Armed Forces Insurance Exchange Review: Complaint Statistics & Financial Strength Rating

Armed Forces Insurance Exchange (AFIE), founded in 1887, is an insurance company selling auto, home, renters, & condo insurance to active and retired military members, including National Guard & Reserve members, active & retired Department of Defense civilian employees, their spouses and children, and honorably discharged veterans. If you have had an Armed Forces Insurance Exchange insurance policy in the past, you, your spouse or ex-spouse, and your children can always be considered for a new policy.

AFIE also acts as an independent insurance agency, under Armed Forces Insurance Agency, to sell the products of other insurance companies, so if you don’t qualify for AFIE due to your driving record or other reasons, the company may be able to offer you coverage through another insurance company. For auto insurance, Armed Forces Insurance Exchange can quote you multiple companies. If you meet the AFIE eligibility requirements of having a relationship with the US military, you should contact them to see if they have the coverage you need at the best price. You really can save $100s on your insurance, but the only way to find the lower priced companies, is to shop with as many companies as you can. Often, you can find a good deal for insurance offered through special relationships, like an association with the military.

This blog post will tell you how you can get insurance price quotes from Armed Forces Insurance Exchange, the type of insurance it sells, its recent AM Best financial strength ratings, and most importantly, its auto & home insurance complaint statistics & ratings for the last three years, so you have some objective measure of their customer service. I’ll also recommend a few other companies, with special rates for military members & their families, to help you shop for the best price, coverage, and service. Continue reading

TheGeneral.com Review: Auto Insurance Complaint Record, JD Power & AM Best Ratings

Are you curious about The General auto insurance? Have you seen The General TV commercials, read consumer reviews, and wondered if they might be a good choice to insure your cars? If you have a hard time qualifying for auto insurance, The General might be a good choice for you, because they promise low down payments, which can be hard to find if you have issues qualifying for standard auto insurance.

However, if you don’t have a hard time qualifying for auto insurance with most companies, you may find The General is too expensive. If you are considering buying The General, this General auto insurance review will give you information, like their three year complaint record, to help you decide if you get what you pay for with The General. Included in The General Insurance review is information on competing nonstandard auto insurance companies, so you can shop your auto insurance for the best price, coverage, and service.
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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

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

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

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

Term Life Insurance: the smart way to shop, avoid mistakes, and save money, Part 1

If you now or will have, any loved one relying on you being around to bring home a paycheck, you need your own term life insurance policy. Life insurance coverage through work is not enough, and may not be there when you need it. It’s not just insurance agents thinking you need an individual term life insurance policy: You won’t find anyone educating people about personal finance, be it Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, or the money columnist of your local newspaper, not recommending term life insurance. So, you know you need term life insurance, or maybe you bought a policy a few years ago and need it reviewed. How do you shop for proper advice, good rates, and the right policy? How do you avoid a high pressure sales pitch? Similar to auto & home insurance, term life insurance rates can be more than double the price with some life insurance companies, for the same amount of coverage, as other companies. But unlike auto & home insurance, going to the major insurance company websites to get online price quotes, or to find a local agent, is not a good way to shop for term life insurance. In fact, the most obvious places for people to get advice and price quotes, can lead to paying too much for your term life insurance policy, or even worse, lead to you making a costly mistake, by being convinced to buy a permanent life insurance policy, annuity, or investment product you’ll later regret. Part one of this blog series will discuss where NOT TO SHOP for term life insurance. Continue reading

An auto insurance shopping strategy that really does save you $100s a year

In a previous blog post, I wrote about how important it is, when shopping for insurance, to speak with more than a few companies with familiar brand names, if you really want to save money and choose the best coverage. There are many fine companies you may not know, some sold through independent insurance agents, that could have the best price and coverage for you. Some auto insurance companies charge some drivers twice as much as other companies with the same coverage. You have to shop to find the companies with low rates for you. But the insurance companies with low rates for you will change over time. Insurance company rules & rates are always changing, and your risk profile (length of your insurance history, driving record, age, etc.) changes over time, too. This blog post will tell you what you can do, to make sure you never overpay for your auto insurance. Continue reading

American Family Insurance Review: Homeowners Insurance Complaint Ratings

How good is the claims & customer service for homeowners insurance with American Family  Insurance? Here are complaint ratings for American Family’s homeowners insurance policies, based on national complaint ratios collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Continue reading

Firemans Fund Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto Insurance & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company? How good is Fireman’s Fund Insurance Group‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Nationwide Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Nationwide Insurance Group? How good is Nationwide‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Nationwide Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Kemper Unitrin Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Kemper Insurance Company (Unitrin Property & Casualty Insurance Group)? How good is Kemper / Unitrin‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Kemper / Unitrin Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Erie Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Erie Insurance Company? How good is Erie Insurance Company‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Erie Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Hanover Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto Insurance & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Hanover Insurance Company? How good is The Hanover‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Hanover Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Grange Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Grange Insurance Company? How good is Grange Mutual Casualty Pool‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Grange Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Mercury Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Mercury Insurance Group? How good is Mercury‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Mercury Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Commerce Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Commerce Insurance Company? How good is Commerce Insurance Company‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Commerce Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Allstate Insurance Company Reviews: Auto & Home Insurance Complaint Ratings / Customer Satisfaction Ratings

Is Allstate Insurance expensive? How good is Allstate insurance? What do the Allstate ratings by JD Power mean? Does Allstate offer low rates for home & auto insurance, and have good customer service? This review will tell you what you need to know about Allstate auto & home insurance. Continue reading

21st Century Auto Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings & Customer Satisfaction Ratings

This blog entry is the first in my series of reviews of the leading insurance companies offering home & auto insurance in the United States, reviewing the customer service & complaint record of 21st Century auto insurance. Continue reading

Cincinnati Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Cincinnati Insurance Company? How good is Cincinnati Insurance Company‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Cincinnati Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading

Chubb Insurance Reviews: Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance

How is the customer service and claims handling at Chubb Insurance Company? How good is Chubb Insurance Company‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? This blog entry helps you answer these important questions and decide if Chubb Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading