What is the Best Car Insurance Company in the Mid-Atlantic States? Find out here!

Here’s my analysis of the last of seven regional 2012 JD Power auto insurance customer satisfaction studies, surveying customers for the leading auto insurance companies in the Mid-Atlantic & Southern states of Washington DC, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, & West Virginia. What is the best car insurance company in this region? You need to know more about the JD Power study results, than the companies with the highest power circle ratings, to choose the best company for you.

One company, with the highest rating of 5 power circles, scored a lot higher than other companies with the same 5 power circle rating. Some of the lowest rated (2 power circles) companies actually scored close to average. You should not make an assumption to choose or not to choose an auto insurance company solely on its overall customer satisfaction power circle rating from this study.In this blog post, I dig deeper into the raw scores and factors reviewed in the study, like Pricing, Policy Offerings, Billing & Payment, and Contacting the Insurance Company (see this blog post for more information on these Customer Satisfaction factors), to help you choose the best car insurance company for you.

If you don’t live in one of the states listed above in the Mid-Atlantic region study, see my recent blog entries summarizing the other six regional JD Power auto insurance studies for your state.

Here is my list, from the highest scoring company to the lowest scoring company in the JD Power Mid-Atlantic region study. You can use this list to get price quotes from the top scoring companies for which you qualify. But if you want to save $100s on your insurance premiums, as well as insure with a good company, you should get quotes from all of the companies scoring close to average or better.

No single insurance company has the lowest rate for everyone, because every person’s risk profile is different, based on the age, marital status, claims & driving record of the drivers in your household, your type of cars, your credit score (where allowable by state law), your zip code, etc.

I know from experience, if you shop with all the leading companies, you will find some companies charging half as much as others for the same coverage. The only way to find the company with low rates for you is to get price quotes from as many companies as you can.

Price was considered in this study, so some of the top rated companies may have the best price for you. However, you may find a company scoring close to the study average will have the lowest rates for your situation. When you get price quotes from many companies, you make sure you choose a company, not only with acceptable customer satisfaction, but also with a very competitive price.

Not everyone of these companies is available in all the states in the region. Some of these companies are not available to all consumers, and restrict eligibility to certain groups. Some companies do not have local agents in your community.

In addition, not every person will be eligible for some companies based on their driving record, or other considerations. If you have issues qualifying for standard or preferred auto insurance, I indicate the insurance companies on the list most likely to insure most drivers with an asterisk (*).

Don’t allow not qualifying for some insurance companies stop you from shopping for a low price and good service. There are companies wanting your business, but some of them have less than stellar reputations for customer satisfaction. You can use this list to find the best mix of service & price for you. When you pay a lot for insurance, it’s important to find the best deal you can get.

JD Power 2012 Mid-Atlantic Region Auto Insurance Study: 13 Companies ranked from Best to Worst for Overall Satisfaction

1,000 points is a perfect score.

1. USAA auto insurance — 913 points. In most of the JD Power regional studies, USAA stands well above the next highest scoring auto insurance company. This is certainly the case in the Mid-Atlantic region, where USAA scored 73 points higher, on the 1,000 point scale, more than the next highest scoring 5 power circle rated company, which is NJ Manufacturers. USAA scored 106 points above the regional average, where NJ Manufacturers scored only 33 points (on the 1,000 point scale) above the region average. If you convert these scores based on a percentage of the highest possible score of 1,000 points, USAA received 91.3%, and NJM received 84%, which is the difference between an “A-” and a “B” grade, if it were a high school test.

Both companies receive the highest rating of 5 power circles from JD Power. But when you look at the study point score, USAA clearly has much higher customer satisfaction than NJ Manufacturers, as well as all the other companies rated in the study.

USAA rated 5 power circles — among the best — in all four categories of Pricing, Contacting the Insurance Company, Billing & Payment, and Policy Offerings.

USAA scores so much better than the competition, in all seven of the JD Power US auto insurance customer satisfaction regional studies, I think it is worth considering choosing based on the study results, if USAA does not have the lowest rate for you.

Unfortunately, USAA is not available to everyone. You must be in the military, an immediate family member of someone in the military, or an honorably discharged veteran, to be eligible for USAA.

2. New Jersey Manufacturers auto insurance — 840 points. If you don’t qualify for USAA, or if USAA does not have a competitive rate for your situation, NJM may be the best choice for you. NJ Manufacturers also has restricted eligibility, and is only available in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, if your employer is a New Jersey Business & Industry Association member, or you are a State of New Jersey employee. Contact your employer to see if NJM is available to you.

NJ Manufacturers received the highest rating of 5 power circles for Pricing, Policy Offerings and Billing/Payment. For Contacting the Insurance Company, New Jersey Manufacturers received 4 power circles (better than most). As previously noted, NJM scored only 33 points on the 1,000 point scale above the region average. So, NJM is better than average, but only by a little more than 3%.

One possible drawback to either USAA or NJM, is they sell direct from the company, and do not provide service through a personal agent. If you have a problem with USAA or NJM, you will have to resolve it directly with the company.

3. Erie auto insurance — 834 points. If you want to have a personal agent, Erie may be a better choice for you. Erie scored only 6 points less on the 1,000 point scale than NJ Manufacturers, and scored 27 points above the regional average. Unfortunately, Erie is not available in NJ or DE.

Like USAA, Erie receives the highest rating of 5 power circles (among the best) in the four categories of Billing & Payment, Pricing, Policy Offerings, and Contacting the Company, as well as Overall Satisfaction. However, USAA scored 79 points higher on the 1,000 point scale than Erie. Based on the study results, USAA car insurance customers are more satisfied than Erie customers. But if you are not eligible for USAA, you prefer having a local agent, or if USAA does not have a good rate for you, Erie may be a good choice for you.

4. State Farm auto insurance — 813 points. Scoring 21 points less on the 1,000 point scale than Erie, State Farm is the highest scoring company rated at 3 power circles (about average) for Overall Customer Satisfaction by JD Power in this study. There are no companies in this study rated at 4 power circles (better than most) for overall satisfaction, so we drop from the third highest rated company, Erie, at 5 power circles, to State Farm at 3 power circles.

You would think a 5 power circle rated company should score much higher than a 3 power circle rated company, and you would be right if we are talking about USAA. But Erie is only 21 points on a 1,000 point scale more than State Farm. Point-wise, Erie scored about 2% better than State Farm. If one student taking a test scored 83.4%, would you consider them a much better student than another student scoring 81.3% on the test? I don’t think so. If your choice is between State Farm and Erie, I would not use this study’s results to choose between them. More important considerations are the coverage available, the quality of the agent, and price.

State Farm received 3 power circles for all categories, except Contacting the Insurance Company, where it rated better than most, at 4 power circles.

The Mid-Atlantic region average score for all auto insurance customers responding to the survey: 807 out of 1,000 points. This is three points higher than the national study average of 804 points, showing car insurance customers in the Mid-Atlantic states are slightly more satisfied with their auto insurance companies than the national average.

The next five companies scored below the regional average, but are still rated at 3 power circles (about average) for Overall Customer Satisfaction. If you qualify for any of the companies scoring higher on this list, and they quote you about the same price or a better for the same coverage, than the remaining companies on this list, the higher scoring companies may be the better choice for you.

However, it’s possible anyone of the companies below may have the best price at a much lower rate or better coverage/policy options for you. Remember, your agent (or not having an agent) can make a big difference in your customer satisfaction. A good agent can make insuring with an average insurance company an above-average experience.
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*5. Nationwide auto insurance — 800 points. Nationwide is tied for 5th & 6th place with Travelers, which also scored 800 points out of the 1,000 possible points, which is 7 points below the study average.

Nationwide rated 3 power circles (about average) for Policy Offerings & Contacting the Insurance Company, but received the lowest rating of 2 power circles (the rest) for Pricing & Billing/Payment.

If you get an auto insurance quote from Nationwide, and they have a low rate for you compared to other companies, you don’t have to be concerned with the low rating for Pricing.

If you stay on top of your bills, knowing when they are due & checking to confirm payment is received, and you pay in full or two installments, a low rating for the Billing/Payment category should not be too much of a concern for you.

But if you pay monthly, don’t always pay on time, don’t always pay the minimum amount due, or have automatic withdrawals from a bank account, you want to make sure you have an agent focused on monitoring your policy, and helping you avoid billing problems. You can buy from Nationwide direct from the company, or through an agent, at the same price. I recommend choosing an agent wisely, in case you have issues with billing, or other problems.

One good thing about Nationwide is it’s the highest scoring company insuring almost all drivers. If you have accidents & tickets, no recent insurance history, or you are a new driver, Nationwide has two subsidiaries, Titan & Victoria, which may be able to help you. Independent agents often represent these two companies, too. If you have a problem finding a Nationwide agent willing to help to you, you can contact the company directly for a quote.

6. Travelers auto insurance — 800 points. Although Travelers has the same numerical score as Nationwide, how it performed in the four categories making up the Overall Customer Satisfaction score is different.

Travelers rates 4 power circles (better than most) for Contacting the Insurance Company.

For the categories of Pricing & Policy Offerings, Travelers rated about average at 3 power circles.

For Billing & Payment, like Nationwide, it received the lowest rating of 2 power circles (the rest).

*7. Progressive auto insurance — 799 points. Scoring one less point on the 1,000 point scale than Nationwide & Travelers, and only 8 points below the regional average. Progressive rated 3 power circles (about average) in all categories.

Progressive often has competitive rates for not only people with clean driving records, it is one of the few companies willing to insure drivers with more than one major violation, like reckless driving, alcohol or drug related driving offenses, driving without insurance, or driving with a suspended license. Progressive can usually insure drivers other companies offering nonstandard auto insurance turn down.

8. Hartford auto insurance — 795 points. Hartford scored 12 points on the 1,000 point scale less than the regional average.

Like Progressive, Hartford rated about average — 3 power circles — for all categories.

*9. GEICO auto insurance — 791 points. Geico scored 16 points on the 1,000 point scale below the regional average.

Geico scored 3 power circles (about average) in all of the categories, except Contacting the Insurance Company, which received the lowest 2 power circle (the rest) rating.

Being able to contact and communicate with your insurance company is of utmost importance when you have a claim, and since most Geico customers do not have a personal agent to help them, problems with contacting the company can be a major hassle. However, Geico can insure most drivers looking for auto insurance and may have low rates for you. If Geico can offer you a good price and you don’t feel you need an agent, they may be the best choice for you.

The following four companies are the lowest scoring companies in the study, and they all received the lowest rating of 2 power circles (the rest) for Overall Customer Satisfaction. However, the lowest scores does not mean failing grades. The lowest scoring company, High Point Insurance, scored 748 points out of 1,000, which is 74.8%, or a solid “C,” if it was a high school test. Since one company, Erie, was rated “among the best” with 5 power circles for a score of 83.4%, there is not a huge drop off in customer satisfaction with even the lowest scoring company.

Some of the companies below sell nonstandard auto insurance for people having problems qualifying for auto insurance with some companies. If you are a part of this market segment, be sure to try to get quotes with the companies listed below, to see if they have better rates for you.

If you qualify for standard or preferred auto insurance, its still possible these companies have the best rate for you. If you are insured with any of them, do not feel they are so low rated you must change to a higher scoring company. However, you should see if some of the higher scoring companies can get you a better price with the same coverage and similar benefits.

*10. Allstate auto insurance — 785 points. 22 points below the regional average, Allstate is the highest scoring of the two power circle rated companies.

Allstate received the lowest 2 power circle rating for all categories, except Contacting the Insurance Company, which received 3 power circles (about average).

11. Liberty Mutual auto insurance — 779 points. Liberty Mutual scored 28 points on the 1,000 point scale below the regional average.

Like Allstate, it rated 2 power circles in all categories except Contacting the Company, which rated about average at 3 power circles.

The following two companies received the lowest 2 power circle rating in all categories, and their scores are far enough below the average, where I would not consider them unless they have the lowest price for you.

*12. 21st Century auto insurance — 763 points.

13. High Point auto insurance — 748 points.

So, what is the best car insurance company in Washington DC, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or West Virginia? The best car insurance company for you depends not only on customer service study rankings analyzed in this blog post, but on the price and coverage each company can offer you. How satisfied are you with your car insurance company? Tell me about it. Please leave a comment on my facebook page. Follow me on Twitter for important insurance consumer news and new blog entries at CarInsWatch