State Farm. Prudential. Allstate. AFLAC. GEICO. Metlife. Progressive. These insurance companies are household names. No one likes paying for insurance, much less paying more for insurance, but if you are in a major car accident, your house burns down, or you get a life threatening disease or develop a health condition, you want to be sure your auto, home, or life insurance company will be there to take care of your claim. Because of this concern, many people prefer familiar brand names when buying insurance. What if an insurance agent quotes you an insurance company with the coverage you need at a great price, but you have never heard of the company? Can you trust this unknown company to pay your claim? You know the big brand name companies are legitimate companies, even if you have heard stories about some of them having bad customer service. Is some insurance company unknown to you a fly-by-night company? Do they lure you in with low rates, but can’t be reached when you have a claim? It’s human nature to be inclined to buy a product from a company with a familiar name, but are you familiar with the company name because their customers rave about it being a great company, or is it because you are constantly exposed to the company’s advertising? An insurance company is not a better company because it spends a lot of money on advertising, or because it has a lot of customers and many agencies in your area. The wise insurance buyer does not limit their shopping to a few companies with brand name recognition. However, whether you know them or not, all insurance companies are not equally good. This blog post will tell you how to shop for your insurance without being misled by insurance company hype, and what you need to consider, when evaluating an insurance company, to see if it’s the right choice for you.

I remember working for Nationwide insurance in their direct operations (A call center, similar to how GEICO sells auto insurance), when someone called for an auto insurance quote, because they received one of our advertisements in the mail. I asked the questions needed to qualify the customer, compare coverage, and provide an accurate price quote. Nationwide was about half the price the customer was paying with their current company, with the same coverage. Nationwide auto insurance, like any company, is not always less expensive for everyone calling for a quote, but it’s not unusual for people to find a company with a much lower price, when shopping for auto insurance. There are a lot of factors going into auto rates, such as your type of car, driving record, zip code, discounts, etc., so its normal for different companies to have much lower rates for some drivers, and higher rates for others. No matter your sex, age, or driving record, most people shopping their auto insurance with enough companies will find some companies want to charge them twice as much as others. This is why auto insurance companies can truthfully advertise saving people large amounts of money. All insurance companies save some people a lot of money, but you have to shop the auto insurance market to find the company saving you money. Since I was saving this customer a lot of money, I was surprised when the customer didn’t want to switch to us. The customer had never heard of Nationwide, and was suspicious of the large price savings.

At the time, Nationwide spent almost no money on advertising in the Western United States, other than doing direct mailings. But also at the time, Nationwide was among the 10 largest auto insurance companies in the USA. In a state like North Carolina, Nationwide has a higher profile, one of the largest market shares, and agencies all over the place. But in the Western states at that time, Nationwide sold & serviced their auto & home insurance policies from its direct operations. So, although Nationwide was a large, national insurance company, many people in the Western part of the US never heard of the company. When I applied for the job at Nationwide, I was familiar with the company, but only because I remembered seeing their TV ads when I was a kid growing up in the 70s (Nationwide pulled out of my home state of New Jersey sometime in the 1970s). I also remembered their jingle & slogan, “Nationwide is on your side.” Although I tried to convince the customer Nationwide was a legitimate insurance company, the customer wanted to think about it and call back. The lesson of this story is to realize the huge influence of advertising, but to understand a company’s advertising should not be a factor in your buying decision.

These days, Nationwide does more advertising nationally. But if a large National company like Nationwide can be unknown to consumers, what about the many good national & regional insurance carriers selling through independent insurance agents, not wanting to spend their customers premium dollars on the expense of large advertising campaigns & constant media exposure? For example, Travelers is a huge insurance company, but have you ever checked their rates for auto insurance? Everyone knows GEICO, State Farm, Allstate, & Progressive sell auto insurance, but did you contact an independent insurance agent to see if any of the companies they represent have the best price or coverage for you? I often advise people when shopping, check with all the major insurance companies, but a problem for consumers is they don’t know all the major insurance companies, or how to get quotes from them. Also, its easy to say to yourself when your insurance rates go up, I’ll check with one or two of the big name companies advertising about low rates, and if they can’t save me money, I’ll stay with the company I have now.

If you are knowledgeable about the auto, home, & life insurance industry, you may know Chubb insurance has a great reputation for insuring high value homes. If you are an independent life insurance agent, you know Ohio National is a financially stable, reputable life insurance company with competitive term life insurance rates. However, few consumers have heard of these companies. When you think about getting term life insurance, you may get price quotes from Metlife, Prudential, or your State Farm agent, and possibly miss out on a better product and/or a much better price with a company like Ohio National, by choosing a big brand name. It may be a company with a household name will have a good deal for you, but a well known brand name does not always equate with quality or reliability.

Many consumers stick with familiar names. State Farm and Allstate are the first and second largest insurers of autos in the US. Since they have the most customers, they must have the best coverage, service, and price, or they wouldn’t be the two largest auto insurance companies, right? This may not be true at all. State Farm and Allstate have been the first and second largest auto insurance companies in the US for decades. They established their market shares a long time ago, and what made customers flock to them a long time ago, like competitive rates, may no longer be the case. Many people don’t bother shopping their insurance, stay with the same company for very long periods of time, and never review their policy, or get a second opinion from another agent. This is why many people pay too much for their coverage, or don’t have the coverage they need when they have a claim. Everybody knows “like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” and “you’re in good hands with Allstate,” but unless you evaluate your company, shop with other companies, & review your coverage periodically (I recommend once a year, if possible), you can find you are paying too much for gaps in your coverage, and an advertising slogan that may not deliver as promised.

So, how do you determine if an insurance company, whether you know its brand name or not, is legitimate, financially stable, and has an acceptable quality of customer service? Use the information in my insurance company reviews at smartshopyourcarinsurance.com. You can have a terrible claims experience with any insurance company. However, by using my insurance company reviews, and choosing an insurance company with a history of better than average complaint statistics, and with strong financial strength & customer satisfaction ratings, you will be more likely to have a positive experience if you need to file a claim.

A smart insurance consumer shops with all the major insurance companies, but many of these companies may be unknown to the average consumer. This section of my web site shows the leading auto & home insurance companies in each state, and although I would not base my buying decision on the 2010 complaint ratings I posted in these blog posts alone, it’s a great way to find out the top 20 or so insurance companies in your state.

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