Kentucky National Insurance Company Review: Complaints, AM Best, JD Power, & Better Business Bureau (BBB) Ratings

How good is Kentucky National Insurance Company? Does it have a lot of customer complaints? How does it stack up compared to competing home & auto insurance companies? This blog post will review Kentucky National, including its customer complaint record over the last four years. There can be a big difference in the cost & coverage offered by different insurance companies, and being a well-known company does not mean being the best. The wise consumer shops the market for the right combination of coverage, acceptable claims & customer service, and a good price. This blog post will help you decide if Kentucky National Insurance Company might be a good choice for you. I’ll also show you other leading auto & home insurance companies in Kentucky, so you can comparison shop & find the best company for you. Continue reading

IFA Insurance Review: Auto Insurance Customer Complaint Statistics & Downgraded AM Best Financial Strength Rating

IFA Insurance Company, an auto insurance company insuring cars in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, & Maryland, has had its AM Best Financial Strength Rating(FSR) downgraded again in 2014. If you have IFA auto insurance, you should consider shopping for a more financially stable company with a better complaint record. This blog post will review the latest financial strength ratings & future ratings outlook for IFA, and show you some of the top auto insurance companies in NJ, PA,& MD, to help you shop for a more financially secure insurer. Car insurance rates vary a lot among companies, with some companies charging twice as much as others. Contrary to what you might expect, some of the companies with the best ratings & complaint records may have competitive rates for you. You don’t have to pay more for better service. You can likely find a better auto insurance company and save a lot of money, compared to what you pay now with IFA for the same coverage. Read this IFA auto insurance review and use the ad below this paragraph to get car insurance quotes from some of the top insurance companies in New Jersey. Continue reading

Better Business Bureau (BBB) Ratings for the Ten Largest Auto & Home Insurance Companies.

When deciding whether or not to buy a product or service from a business, cautious consumers check the Better Business Bureau rating for the business. Although I think there are other sources, such as the annual JD Power insurance studies, proving more useful rating information to the auto or home insurance customer, the complaint data provided by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) about major auto & home insurance companies can be another source of information to help people avoid insurance companies with too many complaints. This review will analyze the complaint data gathered by the Better Business Bureau for the last three years against the ten biggest auto & home insurance companies in the USA, and use it to show you which companies have a good, average, or bad complaint record. I’ll explain why people should not consider the BBB rating for an insurance company, and how I’ll use the number of complaints against each of the top ten companies, Allstate, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Nationwide, USAA, Farmers, American Family, Progressive & GEICO, to compare them and determine the companies with the best & worst complaint records. Continue reading

Answer Financial (answerfinancial.com) online auto insurance quotes review

Auto insurance buyers may be aware Allstate purchased an online auto insurance company called Esurance a few years ago. What people may not know, is the previous parent company for Esurance, White Mountains Insurance Group, also owned an online insurance agency, Answer Financial, authorized to represent multiple insurance companies as an agent or broker, which was also included in the sale of Esurance to Allstate insurance. Answerfinancial.com is one of the few places on the Web showing you the prices for different auto insurance companies online on their site, once you complete submitting your information for the quote, instead of selling your personal information to insurance companies and agents, to e-mail or call you with auto insurance quotes. How accurate are the auto insurance rates quoted by Answer Financial? Can you rely on Answer Financial to compare the best auto insurance companies for you? Should you buy auto insurance from Answer Financial? This review will tell you about how Answer Financial quotes auto insurance, and assesses the usefulness of Answerfinancial.com to the online auto insurance shopper. Continue reading

Overstock.com is now selling insurance: auto, home, & business policies

Overstock.com, the online retailer, has established its own insurance agency, and now you can request auto, home, & small business insurance quotes through its website, and purchase policies through the same shopping cart customers use to make other Overstock.com purchases. Can you really get online insurance quotes from multiple companies from Overstock.com, and buy a policy from the Overstock.com website? Is it a good way for people to purchase insurance, or does Overstock.com offer better prices than other insurance companies or insurance agencies? I tested the “insurance” tab at the Overstock.com website to get insurance quotes, as well as researched how Overstock.com is providing insurance, and I’ll tell you the advantages, and significant disadvantages, of using Overstock.com to insure your cars and/or home. Continue reading

Walmart is selling auto insurance online?

There have been many articles this week reporting about Walmart selling auto insurance online. The article headlines about this story have often been misleading. Walmart, known for its ultra low prices, is not forming its own auto insurance company to sell car insurance at low, market-beating prices. Walmart is teaming with an online insurance agency, autoinsurance.com, to promote an auto insurance price comparison tool to compare the rates of several companies. Is this auto insurance price comparison service useful? Will it really save people money as advertised? I’ll tell you about how this new service works, and as a former auto insurance industry insider, I’ll tell you why I think you shouldn’t rely on it to find the best rates or auto insurance company for you. Continue reading

Does your job or education increase your auto insurance rates?

A consumer advocacy group, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), announced its recent analysis shows some of New York State’s largest auto insurers are charging higher premiums to motorists who have less education and non-professional, non-managerial jobs. Four major auto insurance companies were examined: GEICO, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, and Progressive. Although the analysis is of auto insurance rates in the state of New York, many states allow a customer’s education and occupation as rating factors. This blog post will discuss the results of the NYPIRG analysis for each company, and tell you what you need to know to find the best auto insurance rates for you, no matter your occupation or level of education. Continue reading

Best & Worst Companies for Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction in 2013

JD Power has released its 2013 US Auto Claims Satisfaction Study. Although these annual JD Power customer surveys are great resources for consumers to use, as an objective measure of customer satisfaction, for each of the major auto insurance companies in the USA, the power circle ratings, used by JD Power to rate each insurance company, can mislead people about how well or how poorly each company performed in the survey. This review & analysis of the numerical scores for the auto insurance companies surveyed in the JD Power 2013 US Auto Claims Satisfaction Study will let you know the best & worst companies, and which highly rated companies are really performing close to average, and about the same as lower rated companies. Continue reading

Is Allstate Insurance Expensive?

Is Allstate Insurance expensive? Does Allstate home & auto insurance cost a lot more than other companies, like State Farm, Progressive, or GEICO? Are insurance companies with lower rates than Allstate selling “cut-rate” insurance, inferior to Allstate? As a former sales person for an Allstate agency, I’ll tell you what you need to know about Allstate’s pricing, and how you really can save a lot of money on your auto or home insurance. Continue reading

Changing auto insurance companies? Here’s how to avoid mistakes.

Suppose you’ve taken my advice, shopped your auto insurance with all the major insurance companies in your state, and you found a much lower rate. What is the best way to start your new auto insurance and cancel your old policy? This blog post will give you advice on how to avoid mistakes when changing auto insurance companies, like an accidental lapse in coverage, by canceling your old policy, before your new policy has started. Continue reading

Low Annual Mileage Auto Insurance Discount

Some auto insurance companies offer a low annual mileage auto insurance discount, if you do not put a lot of miles on your car. What happens if you put more mileage on my car than you reported to your auto insurance company? Can they charge you more money for not driving low miles you reported, or not pay a claim? Here is what you need to know about the low annual mileage discount, how to get it, and the consequences of misreporting annual mileage. Continue reading

Progressive Home Insurance Review 2013: Bundle and Save?

Did you know, when you buy homeowners, condo, or renters insurance from Progressive Insurance, through their Progressive Home Advantage program, it is not Progressive insuring your home? Progressive primarily insures automobiles & trucks, but acts as an agent, representing other insurance companies, when Progressive sells you property (homeowners, condo, renters) insurance, for you to receive the “bundling” discount you hear about in the Progressive advertisements. How good is the bundling discount? It can vary by state, home insurance company insuring you, and the type of coverage needed. When I called Progressive, the customer service representative told me only the home insurance policy would be discounted. Discounts for insuring your home and auto together are common with many insurance companies these days, and some companies discount both policies by as much as 20%. If you insure your car with Progressive, is bundling your property insurance with Progressive your best and least expensive option? If you bundle with State Farm or Allstate, unlike Progressive, both of those companies will be insuring your home & auto, possibly with much larger bundling discounts. This review will analyze the pros & cons of bundling your auto & property insurance together with Progressive, to help you decide if this is the best option for you. Continue reading

Do you need an insurance agent?

Yesterday, I posted about finding auto & home insurance companies with good customer service. Something that can help you get better insurance company customer service, is having a great agent working for you. However, it’s almost 2014, and it’s easier than ever to buy auto & home insurance online, direct from the company. Do you need an insurance agent these days? Buying direct does not always save you money. You should shop with all the major insurance companies in your state, regardless if they have agents or not, to find the companies with the best rates for you. With some insurance companies, you pay the same, whether you buy direct, or from an agent responsible to serve you. This blog post will explain what value insurance agents provide their customers, and how it can cost you money, and be more than just a hassle, if you don’t have one. Continue reading

Auto Insurance Companies with Good Customer Service

Do you get what you pay for when you buy cheap auto insurance? Can you save $100s on your auto insurance, and regret it when you have a claim? The short answer is, “No.” The price you pay for insurance has nothing to do with how happy you will be with the insurance company’s customer service. So, how do you find auto insurance companies with good customer service? This blog post will give you some tips to finding the best combination of price and service for auto insurance. Continue reading

Nonstandard Auto Insurance: How to Get the Best Rates

Have you called around for auto insurance price quotes, only to be told you don’t qualify for standard rates? Do some auto insurance companies say they won’t insure you? Are the auto insurance companies willing to insure you very expensive? Welcome to the world of nonstandard auto insurance.

From my experience, the people most interested in shopping for better auto insurance, are people paying or being quoted high rates, because they’ve had a lapse in coverage, have not been licensed to drive in the US for enough time, or have tickets, claims, or accidents. Unfortunately, these are the people some insurance companies want to avoid as customers, because they are considered at being a greater risk than the average driver for claims in the near-future. Rather than qualifying for lower standard or preferred rates, these people are offered nonstandard auto insurance rates, or turned away, if the insurance company does not offer nonstandard auto insurance rates.

If most auto insurance companies consider you a high risk driver, what do you do about it? You do what every auto insurance policyholder should do at least once a year — shop for better auto rates. Nonstandard auto insurance is expensive, but if you shop around, you’ll find some companies are much more expensive than others. This blog post will give you tips about how and where to shop for nonstandard auto insurance, and what you can do to get lower auto insurance rates. Continue reading

How Much Do Speeding Tickets Increase Auto Insurance Rates?

Speeding tickets increase auto insurance rates. But by how much? I decided to write about moving violations and your auto insurance, after reading this NY Times Money blog post here. The NY Times blog mentions an Insure.com study stating one moving violation can lead to 18% higher rates on auto insurance. This strikes me as high, based on my many years experience working with auto insurance companies, and I think the problem might be the study treats all moving violations as equal. For example, a reckless driving or DUI violation is lumped in the same class as a minor speeding ticket. I assure you, insurance companies have MUCH higher rates for major violations, like reckless driving, than they do for a speeding ticket. This blog article will explain how minor moving violations impact auto insurance rates. Continue reading

Auto Insurance Policy Exclusion: Pizza, Newspaper, & Other Types of Delivery May Not Be Covered by Auto Insurance

Cars used in pizza or newspaper delivery, or transportation of any person(s) or property for a fee, are usually excluded (not covered) by personal auto insurance policies, while engaged in these activities. In fact, if you use any vehicles insured by a personal auto policy (instead of a commercial auto insurance policy) for any business pursuit (picking up supplies at office depot, dropping off paperwork with a co-worker, etc.), whether you are self-employed, or work for a company or someone else, you should check with your agent or car insurance company, to see if you are covered, should you be involved in an accident or need to file a claim. This blog post will explain more about this common auto insurance policy exclusion. Continue reading

Progressive, Geico, Esurance Homeowners Insurance: Is it a Good Deal?

Have you seen Geico, Esurance, or Progressive insurance ads on TV? The ads promote their auto insurance, but the ads often mention they offer homeowners & renters insurance, too. In fact, one of these insurance companies is heavily promoting a discount for “bundling” home & auto insurance together, to get low insurance rates. However, buying property insurance from these companies can be misleading, and you might be insuring your home with an insurance company you have never heard of, with a poor customer complaint record. This review will give you information, to help you decide if buying home insurance from Progressive, GEICO, or Esurance is a wise decision for you. Continue reading

Tower Group AM Best Financial Strength Ratings Downgrade: How safe are its subsidiaries like Castlepoint, York, MA Homeland, Adirondack, & NJ Skylands Insurance?

The most well-known insurance company rating agency, A.M. Best, has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) of Tower Group International, Ltd., and its subsidiaries to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent). All subsidiaries are under review with negative implications. Fitch Ratings has also downgraded Tower Group International, Ltd.’s and Tower’s operating subsidiaries’ Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings to ‘BB’ from ‘A-‘. I, like many insurance agents, recommend not insuring your autos or property with any insurance company having less than an A- AM Best financial strength rating, whenever possible. Most of Tower Group’s subsidiary companies insuring homes & personal use autos & trucks in the USA are not easily identifiable as being a part of Tower Group, so this blog post will inform you about the subsidiaries operating under Tower Group, and how this ratings downgrade impacts them. If you are insured with some of these companies associated with Tower Group, you should shop to see what more financially stable insurance companies can offer you. I’ll show you some major competitors that my be a better choice for you. Continue reading

Why would anyone pay more than the lowest price for auto insurance?

In my last blog post, I explained auto insurance is not priced like a commodity, with low profit margins for auto insurance companies, as each company competes to offer the lowest price and under-cut the competition. In reality, the thorough auto insurance shopper can save a lot of money by shopping with all the major companies, and find a reputable company charging a lot less than other companies for the same coverage. Continue reading

Is Auto Insurance Soon to be Priced Like a Commodity?

When it comes to getting people to switch their auto insurance, the biggest factor influencing most consumers is the price. But is auto insurance a commodity product, like buying gas for your car, where the auto insurance offered by one company, is the same as the auto insurance offered by any other company, with the only difference being the price each company charges for its coverage? Continue reading

Insurance Zebra, Ratekick Reviews : Which Websites Provide Accurate Auto Insurance Quotes from Multiple Companies in the USA?

Its hardly news to point out the Internet has revolutionized business in the 21st century. Thanks to the Web, consumers have more information than ever to make smarter buying decisions. Websites like Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline and Kayak have changed the travel business, and put many travel agents out of business. But where is the Kayak of auto insurance, helping consumers find the best deals and lowest rates to insure their cars & trucks?

At least two websites are attempting to provide consumers with auto insurance quotes online from multiple companies, without the consumer having to disclose specific personal information, like names, social security numbers or vehicle identification numbers. I’ve looked at both Insurance Zebra and Ratekick, and although I’m impressed with each site’s design and ease of use, it’s not possible for them to give even approximately accurate auto insurance quotes to consumers anonymously through their websites.

The best way to get auto insurance quotes online is to go to each auto insurance company’s website (and include an online independent insurance agency operating in your state, if available) and provide your personal information as requested. This blog post will review Insurance Zebra and Ratekick, and explain why they are a far cry from being the Expedia of auto insurance. Continue reading

Encompass Insurance Reviews: 2012, 2011, & 2010 Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Encompass Insurance Company? How good is Encompass Insurance Company‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? Does the company have a lot of complaints? This review will help you answer these important questions and decide if Encompass Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Louisiana Auto Insurance Reviews 2013: The Major Companies, their Customer Complaint Records, & JD Power Ratings

As frequent readers of my insurance company review blog know, some car insurance companies charge more than double as much as other car insurance companies for the same coverage. No single auto insurance company has competitive rates for all drivers. The only way to find the company with the best auto insurance rates for you, is to shop with all the leading car insurance companies. But the average person is usually not aware of all the major auto insurance companies in their state. Continue reading

New Jersey Auto Insurance Reviews 2013: The Major Companies, Ranked from Best to Worst by their Complaint Statistics, & their Customer Satisfaction Ratings

As readers of my blog know, some auto insurance companies charge more than twice as much as other companies for the same coverage. No single car insurance company has the lowest rates for all drivers. The only way to find the company with the best auto insurance rates for you, is to shop with all the leading car insurance companies. However, the average customer is usually not aware of all the major auto insurance companies in their state.

This review will show you the 12 largest auto insurance companies in New Jersey, if they have an above-average, average, or below-average customer complaint record over the last two years (2011 & 2010), their JD Power claim & customer satisfaction ratings over the last three years (2013, 2012, & 2011), and whether each company’s growth or loss of NJ auto insurance market share might be an indication of low rates or high rates for a broad base of customers. In addition, I’ll show you some other auto insurance companies, outside the top 12, with consistent much better-than-average customer complaint records since 2008, as well as the auto insurance companies with consistently poor complaint histories. I’ll also point out a few other companies, outside the 12 largest auto insurance companies in NJ, with rapidly gaining market share, which can be a sign the companies offer low auto insurance rates.

Reading this blog post can help you shop & identify the NJ auto insurance companies most likely to save you a lot of money, or if you may be paying too much for your auto insurance, if your company is losing market share. As of the date of this article, the 2012 auto insurance complaint data has not been published by the State of New Jersey. Bookmark this page, because I will update it or write a new review, as new data becomes available in the future. If you are a New Jersey auto insurance consumer, there is no better source on the Web than this blog review to help you shop for a good auto insurance company, get the coverage you need at a competitive price, and really save $100s per year. Continue reading