Best auto insurance company
- Outstanding customer service
- Pays claims promptly
- Low prices
- Better Business Bureau accreditation
- Serves all states except Hawaii
- Very picky about clients, reviewers say
- Few local agents
Reviewers say Amica Mutual is the best auto insurance -- if you qualify. Customers say Amica is very picky about its clients, shying away from those who pose much risk. Drivers who've had several accidents or tickets will probably have better luck with a huge company like State Farm, experts say. But State Farm -- like the vast majority of auto insurers -- gets lower ratings than Amica for price and customer satisfaction. Reviewers and customers say Amica offers the total package: great car insurance rates, helpful customer service, hassle-free claims and long-term stability. Amica is America's oldest mutual auto insurer and is named an accredited business at the Better Business Bureau with an A-plus rating. Although Amica has scattered regional offices, it does most of its business over the phone. One other insurance company, USAA, gets similarly superb ratings, but it's open only to military families.
J.D. Power and Associates provides the best overview of Amica Mutual, rating it (and 33 other companies) on 15 measures based on large consumer surveys. ConsumerReports.org also compares Amica with 21 other companies based on reliable surveys, but the report is only available to subscribers. The Better Business Bureau rates Amica's trustworthiness, and the New York State Insurance Department ranks it against 39 other auto insurers based on customer complaints filed there. We found plenty of consumer reviews at Epinions.com, positive and negative. Amica earns an "OK to buy" rating at the website Fight Bad-faith Insurance Companies, but the site gives only vague information about how that rating is calculated -- and no information about who runs the site.
Our Sources
1. J.D. Power & Associates
Amica Mutual ranks at or near the top of every J.D. Power and Associates insurance survey. Customers give it high marks for price, claims and service, but Amica does lose points in the local-agent category as it does most of its business over the phone.
Review: Insurance Ratings, Editors of J.D. Power and Associates
2. ConsumerReports.org
Amica Mutual is one of 22 car-insurance companies rated in this most recent ConsumerReports.org survey. Editors rank the companies from best to worst based on a survey of 28,241 people who filed claims with their auto insurers between January 2006 and June 2009.
Review: Auto Insurer Ratings, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Oct. 2010
3. Better Business Bureau
Amica Mutual has been an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau since 1957, and it earns the highest grade of A-plus on its trustworthiness. This report includes general information about the 23 Better Business Bureau complaints filed against Amica within the past three years and how Amica handled them.
Review: BBB Business Review Reliability Report for Amica Mutual Insurance Company, Editors of Better Business Bureau
4. New York State Insurance Department
Amica Mutual is one of three auto insurers that have topped this chart for four years running. The chart shows the number of complaints that New York regulators have upheld against 40 major auto insurers, relative to their size.
Review: 2010 Annual Ranking of Automobile Insurance Complaints, Editors of New York State Insurance Department
5. Epinions.com
Amica earns an average of 3.5 out of 5 stars from more than 40 consumers here. It gets a lot of 5-star ratings full of praise, but several reviewers say they've had claims problems and rate hikes, and that Amica found them too risky to cover.
Review: Amica -- Auto, Contributors to Epinions.com
6. Fight Bad-faith Insurance Companies
Amica is one of only three insurance companies rated "OK to buy" at this website, which puts 100 insurers into Hall of Fame and Hall of Shame categories. FBIC says it's a nonprofit, but it gives no information about who runs it.
Review: FBIC Ranking 100, Editors of Fight Bad-faith Insurance Companies
Auto Insurance Runners Up:
5 picks including: Best's Review, Better Business Bureau…
3 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, Viewpoints.com…
2 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, Better Business Bureau…
2 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, Viewpoints.com…
2 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, Viewpoints.com…
Best Reviewed
Auto Insurance
- Best auto insurance company Amica Mutual Auto Insurance *Est. $0
- Best auto insurance for military families USAA Auto Insurance *Est. $0
- Best car insurance for risky drivers State Farm Auto Insurance *Est. $0
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