Vermont Auto Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Leading Companies

Does your automobile insurance company have a huge amount of customer complaints? Will you have any problems placing a claim, or have a valid claim delayed or denied? Is your insurance company good or bad? Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies. This blog post provides complaint information for the major insurance companies selling auto insurance in Vermont, and ranks them from best to worst, based on their 2011 JD Power auto insurance customer satisfaction rating. National auto insurance complaint ratings for their subsidiary companies are available by links to insurance company reviews on my website. I also list complaint ratings for several large regional auto insurance companies selling car insurance in Vermont, not rated by JD Power.

I’m always blogging to help you get the best policies and prices for auto, property (homeowners/renters/condo/mobile home), & life insurance, so bookmark or place my website in your favorites!

I prefer to use state complaint data in my state reviews, but not every state’s insurance department provides state complaint information. Vermont happens to be one of them.

A state’s department of insurance website is usually a good place to find out consumer information about insurance & insurance companies. The Vermont Insurance Division website is where I found the largest insurance groups selling car insurance in Vermont, as of 2008, the most recent year where data is available.

Large insurance groups, such as Progressive, usually have several subsidiary companies selling auto insurance in the state. For example, Progressive has Progressive Casualty Insurance Company & Progressive Direct Insurance Company.

Since I don’t know the market share of the individual insurance company subsidiaries, I am ranking the leading auto insurance parent companies, from best to worst, by their 2011 JD Power customer satisfaction rating: Among the best; Better than most; About average; The rest.

Most auto insurance companies are rated average by JD Power. Each insurance company is listed as a link to my website, so you can check the auto & home insurance complaint information for the auto insurance subsidiary company insuring or quoting you.

Since insurance companies often have several subsidiary companies selling auto insurance in your state, you will need to know the correct name of the subsidiary company insuring or quoting you.

Before you switch to a new auto or home insurance company, always get the quote in writing, so you can see the coverage, and you have documentation of the price you were quoted, in case there is a problem when the policy is issued. The quote they send you will have the full name of the insurance company on it. Or simply ask your agent or insurance company representative for the proper name of the insurance company insuring you, if you don’t know it.

Some major national insurance companies, like Amica Insurance, have a smaller market share, and do not make the list of the largest insurance groups. These companies are not as big in Vermont, but they may have low rates, good customer service, and be the best choice for you.

Visit the home page of my web site to see complaint information, AM Best financial strength ratings, and JD Power customer satisfaction and claims satisfaction ratings, for additional insurance companies not on this list.

Some of the largest insurance groups in Vermont are regional insurance companies, such as Vermont Mutual Group, and they are not rated by JD Power because they are not large national companies. Since I don’t have complaint ratings for these companies on my web site, I looked up the subsidiary companies and list their complaint ratings here.

I devised a letter grade system, using the national auto insurance complaint ratios for the regional companies listed, to make it easy to tell an insurance company with a great or good complaint record, from an insurance company with a poor or average complaint record.

A complaint ratio of “1.00” is average. Greater than 1 is worse than average and lower than 1 is better than average. A complaint ratio of .10 has 10% of the complaints of the average company. A complaint ratio of 2.00 has twice as many complaints as the average company.

Here is my grading system. I also list the national auto insurance complaint ratio for each regional insurance company subsidiary. Remember, the lower the number the better the complaint record.

A+ = Insurance companies with complaints 25% or less than the average insurance company.

A = Insurance companies with complaints 50% or less than the average insurance company.

B = Insurance companies with complaints 90% or less than the average insurance company.

C = Insurance companies with complaints from 90% to 110% of the average insurance company.

D = Insurance companies with complaints from 110% to 200% of the average insurance company.

F = Insurance companies with complaints over 200% of the average insurance company. More than twice as much as average!

Don’t choose an insurance company based on one year’s complaint rating alone. Consider these grades, along with price and other factors (as listed on my website), when choosing an auto insurance company.

If you want to decrease the chance of having a problem with your insurance company, go with the highest rated insurance company, although it may cost more. The good news is the best insurance companies often have very good rates — you can go with a better insurance company and save money, too!

If you are like me, the best insurance company for you has the lowest price for the coverage you need.

People pay too much for auto & home insurance for two reasons: They don’t shop for better rates each year, and if they do shop, they don’t check the rates of ALL the major insurance companies. Be sure to shop with as many companies as you can!

If you are newly licensed, have had a lapse in coverage, or been without auto insurance, or you have tickets and/or accidents on your driving record, you may have fewer options finding insurance companies willing to insure you. A lot of insurance companies willing to insure drivers with tickets & accidents have a high number of complaints, too.

As an additional resource, if you are classified as a “high risk” driver qualifying for only nonstandard auto insurance, please see this blog post of mine to find auto insurance companies insuring high risk drivers, so you can choose one with a good rate & a better complaint record.

If you decide to buy auto or home insurance direct from the company, without a local agent, and you have a problem, you have to deal with a call center, and you do not have an agent to provide personal service. You will have to be your own agent. Please be aware having a good agent can make insuring with even a mediocre insurance company a good experience for you.

Here is the list. Remember to shop with as many companies as possible, so you can find the best rates, service, & coverage for you.

Major Vermont Auto Insurance Companies Ranked from Best to Worst by Their 2011 JD Power Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Rating

(Click the link for reviews, including complaint information about the company)

Among the best

USAA — Unfortunately, USAA sells auto insurance only to active military members, their families, and honorably discharged veterans.

Better than most

State Farm Insurance

About average

Geico Insurance

Progressive Insurance

Allstate Insurance

Liberty Mutual

Hartford Insurance

The rest

Nationwide Insurance

Not rated by JD Power

Concord Insurance Group

Concord General Mutual Insurance Company = A+ (.11)

Green Mountain Insurance Company, Inc. = A+ (No auto insurance complaint in 2010)

Vermont Accident Insurance Company, Inc. = A+ (No auto insurance complaint in 2010)

Co Operative Insurance Companies

Co-Operative Insurance Company = B (.57)

Union Mutual of Vermont

New England Guaranty Insurance Company, Inc. = F (2.59)

Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company = B (.65)

Vermont Mutual Group

Vermont Mutual Insurance Company = B (.70)

Now you know how the major auto insurance companies in Vermont are rated, don’t procrastinate and shop now to find the lowest auto & home insurance rates for you!

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