently as an independent agent does.
Customer longevity means very little, if anything, with most insurance companies.
An adjuster on a claim NEVER looks at how long you've been paying premiums and tailors his recommendations on that variable.

I totally agree that one shouldn't just focus on claims service in deciding what company should insure your cars. Price is important. I started rating insurance companies based on claims service because there were too many postings in this forum that were entirely focused on the price of car insurance. The assumption is "that all insurance companies are equal" when clearly they are not.

Everyone should have an independent insurance agent who can move them from company to company depending on circumstances. I am glad you have learned how important that is. My fear though is this. Many people in our world will not get off the internet. They actually believe the internet is the way to buy everything when it is not. One needs to actually seek out an independent insurance agent and meet with him/her.

I like your analysis: "The lowest price for good insurance is not necessarily the lowest overall price, but the lowest of the best companies."

Everyone should think about that.

[prospectheightsresident]

My best insurance in terms of customer service has been USAA. But I recently switched from USAA to Geico as they tried to up my premium when I moved cities (still in the DC area) to $800 for six months (up from $700), whereas Geico is charging me $330 for the same period.