Allstate Insurance Review: AM Best Financial Strength Ratings & Auto / Homeowners Complaint Records 2009-2014

Allstate is the second largest insurer of autos & homes in the USA, so anyone buying car or homeowners insurance should consider getting a price quote from Allstate, to see if this company best meets their insurance needs at a reasonable price.

A measure of quality for an auto or home insurance company is the number of upheld complaints filed against it with a state’s insurance regulatory authority, adjusted for the company’s market share. This review will show you if Allstate has a better than average, average, or below average complaint record for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014. I’ll review the AM Best Financial Strength Rating (FSR) for the Allstate insurance subsidiaries insuring cars & homes, too. Continue reading

American National Insurance Review: JD Power Ratings, AM Best Financial Strength Ratings, & Complaint Record

American National Property & Casualty Insurance Company is a national auto & home insurance company selling coverage through local American National insurance agents, and is available in most states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New York do not seem to be among them). This American National Insurance review will include the financial strength ratings, customer satisfaction ratings in the JD Power home & auto insurance studies, and the home & auto insurance complaints over the last six years, and lets you know if American National has a better than average, average, or worse than average complaint record. Continue reading

Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Reviews: AM Best Financial Strength Rating & Customer Complaint Record.

Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Company, offering auto, home, dwelling, renters, & flood insurance, primarily in the states of Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, had its Financial Strength Rating (FSR) affirmed as “B+” (good) on 6/18/2013 by AM Best, but with a negative outlook, which means there could be a rating downgrade in the future. Most insurance agents recommend not choosing any insurance company with less than an “A-” rating for financial strength by AM Best. A grade of “B+” might be considered above average when you are in school, but it’s not a good grade for an auto or home insurance company. This review will explain the reasons for the negative outlook from AM Best, give you information about the company, including its three year home & auto insurance complaint records, to help you decide if Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Company is the right company for you. Continue reading

Grange Insurance Review: Auto & Home Insurance Customer Complaints, AM Best & JD Power Ratings

This Grange Insurance review will evaluate, for the most recent six year period where reliable statistics are available (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014), the home & auto insurance complaints for the subsidiary companies of the Grange Mutual Casualty Pool, to determine whether each subsidiary, such as Trustgard Insurance Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record.

In addition to reviewing & rating its most recent six year complaint record, I’ll analyze the change in the JD Power home & auto insurance scores & ratings for Grange insurance from 2012 to 2015, and compare them to the scores of leading competitors, like State Farm, Allstate, The Hartford, Travelers, Safeco, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Farmers, Progressive, & GEICO. I’ll review the AM Best Financial Strength Rating (FSR) for the Grange insurance subsidiaries, too. Continue reading

Shelter Review: Auto & Home Insurance Customer Complaints, AM Best & JD Power Ratings

This Shelter Insurance review will evaluate the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, & 2014 homeowners & auto insurance customers complaints for the subsidiary companies of Shelter Insurance, to determine whether each subsidiary, such as Shelter Mutual Insurance Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record. I’ll also look at increases & decreases in auto & home insurance market share (as measured by annual written premiums) for each Shelter subsidiary, as a possible indication of high or low insurance rates.

In addition to reviewing & rating its most recent six year complaint record, I’ll analyze the AM Best Financial Strength Ratings, and change in the JD Power home & auto insurance scores & ratings for Shelter Insurance from 2012 to 2015, and compare them to the scores of leading competitors, like State Farm, Allstate, Travelers, Hartford, American Family, Farmers, Progressive, & GEICO. Continue reading

State Farm Review: Auto & Homeowners Insurance Complaints 2009-2014

This State Farm Insurance review will evaluate, for the most recent six year period where reliable statistics are available (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, & 2014), the home & auto insurance complaint ratings for the subsidiary companies of State Farm insurance, to determine whether each subsidiary, such as State Farm Fire & Casualty Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record. Continue reading

Kemper Preferred Insurance Review: Auto & Home Insurance Customer Complaint Statistics & JD Power, AM Best Ratings

This Kemper Preferred Insurance review will evaluate, for the most recent six year period where reliable statistics are available (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014), the auto & home insurance complaint ratings for the subsidiary companies of the Kemper Preferred insurance companies, to determine whether each of their subsidiaries, such as Kemper Independence Insurance Company or Unitrin Auto and Home Insurance Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record.

I’ll look at increases & decreases in market share (as measured by annual written premiums) for each of these Kemper Preferred subsidiaries, as a possible indication of high or low insurance rates. Lastly, this review will compare the auto & home insurance complaint records for these Kemper Preferred subsidiary companies, with major competitors, like State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, & Farmers. I’ll review the AM Best Financial Strength Rating (FSR) and JD Power ratings for the Kemper Preferred insurance subsidiaries insuring cars & homes, too. Continue reading

Kemper Direct & Kemper Select (formerly Unitrin & Merastar) Review: Auto & Home Insurance Customer Complaint Statistics & AM Best Ratings

This review will evaluate, for the most recent six year period where reliable statistics are available (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, & 2014), the auto & home insurance complaint ratings for the subsidiary companies of the Kemper Direct (formerly Unitrin Direct) & Kemper Select (Merastar) insurance companies, to determine whether each of their subsidiaries, such as Unitrin Direct Property & Casualty Company or Merastar Insurance Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record.

I’ll look at increases & decreases in market share (as measured by annual written premiums) for each of these Kemper Direct / Select subsidiaries, as a possible indication of high or low insurance rates. Lastly, this review will compare the auto & home insurance complaint records for these Kemper subsidiary companies, with major competitors, like State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, & Farmers. Continue reading

USAA Insurance Review: Auto / Homeowners Insurance Price Competitiveness, AM Best Financial Strength Ratings & Complaints 2009-2014

This USAA Insurance review will evaluate, for the most recent six year period where reliable statistics are available (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, & 2014), the home & auto insurance complaint record for the subsidiary companies of USAA insurance, to determine whether each subsidiary, such as USAA Casualty Insurance Company or Garrison Property & Casualty Insurance Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record.

I’ll also look at the JD Power ratings for USAA auto & homeowner insurance pricing, and increases & decreases in market share (as measured by annual written premiums) for each USAA subsidiary, as a possible indication of high or low insurance rates. In addition, I’ll review the AM Best Financial Strength Ratings for the USAA insurance companies, too. Continue reading

How to evaluate your Florida homeowners insurance company & the complaint records for major companies in the state

This review will explain how to evaluate your homeowners insurance company and other homeowners insurance companies insuring homes in Florida, so you don’t regret keeping the company insuring you now when you have a claim, or the company you chose for its lower rate.

If you want to evaluate your current company & coverage compared to other companies, this review will also analyse the largest insurance companies insuring many homes in Florida I have yet to review, including their Florida state complaint record, JD Power claims & customer satisfaction ratings, and AM Best Financial Strength ratings. Some of these companies may not be selling homeowners insurance policies in Florida anymore, so I’ll look at each company’s increase or decrease in their number of homeowners insurance policies in Florida over recent years. Continue reading

Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company Reviews: AM Best Financial Strength Rating & Customer Complaint Record.

Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company, an insurance company insuring houses, farms, mobile homes & cars in Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, & South Dakota, had its Financial Strength Rating (FSR) affirmed as “B+” (good) on 5/30/2014 by AM Best, with a negative outlook, meaning there could be a rating downgrade in the future. As of 6/2/2015, AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating for Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company to “B (Fair)” with a stable outlook, meaning no ratings downgrade or upgrade is expected in the near future. The Financial Strength Rating of “B” is a rating in AM Best’s “vulnerable” category.

Most insurance agents will tell you not to insure with any insurance company, with less than an AM Best grade of “A-,” for the financial strength of the company. A grade of “B” may still be above average when you are a student in school, but it’s not a good grade for an insurance company. This blog post will explain the reasons for the poor rating from AM Best, give you information about the company, including its four year home & auto insurance complaint records, to help you decide if Buckeye State Mutual Insurance Company is right for you. Continue reading

Home Insurance Companies Selling the Most Policies in Florida: Complaint Record Review

This review analyzes & ranks the home insurance companies selling the most new home insurance policies in Florida by their number of annual complaints each year from 2009 to 2014, based on data last updated by Florida state for the quarter ending 12/31/2014. As any Florida homeowner should know, many of the large national insurance companies no longer sell new home insurance policies in the state.

Knowing which companies are currently selling the most policies, can not only help you find the companies selling Florida home insurance, but might indicate the companies with competitive rates for you. Be sure to read my summary at the end of this review to find out how to get the best home, condo, or mobile home insurance you can & save money! Continue reading

Cincinnati Insurance Review: AM Best, JD Power Ratings & Auto & Home Insurance Customer Complaint Record

This Cincinnati Insurance review will evaluate, for the most recent six year period where reliable statistics are available (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014), the home & auto insurance complaint ratings for the subsidiary companies of Cincinnati insurance group, to determine whether each subsidiary, such as Cincinnati Insurance Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record. I’ll also compare the auto & home insurance complaint records for the Cincinnati subsidiary companies, with major competitors, like Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, & Farmers. Continue reading

Philadelphia Contributionship / Germantown Insurance Company Reviews: Financial Strength Rating & Customer Complaint Statistics

Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, is one of the oldest insurance companies insuring homes in the USA, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1752. In spite of the appearance of limiting coverage to house fires in its name, Philadelphia Contributionship offers modern home, condo, dwelling, & renters insurance, similar to coverage provided by more familiar insurance companies like State Farm, through its two subsidiary companies, Philadelphia Contributionship Insurance Company & Germantown Insurance Company, insuring properties in some Eastern states. Philadelphia Contributionship is a small insurance company, without a sizeable national market share like Allstate. But if you really want to save money, & have the right coverage options fitting your needs, you should check with many of the insurance companies available in your state. Philadelphia Contributionship has a hard-to-find product that may be preferable to middle & upper class homeowners, as well as products to insure older or low value homes that other property insurance companies may not insure.

This blog post will tell you how you can get insurance price quotes from Philadelphia Contributionship, the type of insurance it sells, its recent AM Best financial strength rating, and most importantly, its home insurance complaint statistics & ratings of its subsidiary companies for the last three years, so you have some objective measure of their customer service. If you’re a customer, this review can help you decide if you should consider other insurance companies. If you are looking for property insurance, this review can help you decide if Philadelphia Contributionship might be a good choice for you. A wise insurance shopper knows there are big differences in price & coverage among home insurance companies, so it’s smart for you to shop with many companies, to find the best price, coverage, and service for you. Continue reading

Alfa Insurance Review: JD Power Ratings, AM Best Financial Strength Ratings, & Customer Complaints

This review will analyze the change in the JD Power home & auto insurance scores & ratings for Alfa Insurance over the last few years. The annual JD Power insurance company studies are, in my opinion, the most objective & relevant indicators of customer & claims satisfaction, by surveying the opinions of thousands of consumers about their auto & home insurance. However, the power circle ratings used by JD Power can be deceptive, with some companies receiving the top rated four and five power circle ratings, not scoring much above the score of the average company. This review will look at the JD Power ratings & numerical scores for Alfa, in all the JD Power insurance studies where it was included in the last three years, to see if its JD Power ratings truly reflect the quality of the claims & customer service for the company.

This review will also show you if Alfa has a better than average, average, or below average complaint record for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014. Additionally, I’ll review the AM Best Financial Strength Rating (FSR) for the Alfa insurance companies. Continue reading

American Integrity Insurance Reviews: Financial Stability Ratings & Home Insurance Complaint Record

This review analyzes the recent home insurance complaint record (2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013) for American Integrity Insurance Company of Florida, the sixth largest seller of new home insurance policies in Florida, and discusses its financial strength & stability ratings. People often make the mistake of not checking the complaint record of their insurance company. For auto & home insurance, people should avoid companies having a higher than average number of complaints filed with a state’s regulatory authority in recent years, if possible. Home insurance complaints are usually about the denial, delay, or insufficient payment of a claim. This review rates the home insurance complaint history of American Integrity Insurance for the last four years (data for 2014 is not available yet), to let you know if American Integrity is performing worse-than-average, average, or better-than-average, for homeowners insurance complaints, compared to the industry average. Another concern for home owners, particularly for owners residing in hurricane or disaster-prone states, is the financial strength of their home insurance companies, to be able to promptly & fully pay the claims of all its customers. This review will explore how American Integrity Insurance Company of Florida is rated for financial strength, stability, and claims-paying ability. Finally, this review will discuss how American Integrity Insurance Company’s complaint record compares to other major Florida home insurance companies. Continue reading

Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company Review: Ratings & FL Home Insurance Complaint Record

How good is Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company? Who do you contact for a price quote? Today I’ll provide you with information about Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company to help you decide if they are the best property insurance company for you. Continue reading

Federated National Insurance Reviews: Financial Stability Ratings & Complaint Record

This review analyzes the recent home insurance complaint record (2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013) for Federated National Insurance Company, the fifth largest seller of new home insurance policies in Florida, and discusses its financial strength ratings. Many insurance customers make the mistake of failing to check the complaint record of their insurance company. For auto & home insurance, people should avoid companies with a recent histories of higher than average number of complaints filed with a state’s regulatory authority, if possible. Most complaints are often about the denial, delay, or insufficient payment of a claim. This review rates the home insurance complaint history for the last four years (data for 2014 is not available yet) for Federated National Insurance Company, to let you know if Federated National is performing worse-than-average, average, or better-than-average, for homeowners insurance complaints, compared to the industry average. Another concern, particularly for people residing in hurricane or disaster-prone states, is the financial strength of their home insurance companies, to be able to promptly & fully pay the claims of all its customers. This review will explore how Federated National Insurance Company is rated for financial strength, stability, and claims-paying ability. The last part of this review will discuss how Federated National Insurance Company’s complaint record compares to other major Florida home insurance companies. Continue reading

Response Insurance Review: Auto Insurance Customer Complaint Statistics & AM Best Ratings

This Response Insurance review will evaluate, for the most recent five year period where reliable statistics are available (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013), the auto insurance complaint ratings for the subsidiary companies of Response Insurance, to determine whether each subsidiary, such as Response Worldwide Insurance Company or Warner Insurance Company, has a better-than-average, average, or worse-than-average customer complaint record. I’ll look at increases & decreases in market share (as measured by annual written premiums) for each Response operating company, as a possible indication of the competitiveness of their insurance rates. Lastly, this review will compare the auto insurance complaint records for the Response subsidiary companies, with major competitors, like State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, & Farmers. You may really like your auto insurance company, or you may have heard from relatives or friends about the insurance companies they think are best, but you never really know how good your insurance company will be, until you have a serious claim. The good news is many insurance companies settle a good portion of their claims in a manner acceptable to the majority of their customers. However, the wise consumer should avoid insurance companies with a worse than average history of auto insurance complaints. This review provides valuable information to help you decide if Response Insurance is best for you. By choosing a company with a better-than-average complaint history, or at least avoiding companies with consistent, worse-than-average complaint records, you reduce the likelihood you will have a negative experience, when you need your auto insurance company. Continue reading

Olympus Insurance Reviews: Financial Stability Ratings & Complaint Record

This review analyzes the four-year home insurance complaint record (2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013) for Olympus Insurance, one of the twenty-five largest sellers of home insurance in Florida, and discusses its financial strength ratings. Many insurance policyholders make the mistake of failing to check the complaint record of their insurance company. For auto & home insurance, people should avoid companies with a recent history of higher than average number of complaints filed with a state’s regulatory authority, whenever possible. The majority of these complaints are usually regarding denial, delay, or inadequate payment of a claim. This review rates the recent home insurance complaint history (reliable data for 2014 is not available yet) for Olympus Insurance Company, to let you know if Olympus is performing worse than average, average, or better than average, for home insurance complaints, compared to the industry average. Another great concern, particularly for people residing in hurricane or disaster-prone states, is the financial strength of their home insurance companies, to be able to promptly & fully pay the claims of all its customers. In Florida, most of the companies insuring homes in the state are not the large national companies, but smaller companies not rated by AM Best, the best-known rating agency of insurance companies. This review will explore how Olympus Insurance Company is rated for financial strength and claims-paying ability. The final part of this review will discuss how Olympic Insurance Company’s complaint record compares to other major Florida home insurance companies. Continue reading

Piedmont Mutual Insurance Review: Homeowners Insurance Complaints, AM Best, BBB, & JD Power Ratings

How good is Piedmont Mutual Insurance? Does it have a lot of customer complaints? How does it stack up compared to competing home insurance companies? This blog post will review Piedmont Mutual, its AM Best or Demotech financial strength ratings, JD Power customer satisfaction ratings, Better Business Bureau ratings, and its home insurance complaint record over the last 5 years. Unfortunately, the news is not good for Piedmont Mutual customers, but I’ll show you some other company options, which may be a better choice for you, and increase the odds you’ll be happy if you have a claim. You may also be able to save a lot of money, too. Continue reading

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

Safety Insurance Review: Auto & Home, Condo, Renters Coverage

Safety Insurance is the third largest insurer of private passenger vehicles and the fourth largest insurer of homes in Massachusetts, but also sells auto & home insurance in New Hampshire. This review will discuss the important facts about Safety Insurance, and how it sells its insurance. This review also analyzes the JD Power customer service ratings, AM Best financial strength ratings, as well as the most recent three-year home & auto insurance customer complaint record for Safety Insurance, in comparison with major competitors like Allstate, State Farm, GEICO, & Progressive. My review will give you information to help you decide if Safety Insurance is a good choice to insure your car or home. 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

Reviewing Florida Home Insurance Companies for Financial Strength, Stability, & Solvency

Florida home insurance companies becoming financially insolvent is not an uncommon problem. Sunshine State Insurance Company, recently one of the 25 leading insurance companies selling new policies insuring homes in Florida, stopped selling new policies, after receiving a consent order from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FOIR), to raise its surplus or shed its business. The FOIR consent order issued in March, came after Sunshine State reported it discovered accounting errors relating to reinsurance contracts from 2008 to 2011 that required correction. Sunshine State Insurance Company advised the FOIR that correcting the errors would negatively affect its surplus, as would fourth quarter losses. Customers of Sunshine State Insurance Company need to be concerned about the company being able to pay claims, and choosing another company to insure their home, as reported in this Insurance Journal article.

As any Florida property owner knows, finding companies to insure their homes and choosing the best insurance company, can be a challenge. The homeowners, condo, renters, or mobile home insurance companies available to them are often newer, very small companies not rated by AM Best, the most well-known company rating insurance company financial strength & solvency. If you are concerned about having substantial damage to your home covered by your insurance, particularly from a catastrophe, like a hurricane, where your insurance company may have many claims to pay, you want to do the best you can to avoid companies unable to meet their financial obligations. This blog post will discuss the issues regarding home insurance company solvency for Florida property owners, and show you one rating company that may be of great help with assessing an insurance company’s financial strength. Continue reading