JD Power has recently released its 2013 US Auto Insurance Customer 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 car 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.

Someone should expect a 5 power circle rated (among the best) auto insurance company to provide superior customer service. But in this latest JD Power study, most of the 5 power circle rated companies did not score much above the companies rated 4 power circles. Some of the 4 power circle rated (better than most) insurance companies did not score much above the 3 power circle rated (about average) companies. One might also expect, an auto insurance company with the lowest power circle rating (2 power circles), to provide consistently terrible service. But the scores of many of the two power circle rated companies are not much below the study average score.

Price is a factor considered in this JD Power customer satisfaction survey, but the study results can not be used to dependably show the companies having the best price for you. This study’s scores are lower than last year’s results, and explained by JD Power as being due to customer dissatisfaction with rate increases. There are big differences in the rates of competing auto insurance companies (Some companies charge double the amount of others for the same coverage), and there is no connection with paying more or less based on the quality of customer service.

When some companies increase the price of their auto insurance, it’s even more important to find a company with the best price for you. A smart auto insurance shopper checks the rates of all the major companies, then evaluates the customer service of the companies offering the coverage they need, at the lowest rates. Like my previous blog posts analyzing JD Power studies, this blog post will look at the numerical scores, and show you the best car insurance companies, truly distinguishing themselves above their competitors, and the worst companies truly performing below average. Continue reading →