Choosing an Insurance Company
There are four main considerations you need to take into account when picking your insurance company. All are important:
- Price
Many companies sell insurance policies and prices vary greatly from one to another, so it really pays to shop around. Get at least three price quotes from companies, agents and from the Internet. Your state insurance department may publish a guide that shows what insurers charge for different policies in various parts of your state.
- Insurer stability
Make sure that the company you buy from is financially stable so you know they will be around to pay any claims.
The following companies rate insurance company strength:
- B A.M. Best Company, Inc.
Ambest Rd.
Oldwick, NJ 08858
908-439-2200
www.ambest.com
- B Fitch Ibca, Inc.
1 State Street
New York, NY 10004
212-687-1507
www.fitchibca.com
- B Moody's Investor Services
99 Church Street
New York, NY 10007
212-553-0300
www.moodys.com
- B Standard & Poor's Insurance Ratings Services
55 Water Street
New York, NY 10004
212-438-2000
www.standardandpoor.com
- B Weiss Research
4176 Burns Road
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
800-289-9222
www.weissratings.com
- Service
Your insurance company and its representatives should answer your questions and handle your claims fairly, efficiently and quickly. You can get a feel for this by talking to other customers who have used a particular company or agent. You can also check with your state insurance department to see if it makes public a complaint ratio, which compares the number of valid complaints with the company's share of policies in your state.
- Comfort
You should feel comfortable with your insurance purchase, whether you buy it from a local agent, directly from the company over the phone, or over the Internet. Make sure that the agent or company will be easy to reach if you have a question or need to file a claim.
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