This review will show you the twenty companies insuring the most cars in New York, and ranking & rating them from best to worst, based on their national complaint statistics for 2011, 2012, and 2013, gathered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Many people fail to check the complaint records of their car insurance companies, and are unaware of all the major companies selling car insurance in their state. The information I provide in this review not only helps you determine if your car insurance company has a good or bad customer complaint record, it helps you know about the other leading companies, so you can shop for lower rates and better service.
20 Major New York Car Insurance Companies Rated & Ranked from Best to Worst for Complaints
In my review last year of the complaint record of NY car insurance companies, I used the state complaint information from the New York Department of Financial Services website. As of the writing of this new review, the NYDFS site has not published new NY car insurance complaint statistics, and the latest data is still from the years 2010-2011, used in my last review.
So my New York state readers can evaluate more current auto insurance complaint data for the major companies in the Empire State, I’m using in this new review the statistics for 2011, 2012, and 2013, gathered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) website, which includes complaint from all states where these largest NY auto insurers operate, including New York. The NAIC auto insurance complaint ratios I use compare each company’s U.S. market share of closed complaints to its U.S. market share of premiums for auto insurance. Complaint ratios lower than “1″ have less complaints than average, and complaint ratios over “1″ have more complaints than average. The best companies have the lowest complaint ratio numbers each year.
The complaint ratios are numerical scores, and may not be easy for readers to compare at a glance, so I developed this rating system:
B = Better than average. Insurance companies with complaint ratios less than 75% of the average insurance company.
C = Average. Insurance companies with complaint ratios from 75% to 125% of the average insurance company. I use a minus sign (-) to indicate auto insurance complaint ratios slightly worse than average (1.01 to 1.25) and a plus sign (+) for auto insurance complaint ratios slightly better than average (.99 to .75).
W = Worse than average. Insurance companies with complaint ratios more than 125% of the average insurance company.
The best car insurance companies will have “B” ratings each year. Car insurance companies with consistently better than average complaint records will have either “B” or “C+” ratings. Companies with “C-” or “W” ratings consistently have more than the average number of complaints. Companies with all “W” ratings have the worst auto insurance complaint records. To sort out the best companies among the car insurance companies with all “B” ratings, look at the complaint ratio numbers. The lowest numbers are the best. Among the companies with all “W” ratings, the ones with the highest complaint ratio numbers are the worst. To make it easier for you to see the best and worst car insurance companies in New York, I rank them for you, in order of best (#1) to worst (#20).
Most insurance companies have several separate subsidiary companies selling auto insurance, and not all subsidiaries are included in this review. Companies with multiple subsidiary companies large enough to be considered in this review are ranked by their largest subsidiary’s complaint ratios. Many companies have several subsidiaries, so it’s important to know the exact name of the subsidiary company insuring or quoting you. For example, it’s not enough to know you are insured with Progressive, because Progressive has many subsidiaries selling car insurance in New York, including Progressive Northern Insurance Company and Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, which are both included in this review.
1. New York Central Mutual
NY Central Mutual has two subsidiary companies selling auto insurance in New York, and large enough to be included with the top 20 biggest companies:
New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (0) No complaints
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.04)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.07)
A. Central Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (0) No complaints
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.18)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.44)
2. New South Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.28)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.07)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.33)
3. Adirondack Insurance Exchange
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.28)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.12)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.24)
4. Erie Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.16)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.34)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.89)
5. Hartford Insurance Company of Illinois
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.34)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.38)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.42)
6. Kemper Independence Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.31)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.46)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.50)
7. State Farm
State Farm has two subsidiaries big enough for this review:
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.44)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.40)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.35)
State Farm Fire & Casualty Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C (1.00)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.88)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.82)
8. Metlife
Metlife has two subsidiary companies big enough for this review:
Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.46)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.36)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.43)
Metropolitan Group Property & Casualty Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C- (1.02)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.59)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.69)
Metropolitan Group P & C Insurance Company is a group benefit plan, so your employer must be a participant in the group for you to be eligible.
9. Amica Mutual Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.49)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.42)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.40)
10. Nationwide
Nationwide insurance has two subsidiaries large enough for this review:
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.51)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.44)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.48)
Nationwide Insurance Company of America
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.70)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.89)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.64)
11. Travelers
Travelers has two subsidiary companies large enough for this review:
Travelers Home & Marine Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.50)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.49)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.43)
Travelers Property Casualty Company of America
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.71)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.86)
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12. Preferred Mutual Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.56)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.12)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.24)
13. USAA
USAA has restricted eligibility to the military, their immediate family members, and honorably discharged veterans, and has two subsidiaries selling auto insurance large enough for this review:
United Services Auto Association
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.55)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.49)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.48)
USAA Casualty Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.78)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.84)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.73)
14. GEICO
GEICO has three subsidiaries large enough to make this review:
Geico General Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.62)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.50)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.46)
Geico Indemnity Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.63)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.60)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.58)
Government Employees Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.44)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.54)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.41)
15. Progressive
Progressive has a lot of subsidiary companies, and six of them are big enough to be included in this review:
Progressive Northern Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.61)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.66)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.77)
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = W (1.53)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C- (1.16)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = W (1.27)
Progressive Specialty Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.27)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.31)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.26)
Progressive Advanced Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.33)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.63)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.53)
Progressive Direct Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.44)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.55)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.64)
Progressive Preferred Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.28)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.71)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.54)
16. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.69)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.68)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.66)
17. Allstate
Allstate insurance has two subsidiaries selling auto insurance large enough for this review:
Allstate Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.67)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C+ (.78)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.68)
Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.42)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.44)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.46)
18. Esurance Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C- (1.13)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = B (.66)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C (1.00)
19. Peerless Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = W (2.11)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = W (1.80)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = C- (1.03)
20. Countrywide Insurance Company
2013 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = W (5.88)
2012 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = W (4.14)
2011 Auto Insurance Complaint Ratio = W (2.72)
You can find more customer complaint data, JD Power ratings, and other information for other auto and home insurance companies not appearing in this review, by going to my Website’s home page.
Thank you for reading this review, and please share it with your friends and family. I hope this information helps you find a better auto insurance company and lower rates.
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