#car insurance companies #

Top 4 Best Auto Insurance Companies 2011

June 2, 2011 by Steven Gursten

Michigan insurance attorney identifies the best car insurance companies based on pricing, paying claims and customer satisfaction

As a No-Fault insurance attorney only helping people in auto accidents, I m asked at least once a week what auto insurance companies I actually like. Here s my updated list for the auto insurance companies that give people some of the best value for their auto premium dollars.

For the most recent list, check out my post on our attorney picks for the Best Auto Insurance Companies in 2013 .)

I knocked off some insurance companies like Farm Bureau General Insurance Company of Michigan because even though they also have low prices, my own personal experiences with them (along with the other 17 insurance attorneys here), is that they treat their customers poorly when they re injured and need No-Fault insurance benefits or attendant care. Farm Bureau has also written very restrictive language in its UIM policy language.

The following list is comprised of auto insurance companies that have the best:

o Price,

o Assurance that valid auto accident and injury claims will be paid, and

o Good customer service.

With those factors in mind, I evaluated the top 10 largest auto insurance companies in Michigan, as well as a couple other auto insurers to see what they had to offer.

Based on my analysis, the insurers who made my list of the Best Auto Insurance Companies for 2011 are:

o Auto-Owners Insurance Company

o Home-Owners Insurance Company

o Michigan Millers Mutual Insurance Company

o Grange Insurance Company of Michigan

Below are my reasons for including each auto insurer on my list.

Auto-Owners Insurance Company

For the past three years, Auto-Owners has won the J.D. Powers and Associates Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, ranking highest in overall satisfaction among auto insurance claimants Each year, Auto-Owners earned the highly coveted rating, Among the best.

Additionally, in the J.D. Powers and Associates 2010 National Auto Insurance Study, which measures customer satisfaction with auto insurance companies, Auto-Owners was rated Better than most.

Auto-Owners topped the list for paying out the highest percentage of its premium dollars in claims. For instance, for every premium dollar Auto-Owners receives from Michigan drivers, it pays out approximately $.74 in auto accident claims.

Auto-Owners prices were among the lowest in all five of the markets examined in compiling the list of the Best Auto Insurance Companies for 2011.

Finally, Auto-Owners received relatively few consumer complaints.

Home-Owners Insurance Company

Home-Owners had the lowest prices in two of the five markets examined.

Additionally, Home-Owners paid out the second highest percentage of premium dollars in claims. For every premium dollar Home-Owners received from Michigan drivers, it paid out $.69 in auto accident claims.

Grange Insurance Company of Michigan

Grange Insurance Company of Michigan has been my personal favorite for the last couple years. The people at Grange just try to do the right thing. Last month, one of my co-workers had a drunk driver slam into her husband s pick-up truck that was parked in front of their house in the early morning hours. Even though they had a substantial deductible, the Grange adjuster waived it. If you look at the consumer satisfaction sites below, Grange receives very few consumer complaints.

Michigan Millers Mutual Insurance Company

Michigan Millers Mutual topped the list for fewest consumer complaints, and the insurers prices ranked among the lowest in four of the five markets examined.

I hope you find my list of the Best Auto Insurance Companies for 2011 helpful. Do you think your auto insurance company deserves to be counted as one of the best? Leave a comment here, or post it on the Michigan Auto Law Facebook page .

Additional resources to protect yourself:

Sources for the best insurance companies list

o Insurance Institute of Michigan, 2010 IIM Fact Book (Page 27)

o Insurance Company Complaint Ratios (Automobile Coverage), Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation

o The Competitiveness and Premium Excessiveness of the Auto Insurance Industr[y] in the State of Michigan, Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (Appendix L)

o 2008 Buyers Guide to Auto Insurance, Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (See Example 3 on Page 16 and markets NED (Northeast Detroit), LAN (Lansing), TRA (Traverse City), SAG (Saginaw) and GRA (Grand Rapids)

o J.D. Power and Associates, 2010 Auto Claims Satisfaction and 2010 National Auto Insurance studies.