STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANY

State Farm Insurance, like Allstate, is often as good or bad as the policyholder's agent. Accidents and incidents are typically stressful, frightening and potentially life-altering scenes. Having an agent that, despite the stress and confusion of the moment, calmly and adeptly facilitates smooth, timely repairs and uses policy tools and features to the benefit of the driver is of great import. While local agents can facilitate policy knowledge and lend the company a human face, it can also make the customer experience wildly divergent. Perhaps through careful strategy to make customer experience consistent across the country and a streamlining of the claims process, State Farm will continue to grow. For now, however, drivers looking for a quick claims process and agent-free policy access should look to GEICO, Progressive and eSurance.

Standout Features

• Ubiquitous in the US and Canada
• Customer Service

Response & Repair

State Farm Insurance is a giant, spanning two nations and populating them with local agents and representatives in most cities, large and small. With complimentary towing (with distance stipulations) coverage for all auto insurance policyholders, drivers can get their car off the road and into a repair facility quickly and painlessly, with no money down. From there, however, much depends upon the nature of the incident or accident, the involvement of other motorists, pedestrians or property, as well as the location of the vehicle in question and its proximity to a certified estimator. It is here that State Farm loses some points to Progressive, which streamlines the repair process with its "Concierge Level of Claims Service," which takes the onus of estimates and repairs off the policyholder, putting them back on the road with a rental car with only minor interruption to their busy lives and schedules.

Another bone drivers tend to pick with State Farm is its "salvage parts" policy, which uses, when possible, parts from salvaged vehicles as replacement parts for damaged cars. In its defense, these parts do, in fact, have to undergo a process to certify its quality and viability.

Policy Flexibility

Though many car insurance companies run the risk of stretching themselves too thin with expanded insurance protection products for life, home, fire and other insurance needs, State Farm Insurance manages to strike a favorable, even enviable balance between the policyholder and the shareholder. What's more, State Farm, with its tens of thousands of agents and representatives nationwide and straightforward, informative website, ensures that drivers get the right amount of insurance, as opposed to more or worse, less than what is adequate.

Benefits & Discounts

State Farm offers car insurance policyholders the clearest description of its comparatively-generous benefits. Multiple-vehicle and multiple-policies will result in a discount. As will drivers with established safe driving records. Good students that maintain a "B" average, too, are eligible for a discount. Also, vehicles with safety features like anti-theft devices and other safety features are eligible for a discount.

Like Progressive and a handful of other auto insurance agencies, State Farm offers discounts for car insurance premiums paid in full or paid automatically each month electronically.

Customer Service & Claims Timeliness

No company can become one of the largest auto insurance agencies of 2 nations--United States and Canada--without a well-tuned, policyholder-minded customer service and claims center. Or at least not for long anyway. State Farm ranks among the best for its day-to-day customer service, with accessible local agents and "phone-tree"-free customer service representatives for policy inquiries and claims. It is the claims process, however, that can be a complicated, time-consuming one, as State Farm has an aggressive-albeit-somewhat bureaucratic arbitration and mediation operation arm. This can be quite a benefit for State Farm car insurance policyholders, but with claimants represented by another auto insurance agency; this can often be a painstakingly long process. This is true of most car insurance agencies, but here seems to be exacerbated by its size and ubiquity.

Farmers Insurance Company

Farmers Insurance began as an auto insurance agency for smart, safe drivers. Today, much of that remains true. It may have expanded to include home, life, theft, fire and every other possible insurance protection product imaginable in the last century, but it still provides a fairly comprehensive, effective service for its policyholders and claimants. It might lack the streamlined efficiency of Progressive and the ease of use and savings of GEICO, but it makes a strong argument for itself with its tried-and-true customer service approach and commitment to retaining its policyholders.

Standout Features

• Good Driver discounts and rewards
• Customized policies

Response & Repair

Farmers is no Progressive when it comes to response time and claims processing. But then again, no one is, with the exception of Progressive. Farmers does, however, do a fairly decent job of going from A to B, getting claimants and policyholders off the road and into the proper repair facilities as quickly as possible. Getting from B to Z, on the other hand, can often take much longer, depending on whether or not other parties were involved.

Farmers Insurance is still agent-based in structure. This can be a blessing and a curse since traditional insurance agents often are a large factor in the policyholder's experience. Farmers policyholders with good agents are likely to see claims adjustments, repairs and other insurance odds and ends go through more smoothly and quickly than those with bad agents.

Policy Flexibility

One of the advantages of having area agents is the ability to meet face to face and provide a personalized, customized policy that actually meets the insurance protection needs without exceeding the budget. Farmers auto insurance policyholders have access to their agents to ask questions, file claims, receive estimates and learn more about their insurance products. With so many insurance companies closing up offices and concentrating their insurance agents online and over the phone, this seems to be an added advantage.

Benefits & Discounts

Farmers is quite generous with its discounts offerings for auto insurance policies. It offers discounts for customers that take out additional policies on other insurance products like home and life. It discounts good drivers and good students. It discounts drivers with low-mileage. It even offers discounts for premium contracts paid in full, as well as discounts for payments paid automatically.

Customer Service & Claims Timeliness

As mentioned earlier, much of the customer service experience and claims timeliness will depend upon the policyholders' agent. Claims processes involving arbitration and mediation between multiple car insurance agencies will be out of their hands, but claims not involving other parties typically won't. If you have a good agent, you will likely be met with favorable results. If not, you run the risk of ending up another disgruntled customer.

Claims can be filed and tracked by phone and online. Having a local agent means that policyholders have a point of contact to accelerate the process, or at least receive information about the status of the claim.

USAA Insurance Company

USAA is among the best auto insurance agencies in the nation. No other car insurance company offers its members so many discounts, benefits and services as USAA. Unfortunately, being a member requires being in the U.S. Armed Forces, select government agencies like the Foreign Service and FBI or Legacy status from an eligible parent. Though it is doubtful that policy eligibility will loosen up anytime in the near future, other auto insurance agencies (including top-rated GEICO, Progressive and eSurance) would do best to take a few notes from USAA.

Standout Features

• Savings-oriented business operations
• Expansive discounts and benefits for eligible policyholders

Response & Repair

Drivers with USAA auto insurance policies have access to the USAA Roadside Assist program, which partners with the Cross Country Motor Club to provide initial automotive first aid, including tows, refuels and jump starts. Repairs are covered only if included in the policy.

USAA continually receives high marks for the timeliness of its claims process, which is open 24/7 with full telephone and online tracking available. Tows can be ordered with follow-up damage estimation and repairs scheduling taking place as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, there are very few USAA-approved repairs facilities (less than 3,000 to be exact). In USAA's defense, however, these facilities are carefully evaluated and all repairs are guaranteed for as long as you own the vehicle. For policyholders with glass replacement coverage, windshields can be replaced at the driver's convenience, whether that be at home, at work or anywhere else they should choose.

Policy Flexibility

USAA offers a variety of policy options beginning on the low-end with Liability-Only and moving up the ladder to Comprehensive and Collision coverages. Between these two end points, eligible drivers can select various insurance protections, including towing and labor, rental reimbursement, glass replacement and even medical payments and extended benefits insurance.

Where USAA truly stands out is in its flexibility with insurance premium payments. Starting as a risk-pool by and for "high-risk" U.S. Army officers, USAA still keeps the lives and needs of its policyholders in mind, allowing payments to be made according to military pay schedule, toll-free lines for military personnel with deployment orders and up to 90% off storage expenses on vehicles of deployed U.S. Armed Forces personnel.

Benefits & Discounts

USAA goes toe-to-toe with non-reciprocal, open-enrollment car insurance companies like GEICO, Progressive and eSurance for its benefits and discounts. Drivers with clean records are eligible for a discount. So, too, are drivers that haven't been involved in an accident for at least 5 years. Taking out multiple-vehicle and multiple-line policies will result in a discount. Discounts are also available on new vehicles, vehicles with anti-theft systems, as well as other safety features such as daytime running lights.

When it comes to benefits, few auto insurance competitors top USAA, who manages to offer its policyholders car and travel-related benefits and discounts, as well as discount on flowers, jewelry, shipping and home security products. Also, USAA offers its policyholders a hassle-free car buying service that saves members an average of $2600 off the MSRP, manufacturer discounts of $750 on all GM brands and 20% savings on CARFAX vehicle history reports.

Customer Service & Claims Timeliness

USAA has a well-deserved gilded reputation for its customer-driven customer service practices and streamlined claims and repairs processes. As USAA is not a publicly-traded company, no shareholder stands to gain from low-ball estimates, cut corners or poor customer service. As a result, USAA auto insurance policyholders can be assured of receiving courteous and helpful customer service, timely claims adjustment and approval and guaranteed repairs.

Nationwide Insurance Company

Unlike many auto insurance agencies, whose storied past tends to cast a shadow into the future and whose growth, while beneficial to shareholders and can offer savings initially for policyholders, comes at the cost of the quality of its customer service and claims process, Nationwide has managed to balance the needs of the individual with the needs of the collective.

Standout Features

• Free Nationwide iphone application
• 100% guarantees on repairs for life of car
• Blue Ribbon Claims Services

Response & Repair

Accidents are just that: unplanned, oftentimes chaotic affairs that can range from simple information exchanges for parties involved in a fender bender to serious bodily injury and vehicle damage that can require hospital stays and even legal prosecution. With Nationwide, getting your vehicle off the road, into the repair shop and back on the road again is made as simple as possible and built with the busy lives and schedules of its policyholders in mind.

The Blue Ribbon Claims Services like Progressive's "Concierge" program and eSurance's E-star program is designed to expedite the claims and repairs process by offering motorists access to pre-screened, pre-qualified repairs facilities where all repairs are guaranteed for as long as you own the vehicle. The Blue Ribbons Claims Service, like eSurance's E-star, also updates repairs statuses with actual photos, going beyond the vague and brief description that generally accompanies updates.

Policy Flexibility

Depending on state laws, many of which require drivers to take out additional auto insurance protections, Nationwide is highly flexible. Keeping in mind the needs of its policyholders, Nationwide customizes each car insurance policy to offer the right coverage for the right driver at the right price. Nationwide customers seeking simplicity for insurance protection products can also expand their auto insurance policy to include other policies, including home, life and others.

Benefits & Discounts

Though Esurance sets a pretty high mark for discounts and benefits, Nationwide doesn't fall far behind. In addition to the unwritten discount standards like Multiple-policy, multiple-car, good driver and good student, Nationwide offers premium discounts for vehicles with car safety and anti-theft features, drivers that have completed a defensive driver course and long-term policyholders. Also, not forgetting its roots, Nationwide offers discounts for Farm Bureau Members in several states, as well as upwards of 3% for employees and members of qualifying organizations.

Customer Service & Claims Timeliness

Nationwide has gone well beyond the norm with claims transparency and tracking. With the recent release of its Nationwide iPhone app, Nationwide policyholders with an iPhone can now track claims, manage policies, make payments and perform other tasks, further simplifying both routine policy maintenance and irregular customer needs like accident claims and repairs.

Although Nationwide has remained with the times and has made policy information and application, maintenance and reporting functions available online, it still keeps offices with licensed agents across the country. Though the move online has simplified the maintenance of car insurance policies and made it fairly easy to access information about features and products, sometimes you need a personal agent from your own community to explain features, assist with claims and advocate your cause. With offices in most cities across the country, Nationwide makes this possible.

ENSURANCE INSURANCE COMPANY

With only a decade under its belt, Esurance might seem fairly green. However, with savings-oriented business operations, environmentally-sound practices, efficient and simplified claims and repairs process and a firm commitment to environmentally-oriented causes, Esurance is proving itself to be an innovative, ethical and "Green" force among car insurance companies, one that, hopefully, will inspire a lot of imitators even top-rated auto insurance agencies GEICO and Progressive.

It makes up for in innovative operational practices, including speedy claims and policy-writing processes. As a green company, Esurance also features environmentally-sound strategies and programs to reduce paper consumption, plant trees in fire-damaged forests, and mitigate the damage caused by CO2 pollution. Not bad for a company that is still relatively new to the auto insurance (and other insurance protection product) game.

Esurance is lauded for its 3-step policy process. Drivers simply quote, buy and print their policy directly from their printer. No waiting for delivery by mail. No hassles. No agents pushing unnecessary policy features or additional insurance protection products. With Esurance, policyholders, both current and prospective, simply enter the necessary information, receive a quote, decide whether or not purchase policy or go with another car insurance agency.

With Esurance, motorists get a free 6-minute quote in addition to instant comparison rates from real companies. At that point, prospective policyholders can simply choose the policy that best suits their needs and buy it directly online.

Esurance policyholders also benefit from an online claims process that features the impressive, real-time repairs monitoring program, E-star

Standout Features

• In-depth, informative website
• E-Star Direct Repair Program
• Savings-oriented operations
• Expedited claims process

Response & Repair

Though some auto insurance agencies, like State Farm, offer free towing for its policyholders, Esurance does offer a complete emergency roadside assistance package that covers everything from vehicle tows and tire changes to gasoline refuels and lockouts. From there, drivers can have their cars taken to the repair facility of their choice or be referred to a repair facility through the E-star Direct Repair Program. Though it is nice to have the ability to choose your own repair facility, using designated E-star repair shops guarantees all repairs for as long as you have the vehicle. Though it isn't quite the same as Progressive's "Concierge" program, it does one-up Progressive by including photos of the vehicle as it is being repaired, giving policyholders a visual stamp to go along with the claims and repairs tracking information.

Policy Flexibility

Many auto insurance policyholders complain of the unnecessary costly features and attributes that are tacked onto their policies. With Esurance, drivers have far more control over the details of their policies, including emergency services and features. This shouldn't be taken as a sign of neglect. In fact, Esurance has the most informative, in-depth website among any car insurance company, providing countless FAQ pages, insightful articles, auto insurance glossaries and even an interactive Auto Insurance Coverage Counselor to aid in giving each driver the right policy for their needs and budget.

Benefits & Discounts

Esurance, like many auto insurance agencies, offers discounts for good drivers, multiple-policy holders, vehicles with enhanced safety and anti-theft features. This has become, more or less, the standard among insurance companies. Esurance, however, goes well beyond the unwritten standard, providing discounts for single parents, senior-aged and retired drivers, vehicles with low-mileage or in rare use and even occupational discounts for those with a license or degree in education, engineering and natural science. What other auto insurance agency can say that?

For benefits, Esurance's environmental efforts are the most apparent. Most policyholders are likely aware of the amount of unnecessary mail a policy will accrue. From account notifications and billing statements to cards with policy numbers to be stored in vehicles, owning a single car insurance policy can generate a pitiful amount of waste. Along with its paper-free policy process through which the customer is a direct beneficiary of the savings, Esurance is dedicated to improving the environment with tree-planting programs, partnerships with community and environmentally-oriented non-profits and charities, instruments for carbon footprint calculation and even insights for incorporating environmentally-friendly practices into your everyday life. While many dismiss the "Green Movement" as a fad, Esurance seems firmly committed to improving the environment and raising environmental awareness, whether or not it's currently en vogue.

Progressive Insurance Company

In its 70-plus years of continual operation Progressive auto insurance has seen wave after wave of competitors, marketing trends and technological innovation--and remained atop throughout. Humorous advertisements might create brand recognition and drive motorists to purchase policies, but it is only through meeting--and even exceeding--the needs of policyholders after the policy's signing that an auto insurance company survives and succeeds. Progressive is living proof of that.

Progressive, the top Silver Award winning auto insurance company, has been a dominant force in the auto insurance market for more than 70 years, garnering a strong reputation for its customer service, emergency responsiveness, policy flexibility and overall commitment to the safety and security of its policyholders. With its "Concierge Level of Claims Service" and renowned Immediate Response Vehicles, Progressive has made the aftermath of car accidents and auto-related incidents less complicated, less time-consuming and most importantly, less-imposing on the workaday lives and busy schedules of its policyholders. Progressive's past may have been bright, but, if it continues to place the needs of its policyholders first, its future will only get brighter.

Standout Features

• Multi-party Comparison Quotes
• Pet Injury Coverage with Collision Coverage
• Concierge Level of Claims Service

Response & Repair

Progressive sets quite an example with its Immediate Response Vehicles (IRVs) and initial towing and rental services. Policyholders can receive claims estimates from the comfort of their own driveway or the repair facility the vehicle is housed in: a step that can expedite the claims and adjustment process and facilitate quick repairs and timely payments for vehicles in need of replacement and claimants of non-Progressive motorists involved in an accident.

Many complaints that are issued against all insurance companies, generally involve the complicated process of filing a claim, receiving an estimate, booking time for a repair and then waiting for the scheduled repairs to be completed. This process hardly takes into account the reality of people's schedules, their work, their home, their leisure time. Really, this process has been in need of revision for a long time and Progressive does so through its "Concierge Level of Claims Service". The Concierge Level of Claims Service are facilities where drivers can drop off damaged vehicles and leave the hair-pulling, time-consuming task of receiving an estimate, finding a repair facility and making rental car arrangements to the experts. In fact, in as few as fifteen minutes, policyholders can be back on the road with a rental car, confident that their car is being repaired quickly and hassle-free.

Policy Flexibility

Progressive's roots are firmly planted in car insurance. Through the decades, however, it has grown to include other insurance products and services that range from home to life and nearly everything in between. Unlike GEICO, which operates entirely online and through telephone, Progressive has more than 30,000 independent insurance agents that, along with simply auto insurance and other insurance products, can give detailed, in-depth information about policies and discounts, as well as assist in finding a coverage level that suits the needs and budget of the policyholder. Whether you need a Liability-Only policy for a single vehicle or Full Collision coverage with no deductible, Progressive has just the right policy and insurance product for you.

Benefits & Discounts

One benefit that sets Progressive apart from other car insurance agencies is its complimentary coverage of pet injuries for policyholders with collision coverage. Though incidental pet injuries that are caused by a car accident are not measured, thousands of pets die each year due to car collisions. Making sure that both you and your dog or cat are covered in the event of an accident is a step in the right direction--and one that other auto insurance companies would be wise to emulate.

Progressive also offers automatic discounts for new and continuing customers. Good Student discount? Check. Good Driver discount? Check. Multiple vehicle discount? Check. Multiple-policy discount? Check. Full-payment, e-sign or low mileage discounts? Check, check and check. Along with its MyRate feature, which follows driving history and records more closely, which can be a savings boon for customers, Progressive offers dozens of discounts to its policyholders, saving customers money and likely gaining their loyalty, too.

Customer Service & Claims Timeliness

Progressive was among the first to make policy and claims management functionality available online; a trend which most of its competitors now follow. With its Immediate Response Vehicles and Concierge Level of Claims Service, drivers can be back on the road and on with their lives and jobs, free from the baffling, time-consuming ordeal that is seeing a damaged vehicle from point A to point Z.

Progressive customer service representatives and agents have a hard-earned reputation as being among the best in the business. Customers continually report of agents and representatives going "beyond their expectations" to find discounts, field questions and facilitate quick and timely claims adjustment and vehicle repair and replacement. Less visible is Progressive's mediation and arbitration team, which ensure that claims involving other parties are brought to a decision as quickly and judiciously as possible. Fortunately for Progressive car insurance policyholders, repairs and replacements will be made even if other involved parties are uncooperative or unresponsive. No driver should have to go without a car because of the negligence of another motorist or his auto insurance company.

Geico Insurance is the best

GEICO has emerged as one of the premiere car insurance companies in recent years--and for good reason. Offering its customers upfront savings on auto insurance policies, providing streamlined claims reporting and tracking and emphasizing personable and responsive customer service, all while facilitating quick repairs to get motorists back in their cars and on the road. Combine this with its bounteous offering of discounts, policy flexibility and potential for multiple policies such as home, life, boat and others and you have a one-stop-shop for auto insurance--as well as other insurance--needs that is as convenient and timely as a drive-thru window.

GEICO's reputation for its customer service is largely what has proven to be the true catalyst for its retention and policyholder satisfaction, not its entertaining, popular commercials or its slight savings. This is evident in its retention rate, which ranks among the best in the auto insurance industry.

Response & Repair

Getting your car safely off the road and in for repairs or replacement is one thing, but ensuring that motorists are back in their own car or temporary rental with little delay is another. Fortunately, GEICO excels at expediting initial towing and emergency services through its affiliates with streamlined claims and adjustments services to see that necessary repairs and replacements are done as quickly as possible, with the ins and outs of cost and culpability settled responsibly, judiciously and, most importantly, rapidly.

GEICO also offers its policyholders the ability to track claims online, doing away with the complicated "Phone-trees" that many car insurance companies require customers to go through to track claims.

Policy Flexibility

GEICO is incredibly flexible with its policy attributes, crafting policies that suit the needs and budgets of its policyholders, while extending its streamlined business-model savings to the customer. Whether you are looking to insure multiple vehicles or drivers, increase or decrease deductibles on policies, reduce coverage to Liability-Only or manage the payment cycle or structure, GEICO allows its policyholders an unprecedented freedom to do so. Best of all, this can all be done online or over the phone with a dedicated GEICO insurance agent, which can be an added benefit for those living in rural areas.

Benefits & Discounts

Many discounts are enjoyed outright through GEICO's area agent-free infrastructure. As for others, GEICO offers a variety of discounts ranging from good driver discounts, good student discounts (for younger drivers attending school) and automatic payment discounts, as well as discounts for multiple-policy holders and established customers. GEICO also offers discounts for policies involving cars with advanced safety and security features, including air bags, anti-lock brakes, car security/anti-theft systems and daytime running lights, among others.

More info here >> Geico 

Best Insurance companies in the US

1. GEICO



2. ENSURANCE
 

3. LIBERTY MUTUAL 



4. STATE FARM



5.  ALLSTATE 
 



6 . PROGRESSIVE



7.  AAA