Insurance Company Complaints: Who Are The Top 10 Companies With The Fewest Complaints?
The New York State Department of Insurance (DOI) just released the 2008 Annual Ranking of Auto Insurance Complaints. The report has been released to help consumers find the auto insurer that best meets their needs. You can use this report to compare the ranking of the insurance company you are doing business with now, or look at another company you may be considering.
This report analyzed data collected from 2006 and 2007. It only ranks companies operating in New York State. However, as New York is a densely populated state, with large urban centers and large suburban areas, the report can be considered a good representation of the performance of insurance companies across the country.
How the ranking works
Insurance companies are classified based on a complaint index. The ratio is calculated by the number of confirmed complaints against companies as a percentage of their total private passenger car business.
Insurers with the fewest confirmed complaints per million dollars of premiums are shown at the top of the list. Businesses with the highest complaint rate rank at the bottom.
Other information to consider
The classification of an insurance company is important, but it is just one characteristic that consumers should consider when considering doing business with an insurance company. Others are:
o References from friends, relatives, neighbors or co-workers about the experiences they had with their insurance companies.
o Premium price versus perceived value
o Search the Internet for other ideas.
o Check your state DOI website, which may contain valuable consumer information about businesses operating in your state.
What does and does not contain the ranking
o Private passenger insurance is the only type evaluated.
o Only includes complaints submitted by consumers to DOI. It does not include complaints made directly to insurance companies.
o Complaints are “upheld” when DOI agrees with a consumer that an insurance company made an inappropriate decision.
o Information from previous years is included in the tables so that consumers can see if the business has improved or worsened.
o All companies with at least $ 10 million in premiums in 2006 and 2007 are included in the ranking. Insurers with less than $ 10 million were included if they had 10 or more complaints against them.
The three most common complaints
1. Monetary settlements: the settlement amount is too low.
2. Policy cancellations
3. Speed of insurance payments
2007 Car Complaint Listing (ranked lowest number on top, highest as it goes down)
1. Mercury General Group
2. American Express, Amex Assurance, IDS Property Casualty
3. Eveready Insurance Co.
4. Electrical insurance group
5. Mutual Amica
6. Preferred Mutual Insurance Co.
7. United Services Automobile Assurance Group (USAA)
8. Chubb
9. Utica Mutual
10. Arm status F *
11. Central Services Group, Central Insurance Group, NY Central Mutual Fire Ins.
12. Main Street America Group, National Grange Mutual
13. Progressive
14. Liberty Mutual
15. Kingsway Insurance Group, Lincoln General Ins.
16. Response insurance group
17. National insurance
18. American Modern Ins. Group, American Family Home Ins.
19. St. Paul Travelers
20. Unitrin Group, Kemper
21. Erie Insurance Group
22. Berkshire Hathaway Insurance, GEICO
23. Allstate Insurance
24. The Hartford Insurance Group
25. Hanover Insurance, Citizens Ins., Allmerica Financial Alliance
26. Metropolitan Group
27. American National Financial Group
28. Allianz Insurance Group
29. GMAC, Integon, MIC P&C, National General Ins. Co.
30. Zurich Ins. Group, Foremost, Maryland Casualty
31. Hannover RE Group, Clarendon National
32. State level insurance
33. Grupo Montañas Blancas, OneBeacon, Esurance, Auto One Ins.
34. National insurance
35. Safeco Insurance Group
36. American International Group (AIG)
37. Ins. Tristate Consumers. Group
38. Interboro Mutual
39. Infinity Property & Casualty
40. Long Island Insurance
Conclution
If your auto insurance provider is not on this list, they may not sell insurance in New York. Or it could be that your number of complaints is worse than that of the company in position # 40!
Think about this statement, my friends.
The only thing that really matters about your auto insurance is what happens when you file a claim. Statements refer to KEEPING PROMISES. When insurance companies don’t deliver on their promises, the complaints pile up!
So why would you EVER consider doing business with any insurance company LESS THAN NUMBER 10 on the list?
If you are one of the unfortunate people experiencing a car loss of any kind, you will need to know how to handle your insurance claim to maximize your recovery. I will even be bold enough to say this: If you do not use the strategies for filing a claim found in my book, you will not collect all the money that you are entitled to collect. You will need to know how to take control of your insurance claim and add hundreds or even thousands of dollars more to your claim settlement. For more information, visit the website listed below in the Resource Box.