Car Insurance Company Ratings

When wondering about the reliability of car insurance quotes, you may be interested to know what others think about the companies you are considering. Since you are considering spending hundreds or thousands for dollars for coverage, you want to make sure your money is spent wisely. There are ways to check whether you can depend on a company in a time of crisis. There are third parties that actually do the work for you by rating the financial strength of the companies as well as talking with customers to see if they are satisfied.

Financial strength ratings of car insurance companies are just as important as the quotes the insurers will give. After all, if the company is strong in assets, it should have no trouble paying if claims are filed. You don't need an unpleasant surprise after the stress of the event that caused you to file a claim in the first place.

One firm that provides financial strength ratings is A.M. Best. When it provides a rating, it does so with letter grades. The grades range from A++ (its highest marks) to D. Ideally, you want to work with companies that have at least a B+. There are some additional ratings that you should know about. Sometimes additional ratings are given to indicate a change in climate for a car insurance company. These ratings include E (pertaining to a company's solvency), F (company is in liquidation) and S (company is suspended).

Standard and Poor's also offers ratings on insurance companies and uses letter grades. Its ratings range from AAA (best rating) to CC. The companies that should get the strongest consideration are those that earned at least a BBB rating. Additionally, some insurers get ratings of R and NR meaning they are under regulatory supervision or not rated at all. The grades might be modified by plus or minus marks.

Insurance companies often will include their ratings from A.M. Best and Standard and Poor's on their own sites. Also, you can search the two rating companies' Web sites to get the information. A.M. Best has its Consumer Insurance Canter and Standard and Poor's offers its Credit Ratings List. Remember that the ratings are no indicators of how a car insurance company treats customers.

Another type of rating on auto insurers is provided by J.D. Power and Associates. To develop the ratings, the company collects data from policyholders throughout the United States and rates them based on coverage options, premium prices, claims handling, customer satisfaction with company representatives and the overall experience of dealing with the insurer. Checking the J.D. Power Consumer Center page will provide information to see how the companies compare with one another. The company also publishes an annual survey of the major vehicle insurance companies.