Finding a Reliable Auto Insurance Company
Once you’ve determined how much insurance you want to purchase, the next question is which company will reliably service your policy. You’ll want to know how your chosen company will handle a claim and what kind of customer service they will provide. Here are a few things to investigate to ensure that the company that you go with will provide good service, process and pay your claims on time and be there when you need them.
State Insurance Advisory – Every State has a website devoted to insurance. These sites provide consumer information about registered insurance companies in the State. Many States will provide information on the number of complaints they receive from consumers about each company. If your State doesn’t provide this list, check a neighboring State as the bigger insurance companies are likely to have similar service across the nation as they are centrally managed. Take notes on the 3 or 4 insurance companies with the fewest complaints. Then get quotes from those companies to see how they stack up against each other when it comes to price.
Check J.D. Power Ratings – J.D. Power does an annual survey of auto policy holders across the country and rates the information on a variety of categories. This can be a great way to see at a glance which insurance carriers get the best ratings from the best source of satisfaction information – customers. Some of the categories rated include price, responsiveness, claims handling and insurance options offered.
Look Into Authorized Body Shops – A great way to see what kind of service you’ll receive is to find out which body shop in your area is an authorized shop for each prospective insurance company. Body shop owners will be able to give you good background on what it’s like to work with various insurance companies and what you can expect when it comes to your claim and processing time.
Talk to an Agent – If shopping around becomes cumbersome, talk with an agent. The best kind of agent to talk with is an independent agent who can represent more than one insurance company. Independent agents work more like a broker and can give you unbiased advice because they’re not required to sell only one companies products. One of the benefits of having an agent is having another person who can go to bat for you. In the event of an accident you can contact your agent and they can assist you. Having an extra pair of hands can be very important if you’re dealing with personal injuries.
It’s important to keep in mind that when you purchase insurance, there’s more to consider than the price you pay for the policy. When it comes time to file a claim, what you will find is that the quality of service and the timeliness of processing will be extremely important. A cheap policy will cost you far more in the long run if the service you receive in exchange for your hard earned money isn’t up to par. By doing a little homework in advance you can be assured of a great policy at a price that you can afford.