There are a wide variety of insurance companies to choose from in the marketplace. How do I know which one is best for me?
You should make that choice based on the following factors:
1. Financial Strength- A.M Best and Moody’s are insurance company rating services (you can Google them) that will tell you how your carrier rates and how it compares to other companies for financial strength. Keep in mind that an “A” rating is not the highest rating- most companies rate from AAA or AA as the their highest rating. A financial rating tells you how much cash the company has in reserve to pay its claims.
2. Claims Paying Reputation- Your state’s insurance office will have records of complaints and claims against every carrier operating in that state and will provide that information to you at no charge. Make sure you don’t base your evaluation on overall number of complaints but rather number of complaints relative to policies sold. A huge carrier may have a large amount of complaints but those complaints may only represent a small percentage of customers they have.
3. Word of mouth- Strange as it may sound, word of mouth is an excellent test of insurance company practices. How your claims are handled and the service you get may vary greatly from agent to agent. Check with family and friends and see who they are with and are they happy with their service and pricing- have they had any issues? does their agent meet with them regularly and review their policies?
4. Internet site searching- Check and see what the world is saying about that company, see if their are a lot of positive feedback or negative feedback sites about that company. Do some research. Go on insurance company websites and see if they offer a lot of information and service to their policyholders.
Good Luck!