Auto Insurance: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentConsumerReports.org surveyed 28,241 people who filed a claim with their auto insurers between January 2006 and June 2009. Editors use survey results to rank 22 companies from best to worst, rating them on claims problems, non-claims problems and timely payment. The same four companies top not only this ranking but also previous rankings from 2006 and 1999. Editors caution against several well-known companies that they say engage in bad business practices.

Our AssessmentThe Better Business Bureau awards letter grades to many companies, based on how they handle customer complaints. Each local BBB provides its own grades, and a single company may get a C in one state and an A in another; other experts say that this reflects real-life differences in insurance customer service from branch-to-branch. Several companies that get high ratings from other sources, including top-rated Amica Mutual and USAA, also earn A-plus grades from the BBB. Generally, this is the go-to source for checking out your local insurance office.

Our AssessmentWeiss Ratings, which is owned by TheStreet.com, rates the financial health of companies, similar to Standard & Poor's and Moody's, but a May 2009 analysis by ConsumerReports.org found TheStreet.com's ratings to be the most stringent. The site publishes a regularly updated list of the financially strongest and 10 weakest auto insurers, which you can access for free if you register. Companies that earn the highest rating of A-plus include USAA, Dairyland Auto (a subsidiary of Sentry Insurance), Hastings Mutual and the Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club (affiliated with the Southern California AAA chapter).

Our AssessmentBest's Review magazine rates the financial strength of most insurance companies, from A++ to D. You can look up individual companies in its easy-to-search online database. Some experts recommend dealing only with insurance companies that rate B-plus or higher at A.M. Best, but a May 2009 ConsumerReports.org analysis found Best's Review a lenient grader. This report names 55 property/casualty insurers that have maintained a grade of A or higher for at least 75 years and 55 that have done it for 50 years. Several auto insurers on the list also currently hold the highest rating of A++, including Amica, USAA, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance, Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance and several Chubb subsidiaries.

Our AssessmentAs at Moody's, USAA is the only U.S. auto insurer to earn Fitch Ratings' highest financial stability rating of AAA. You must register on the website to access these ratings (insurance is listed under the Sectors tab), but registration is free.

Our AssessmentUSAA "significantly outperformed" other property/casualty insurers in a survey of wealthy people by the market-research firm Luxury Institute, this insurance-industry journal reports. Chubb and American Family are runners-up in a field of 15 major insurers. The Luxury Institute surveyed more than 2,100 households with at least $200,000 in gross yearly income and a minimum net worth of $750,000.

Our AssessmentThis trial lawyers' group (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) names America's 10 worst insurance companies based on "thousands of court documents, SEC and FBI records, state insurance department investigations and complaints, news accounts from across the country, and the testimony and depositions of former insurance agents and adjusters." Although the report isn't dated, it cites sources from as late as June 2008. The anecdotes about insurance companies are compelling, but this report doesn't name any good companies. Five auto insurers make the list of worst companies: Allstate, AIG, State Farm, Farmers and Liberty Mutual.

Our AssessmentConsumers rate 89 auto-insurance companies here. Some big companies get hundreds of ratings, including USAA. It's the top-rated company, earning an average rating of 4.6 (out of 5) with nearly 500 ratings posted.

Our AssessmentYou'll find positive and negative consumer reviews here, organized by company, although there are no ratings to help you pick the best auto insurer. The very biggest companies get plenty of reviews, but others get only a handful.

Our AssessmentIt pops up often as a link on trial lawyers' websites, but this website doesn't identify who runs it and gives no street address (although it does prominently provide a way to make online donations -- it says it's a nonprofit). It divides 100 companies into Hall of Fame and Hall of Shame categories based, it says, on how satisfactorily they pay claims, but its "research sources" and "methodology" sections say only vaguely how this is decided. However, two of the site's top-rated companies -- Chubb and Amica Mutual -- are also highly rated by reliable sources. Allianz also earns a top ranking.