There are probably more than ten companies running their businesses in every state of the country. Of course you can check for car insurance ratings online or simply work with an independent agent to guide you through the entire process from choosing a company to purchasing the coverage.
The biggest problem is that the best car insurance for someone is not always as good for you too. Everyone has personal preferences so determining which company is best entirely depends on your own circumstances. Nonetheless, there are some noticeable features of any good company as listed below; you can use these features to help you tell the good from the bad.
1. No Overcharge
Car insurance companies use your personal data, such as driving record or points, as an important variable in determining your rates. Since everyone basically has different records, the insurance rates can be different accordingly, even for the exact same policies. Traffic law violation including DUI, speeding, or car crash are properly documented by the DMV. Every incident probably stays in your record for up to three or five years. When the points are reduced or completely erased due to proper driving this year, insurance company should charge you less. The best car insurance company rewards good driving record by charging you better rates.
Besides driving records, insurers also use other variables such as marital status, location, and age to estimate your premium fee. A good auto insurance company is one that puts everything into account and uses all the necessary variables to determine the proper price for you depending on the circumstances. The correct calculation helps to avoid any possible overcharge. Another easy example is installments fee. Paying by installments is a good idea to avoid spending a lot of money at a time. However, over the course of an insurance policy, the installments may cost additional charge. In total, you have to pay more than you really need to. If you are looking for an insurance company that offers installments method, please choose one that does not require you to pay more.
2. Good Customer Service
Apart from the market that grows to be very competitive in terms of price, one of the most important features of auto insurance is building trust. To maintain good relationship with clients, insurer need good customer service people who work in professional manners. Customer service is the very first department that you call in case you need help either for making claims or asking questions about any relevant issue. People who work in this department must also handle every complaint filed by any client.
Customer service is an indicator to help you properly separate the best car insurance company from the rest. You will not want to rely on a company with a customer service that does not answer your questions immediately, or simply says things you cannot understand, or in worst scenario, the person you call does not seem to care about what you need to say. Fortunately there are some independent research done on behalf of customers to deliver insurers rating based on this particular subject. Some ratings are based on price, discounts, and customer service; simply check for online ratings created by reputable organizations before you decide to purchase policies from any insurer.
3. Quick and Easy Claiming Process
You need your insurance company the most when you want to file a claim. Every insurer will generally say that the company is best, but customers have to be more careful and thoughtful before they can really believe it. Every state usually has an insurance department where you can find every auto insurance company’s complaint ratio. Information about this is provided free of charge, and you will be able to download it easily to your computer. The ratio is built based on the number of complaints for every 1,000 claims by policyholders. The best car insurance company in your state is the one with the lowest ratio.
The complaints can be many things, but they are likely claim-related problems. Ideally, an auto insurance company allows you to file a claim either by phone or online. You need to report specific data about your policy number, date and location of the incident that makes you file the claim, description of how it happens, license plates, names, and more. The company will send representative to explain whether the incident is covered by your coverage, and if it is, the representative will help you to handle all the related issues that come with the incident as far as the coverage allows.