Shop Smart: Make sure you get the best car insurance
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Many people think their auto insurance is just peachy -- until they have to file a claim. Then they find out whether their insurer pays up quickly or tries to do chintzy repairs.
To learn how insurers stack up, we surveyed 21,228 Consumer Reports subscribers who filed a claim with their auto insurers between Jan. 1, 2001, and spring 2004. We asked them if they experienced any of 10 problems with their claims, as well as whether total payment on their claims came more than 30 days after filing. (We considered such a payment "delayed.")
Overall, we found that respondents were more satisfied with their auto insurers than with most other services we rate. (Among the lowest scorers in these satisfaction ratings are cell-phone-service providers, digital-cable-TV companies and HMOs.) But our survey also found that some insurers treated their customers much better than others. Specifically:
Five companies -- New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co.; Amica Mutual Insurance Co.; United Services Automobile Association; USAA Casualty Insurance Co.; and Auto-Owners Insurance Co. -- appeared toward the top of our current ratings, just as they did in 1999, the last time we rated insurers. (All told, we rated 27 insurers from this survey. Companies with fewer than 189 survey responses were not included.)
About 10 percent of those subscribers surveyed said they felt their premiums were "unfairly increased" as a consequence of filing a claim. Three insurers were cited more often for post-claim rate hikes: Hartford Insurance Co. of the Midwest (by 24 percent of respondents who were customers); Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. (20 percent); and Travelers Indemnity Co. (19 percent).
Only 7 percent of respondents said they felt "pressured to use a recommended shop" by their insurers, and about half of those reported being very satisfied with the repairs. Meanwhile, 72 percent of respondents who said they weren't pressured reported being very satisfied. The two heaviest-handed companies, according to our subscribers, were Commerce Insurance Co. (13 percent of respondents who were Commerce customers complained about pressure) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. (12 percent).
In another type of perceived pressure, four insurers -- American Family Mutual Insurance Co.; Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co.; Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co; and Commerce Insurance Co. -- were judged more likely than average to push claimants to use non-OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts in their repairs. We recommend that owners who want OEM parts insist that their insurers provide them.
Auto-Owners Insurance Co. rated highest among the 27 insurers in terms of paying off claims in 30 days or less. Poorest performers in that measure were 21st Century Insurance Co., Farmers Insurance Exchange and Mercury Insurance Co.
Our survey also revealed that loyalty to an auto insurer seems to breed contentment. Only 8 percent of survey respondents who had been with the same insurer for 15 or more years complained about unfair premium increases after a claim. That compares with 16 percent of respondents who were with the same company for one to six years and 27 percent who had been with their insurer less than one year.
No matter how long you've been with your insurer, it could pay to check your policy and rates every year or two. This is especially important if you've experienced changes that might reduce your premium. These include getting married, reaching your 25th birthday, switching to a job that requires less commuting, moving to a less urban ZIP code, putting an accident or moving violation three or more years behind you and repairing a poor credit rating.
First Published April 2, 2006 12:00 am
